The incredible yet embarrassing three-point record of the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA

What happened with the Memphis Grizzlies is not just a statistical oddity: it's also a worrying sign for the NBA. In a league that prides itself on being the best in the world, the combination of tanking-like dynamics and games where a team breaks—or ties—historic records without truly competing for victory leaves a difficult image to justify.

Memphis tied the record for three-pointers in a game with 29 shots made from beyond the arc, a number previously held by the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics. However, what's truly striking is not the number, but the context: a clear home defeat by 142-126 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The statistic is as impressive as it is contradictory. The Grizzlies shot 49.2% from three-point range (29 out of 59), with nine players scoring at least one, yet they never seemed to control the game. In fact, they became the first team in history to reach that number of three-pointers and lose, surpassing even the previous negative precedent set by the Golden State Warriors, who fell after scoring 27 in 2024.

Beyond the record, the game offers a deeper insight. Memphis distributed their 29 three-pointers throughout the game—10 in the first quarter and another 10 in the last—without a solid competitive structure behind it. Meanwhile, Cleveland, with a much more modest 12 out of 32 from beyond the arc, dominated the game with greater balance and control.

Tuomas Iisalo himself praised his team's effort, highlighting the intention to go for the record, although acknowledging that it wasn't achieved alone. On the other side, Kenny Atkinson acknowledged the opponent's accuracy, but that didn't change the final result.

The issue is that this performance doesn't happen in a vacuum. The Grizzlies have lost 18 of their last 20 games, a trend that aligns with contexts where competing stops being the main priority. And this is where the analysis goes beyond the box score: when a team can have one of the best shooting nights in history without it having a real impact on the score, there's a competitive balance issue.

Nothing Weighted by Three-Pointers

Players like Adama Bal and Dariq Whitehead, with six three-pointers each, or Lucas Williamson and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, had an extraordinary offensive night individually. However, the team once again showed that basketball is not just about accumulating successes from beyond the arc.

In the end, the game presents a paradoxical image: a historic record that doesn't bring closer to victory, a statistical spectacle without competitive translation, and an uncomfortable feeling for the league. Because when this happens, the focus shifts from the greatness of the achievement directly to questioning the context in which it occurs.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El increíble y a la vez sonrojante récord de triples de Memphis Grizzlies en la NBA