This year’s NBA Finals — featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers — should be a celebration of two young, dynamic teams battling for a championship. But instead, it’s highlighting what many see as the league’s growing problem: an over-reliance on the three-pointer that’s changing the game for the worse.

Both teams deserve praise for their remarkable playoff runs. The Thunder — still a sore subject for Seattle fans who watched their Sonics leave town — have built a contender through shrewd drafting. The Pacers, behind Tyrese Haliburton’s breakout season, have brought excitement back to Indiana. But through four games of the NBA Finals, the two teams are combining for nearly 80 three-point attempts per night. That’s not basketball’s future — that’s basketball’s present. And for many, it’s become too much.

What should feel like a high-stakes chess match between contrasting styles has turned into a long-range shootout. Big men spend as much time beyond the arc as they do in the paint. Mid-range games, post moves, and physical inside play have all but disappeared. The result? When those threes aren’t falling, the action grinds to a halt.

Even some of the game’s legends are taking notice. Larry Bird — one of the greatest shooters of all time — recently suggested that the league may need to consider moving the three-point line back even further. His concern? That without an adjustment, NBA basketball risks becoming little more than a nightly three-point contest. Bird isn’t alone. Other former stars have echoed the sentiment, worried that the sport’s balance is tipping too far in one direction.

None of this takes away from the talent on display. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Haliburton, and their teammates are brilliant in their own ways. But when everyone plays the same style, the game loses some of its texture — the diversity of tactics and skills that once made each matchup unique.

The three-pointer isn’t going away. But as this year’s NBA Finals remind us, maybe it’s time to think about how to restore some of the game’s variety — before the NBA becomes nothing more than a deep-shooting derby.