diff --git a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
index c04a3f9a2c..0cdeb84dbe 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ Use subheadings with the "=====" level for adding notes for unreleased changes:
 [float]
 ===== Bug fixes
 * Fixed edge case where inferred spans could cause cycles in the trace parent-child relationships, subsequently resulting in the UI crashing - {pull}3588[#3588]
+* Fix NPE in dropped spans statistics - {pull}3590[#3590]
 
 [[release-notes-1.x]]
 === Java Agent version 1.x
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/agent/impl/transaction/DroppedSpanStats.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/agent/impl/transaction/DroppedSpanStats.java
index ff25b9596b..74bcf45c95 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/agent/impl/transaction/DroppedSpanStats.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/agent/impl/transaction/DroppedSpanStats.java
@@ -190,10 +190,13 @@ public void captureDroppedSpan(Span span) {
     private Stats getOrCreateStats(ServiceTarget serviceTarget, Outcome outcome) {
         StatsKey statsKey = statsKeyObjectPool.createInstance().init(serviceTarget, outcome);
         Stats stats = statsMap.get(statsKey);
-        if (stats != null || statsMap.size() > 127) {
+        if (stats != null) {
             statsKeyObjectPool.recycle(statsKey);
             return stats;
         }
+        if (statsMap.size() > 127) {
+            statsKeyObjectPool.recycle(statsKey);
+        }
 
         stats = statsObjectPool.createInstance();