The mid-range jump shot was once one of the most popular shots NBA players took in a game, however, the introduction of the three-point line has caused players to begin moving back and take a three instead of a mid-range two pointer. Players such as Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, and James Harden have popularized the three-point shot recently to the point where the mid-range shot is seen as "boring" or "unsexy". Now, players are almost forced to have a reliable three-point shot if they want to be part of a team's rotation.
From NBA.com we see the league average for percentage of points from mid-range jump shots in a game from the 1996-1997 season to the 2020-2021 season. The percentage of points from mid-range jump shots in a game peaked in the 1999-2000 season and continued to decrease. It is projected to continue its downward trend. In the 2027-2028 season it is projected that less than 5% of points scored in a game will be from mid-range. This shows that having a reliable mid-range jump shot is becoming less and less valuable in the NBA and instead teams want players to be able to stretch the floor and get the extra point from shooting a three pointer.
The chart below shows a side by side comparison between the percentage of points from mid-range and the percentage of points from the three-point line along with the team's win percentage and field goal percentage from the 2020-2021 season. Every playoff team this season with the exception of the Phoenix Suns had less than 12% of their points per game come from a mid-range shot. While on the other hand, every playoff team this season with the exception of the 76ers had over 30% of their points per game come from the three-point shot. This chart below shows that in the regular season playoff teams scored more from three than from mid-range by over an 18% margin. This makes it more important for a team to be able to shoot from three than the mid-range for their success.
I don't believe that the mid-range shot should be disregarded even though these statistics show that its impact on the game is dwindling. There will always be players willing to take a mid-range jump shot over a three-pointer, however, those players will be few and likely underappreciated by fans.