There’s been a growing debate among NBA fans and analysts—has the obsession with 3-pointers ruined the game? Shaquille O’Neal certainly seems to think so. “Every team is just chucking up three balls these days,” he said, pointing to the league’s recent drop in viewership. But not everyone agrees. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver outright dismissed O’Neal’s claim, stating external reasons. Even Reggie Miller, who is in the top five in the NBA’s all-time 3-points list, and one of Shaq’s longtime rivals, seems to side with Silver.

On Sunday night, that debate came alive when the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks lit up San Francisco’s Chase Center. In what can only be described as a fireworks show, the Mavericks edged out a 143-133 win over the Warriors. But the actual story? The two teams drained an outrageous 48 three-pointers, the most ever in a single NBA game.

And Reggie Miller couldn’t hold back his excitement. Taking to Instagram, he hyped up the record-breaking night with two stories—one announcing the achievement and another showcasing the jaw-dropping highlights. If anyone’s allowed to fanboy about threes, it’s Miller. With 2,560 made shots from deep across 1,389 games, the Pacers legend sits fifth on the league’s all-time list for 3-pointers made.

Back to the historic game, the Warriors drained 27 threes, with a whopping 18 of them in the first half alone—both a new franchise record and a tie for the league record. The Mavericks weren’t far behind, hitting 12 of their own in the first half. Combined, the teams tied the NBA record for most triples in a half with 30.

Still, don’t expect Shaquille O’Neal to be as thrilled as Reggie Miller.

Shaquille O’Neal and Adam Silver don’t see eye to eye

Shaq hasn’t held back for his frustrations with the modern NBA. On his The Big Podcast, he broke it down in his usual no-nonsense style. “I have a theory. It’s down because we are looking at the same thing,” he explained. The ‘Big Aristotle’ pointed to repetitive play styles and the league’s growing obsession with three-pointers, saying, “Everybody’s running the same plays, at the damn top of the key, dribble hand off.”

He even spoke with a coach who admitted to aiming for 50 three-point attempts in a game, leaving Shaq convinced that viewership will “continue to go down unless we switch things back up.”

But the Lakers legend’s words seem at odds with the facts. The league has undeniably seen a dip in numbers—opening night viewership on ESPN dropped by 42% compared to last year, with the following day showing a 30% drop. However, Silver believes the reasons are outside the game itself. Speaking at the Paley Center for Media’s summit, he disagreed sharply with Shaq, saying, “I don’t think it has anything to do with the 3-point shot.”

Instead, Silver pointed to external factors stealing attention away from the NBA. “This year, we were up against the World Series, Dodgers-Yankees, two very attractive teams. They brought in a big audience,” he noted.

Silver also suggests that the presidential election became another hurdle, dominating headlines across the country. To Commissioner Silver, it’s these distractions—not gameplay—that explain the drop in viewership, leaving plenty of room for debate between two of the league’s biggest voices.

What do you have to say to that, though? Team Shaq or Team Silver?