LeBron James on the state of the NBA: ‘There’s a lot of f------ threes being shot’

With so much chatter about the state of the NBA, Lakers star LeBron James chimed in to share some thoughts on the number of three-point shots being taken.

One of the biggest narratives this season has been about the TV ratings being lower for NBA games.

The chatter quickly moved from discussing the dip in viewership to asking what is wrong with the NBA that could be causing such a decline.

Most of the noise has been about people having a disdain for the 3-point shot and the fact that teams are chucking up many jumpers.

LeBron James chimed in on this with his own take when asked about the state of the NBA and changes to the All-Star Game format before a matchup versus the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

“Our game, there’s a lot of f------ threes threes being shot. So it’s a bigger conversation than just the All-Star Game,” LeBron said.

Anytime LeBron talks, it’s news, but a few F-bombs regarding the 3-point shooting happening is definitely surprising.

The Lakers star has pushed back on the concept of just taking a lot of 3-pointers before. While doing his “Mind The Game” podcast with JJ Redick, he talked about putting pressure on the rim and not just settling for a deep shot every time.

Based on LeBron’s comments, the Lakers under Darvin Ham wanted him to shoot more threes, and we know JJ Redick is an aficionado of the long ball as well.

Last season, however, the Lakers found success with LeBron and Anthony Davis attacking the paint. They were second in points in the paint, averaging 55.8 points per game. This year, they are currently eighth in the NBA and that number has dipped to 49.9 points.

We’ll see how L.A.'s season ends and whether they can strike a balance between improving their 3-point shooting, attacking the paint and winning games.

Redick was also asked about the state of the league and viewership before the Lakers played the Kings. He gave a very long answer, mentioning a need to love and celebrate the game.

Overall, it’s odd that suddenly, a dip in viewership is causing such pandemonium.

Not all progress is linear and to expect a sport to increase in viewership every year, especially based on an archaic metric like TV ratings, is odd.

Sure, maybe the high volume of 3-point shots turns some fans off, but one, there isn’t solid evidence indicating that is the sole reason for the decrease and two, can you really force the league to do something about that?

It’s not like you will begin limiting 3-point attempts per game because that would be ridiculous.

Also, respectfully, if you remove the nostalgia goggles, the 90s had some ugly basketball. It was a lot of dribble, dribble, dribble, hack, hack, hack, then take an ugly shot six feet from the basket with three people contesting.

Fans, media, and everyone in between need to have this conversation with some nuance. The truth is always somewhere in between.

LeBron has a point regarding his claim that there are too many threes. Perhaps taking a bunch of deep shots is not always the best way to attack a defense. However, a 3-point shot can also increase your scoring faster than a 2-point shot and as long as points decide results in basketball, that will matter.

The NBA will be just fine, but as it evolves and develops, there will be some growing pains. This dip in viewership and increase in 3-point shots are part of that. Let’s see how it grows and develops from here.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.