I mean you’re not wrong, I think it’s fair to say the three-point shooter was kind of a specialist position in that era of the NBA, which is what allowed guys like Steve Kerr to steal games in the final seconds (like he did against Utah in 97) BECAUSE nobody chased out to the perimeter, but this combined with the novelty of the Triangle Offense which exploited defenses eager to keep Mike out of the paint and kept the ball moving so that (yep, I’m going back to Phil Jackson here) “nobody felt like a spectator” just created those opportunities naturally, I think.

Game is completely different now, guys like Kerr (current all time leader) and most recently Steph Curry has made perimeter defense more important than it ever has been.

(Holy crap basketball analysis on HN, I’m loving this thread)