There have been seven-footers, like Arvydas Sabonis and Dirk Nowitzki, whose legacies have been fastened by the three-point line. And, as cool as every one-legged fadeaway from prime Dirk appeared to be, nobody saw him sift his way between post players using his all of his rigor and might.
Meanwhile, this season, the Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns and the Sixers' Joel Embiid have never toed conventional thought. Instead, they have run past it and have crept behind it by splitting defenders and standing beyond the arc.
Nobody knew that Embiid's skillset would transfer like this. During his strong start, despite his high amount of turnovers, it has been evident that he can shoot well, all while not suffering on the defensive side. Since he broke a navicular bone in his foot, people questioned the Sixers' decision to draft him third overall, back in 2014. He looks well on his way to winning the Rookie of The Year Award (yes, he is eligible for it) because of his innovation with the basketball.
Meanwhile, Towns' well-documented shooting range has traced back to his days at Kentucky, but he is still finding ways to conduct himself in a fierce manner, by cleaning the glass.
Entering Tuesday night, Towns had made 16 offensive putbacks — good enough for fourth in the NBA. With his deft footwork and great spacing, he has still shown that he can be a force as a rebounder, while simultaneously being a versatile scorer. Mind you, this is the same player who's shooting over 40 percent from behind the three-point line, despite attempting four per game.
Those in the NBA cognoscenti are more than aware of the fact that Kristaps Porzingis can stroke it from downtown, but, in case you forgot, here are some numbers. The Knickerbocker is averaging five three-pointers per game; if he were to continue this, he would be attempting two more threes (per game) than he did last season. Sure, it may not be surprising, given his sinewy frame, that he feels the need to finesse defenders, but he has shot his fair share of two-pointers per game, with 11.
Marc Gasol, a man who is the oldest piece of this epidemic, has become an head-scratching phenomenon in Memphis, as he's attempted 45 threes this year. This may not seem crazy, but when you realize that total is 40 percent of his career total, you start to wonder.
Shaquille O'Neal never had an interval in his illustrious career where he went to himself: "Hey, l should start experimenting with the three ball." Neither did Tim Duncan. Even Kevin Garnett, who was one helluva shooter, never established himself from 22-plus feet.
We are in a different age of basketball, one in which three-point shooters can't be easily identifiable by way of body type. Hybrids, like Embiid and Towns, can lead an uncanny choreography in the paint, crash the boards, play the lower block and shoot the three ball.
I understand that the new year is still about six weeks away, but this seems to be an early theme. With the confidence of these established bigs, don't underestimate their ability, as a collective, to foray into the next rendering of the National Basketball Association.
