Many current NBA fans have never seen a game without 3-pointers. There was a time when every shot counted the same, until the NBA adopted a 3-point line prior to the 1979/80 season.
For a long time, the 3-point shot ranked almost as a gimmick. There were a few long-range specialists sprinkled around the league but it was mainly used as a means to play catchup.
Just 20 seasons ago, the Kings led the league with 18.9 3-point attempts per game. The 76ers attempted the fewest that season at 7.4 per game.
Reliance on the long ball gradually increased over the years. The Knicks attempted the most 10 seasons ago at 27.9 per game, while the Thunder chucked up a league-low 11.6 per contest.
Once analytics became a major component in the way the game was played, teams couldn’t seem to fire up enough 3-pointers. Mid-range shooting has been replaced by a flurry of long balls.
This season, the NBA skies are filled with more 3-pointers than ever. The Rockets are launching them at a rate of 43.2 per game, while the Spurs rank last at 24.4. Yes, the team ranked at the bottom of the league in attempts would have been close to the league lead just 10 years ago.
It may be the right way to play according to the numbers, but it’s fair to question whether this is a good or bad thing. Has it come to a point where this is basketball at its best or has the game strayed too far from its roots?
That brings us to tonight’s topic: Should the league take steps to eliminate or reduce 3-point shooting or do you like the game the way it is?
Please take to the comments to weigh in on this issue. We look forward to your input.
More dunks.
Agree
Dunks often mean one of two things:
a) very bad defense
b) very good defense leading to transition buckets
The league has made some smart changes to allow for more of “b” (reducing the foul to stop the fast break).
But the stats suggest that the % of shots that are dunks seems to be pretty constant over the past 20 years. (stats via nbaminer dot com slash shot-types)
The only thing they could do is make it further out and eliminate the corner 3. However, then you may end up with a lot more Trae Young chuckers with sub 30% from 3 but jacking 6 a game.
live and die by the three
That was the Duke way.
Stop calling fouls on flopped 3 point shot attempts, and call travels on hardens step-step-step backs.
Buy I love the three. Makes the game more obtainable for every height and sized player.
You keep confusing Harden with Curry. Steph is the one who travels & flops all the time. Harden is an absolute machine.
Change is good.
The talent level in the NBA is terrific. Even crappy teams like ORL and PHX have exciting young guys to deliver an entertaining and (sometimes) quality product.
Game styles will ebb and flow with the rules changes.
The nba is great. 3 or No 3, most nights of the week we have entertaining contests.
I mean, there’s not really much they can do. They already have the farthest 3 point lines out of any major basketball leagues and I doubt pushing it back further would matter when you have guys like Steph Curry and Damian Lillard pulling up from 30 feet out anyway. They can’t limit how many 3s teams take per game and they’re not going to completely get rid of the 3 point line, that would be such a backwards move. Teams need to adjust to the game or be left behind. This is a complete non-issue in my opinion.
I love three-pointers. Leave things as they are as far as moving the line farther out, because the pendulum will swing away from threes and back toward attacking the low post, and then it will swing back toward threes. These things are cyclical.
You may be right but we really don’t know this. There has never been a down cycle on the 3 ball since it was instituted.
There’s good and bad. Steph Curry has won many a game. Then James Harden, without Clint Capela, CP3, and Eric Gordon, went 1-17 a couple nights ago.
When it was no 3 pointers you had more passing and a longer shot clock. It was more physical underneath where the game was played. While it may never happen, the NBA is experimenting with a 4 point shot.
i personally miss teams having an inside game.
I think the 3 point shot has increased the number of skill players in the league vs grinders.
It’s great that actually being able to shoot, dribble, pass, think the game, etc have become part of the game again.
MJ was fun, but those hand-check defense days were dark, boring times.
There isn’t 1 percent the skill in the NBA today there was in MJ’s era, you have things reversed. Anyone can chuck up three’s and play zero defense which is virtually all the NBA is today. The NBA also had much higher ratings in those days, today it’s an after thought.
I’m honestly not sure how anyone can watch the absolute disgrace the NBA has become. It’s nothing but 3’s, flopping, and ft’s. It’s all a gimmick, with rule changes that essentially prohibit defense so that manufactured offense can sell tickets. The 3’s have clearly gotten out of control but this is how the league will continue to be. Harden shot 1-18 from three the other night, if he played during the 80’s or 90’s he would have been beaten by his teammates in the locker room after the game for sabotaging their chance of winning by playing gimmick ball over team ball.