The evolution of the NBA game has seen many changes throughout the years, going from a hard-nosed, defensive-minded league in the 80s back into a scorer's league in present day. The immersion of European players started in the 80s, with the chosen few as rare as four-leaf clovers, slowly expanding as the years went by.
Now it's hard to go through an NBA roster and not see an international player. With the exposure to the European game came the concept of shooting big men — no longer tall trees to defend the rim and ensnare rebounds from the opposition, but finesse giants that could pick apart a defense if left alone to spot-up on the perimeter.
Tthe stretch-four and stretch-five are more common in this modern era, with the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Anthony Davis, and Joel Embiid, to name a few who have kept the long-range shot as an integral part of their offensive arsenal.
The game has evolved so much into a marksman's league, that Minnesota Timberwolves second-year center Karl-Anthony Towns has more three-pointers made this season than a prolific shooter like Larry Bird ever did during a season in his time, per Aaron Gleeman of KFAN1003.
Towns netted 101 three-pointers this season — three more than Bird, a three-time three-point champ, did during the 1987-88 season — seven years before Towns was even born.
The Kentucky product was fifth upon qualifying centers for most threes made this season. Brooklyn Nets big man Brook Lopez topped the list with 134 made treys in the 2016-17 regular season.
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