History of the 3-Pointer - USA Basketball (2024)

FAQs

What year did they start the 3-point shot in basketball? ›

Initially on a one-year trial basis, the 3-point line was adopted by the NBA for the 1979-80 season. Chris Ford, a member of the Boston Celtics, knocks down the first 3-point field goal in the NBA History.

While certain college basketball conferences experimented with it in the early '80s, the NCAA didn't universally implement a 3-point line until 1986, with high school basketball following suit a year later.

When did college basketball introduce the 3-point line? The 1986-87 season was the first season in which the 3-point line was adopted across all college basketball conferences. Before that season, select conferences experimented with a 3-point line.

Larry Bird sank 37.6 percent from beyond the arc in his career.

Steve Kerr has the highest career three-point percentage, at 45.4 percent.

Curry is, by my reckoning the greatest shooter in the history of the sport, a player whose range and effectiveness changed the way NBA basketball was played. Curry is a career 42.5 percent three-point shooter, in addition to shooting 91 percent from the line.

A player is allowed to jump from outside the line and land inside the line to make a three-point attempt, as long as the ball is released in mid-air.

Who came up with the idea of the 3-point line? ›

The origins of the 3-point line go all the way back to … The origins of the 3-point line go all the way back to 1945. Howard Hobson, the famed Oregon coach who won the first NCAA tournament in 1939, conducted an experiment. He had Fordham play Columbia in an exhibition game, with a twist: He added a 3-point line.

The NBA has a 22-foot 3-point line in the corners and a 23-foot, 9-inch line elsewhere. The WNBA and the international game plays with a 20-foot, 6-inch line. The NCAA men's game has a 20-foot, 9-inch line while the NCAA women and high schools have a 19-foot, 9-inch line.

The second chart is a progressive list of the leading all-time NBA scorers. LeBron James is the leading scorer in NBA history. LeBron James has scored the most career regular season points in NBA history.

Most 3s Without a Miss: Ben Gordon (April 14, 2006/March 21, 2012) and Latrell Sprewell (Feb. 4, 2003), 9. Gordon was a guard before his time. He would've been a great volume scorer off the bench in today's NBA.

Bird was drafted by the Celtics after his junior year at Indiana State (1978) but did not play professionally until the 1979–80 season, when he won the Rookie of the Year award after contributing to one of the largest single-season turnarounds in NBA history (a 32-win improvement).

Larry Bird was such a player. For 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics, from 1979-80 through 1991-92, Bird personified hustle, consistency and excellence in all areas of play — as a scorer, a passer, a rebounder, a defender, a team player, and, perhaps above all, as a clutch performer.

The three provides value in two ways. First, it's an efficient shot. Over the last 20 years, NBA players have averaged 1.05 points per above-the-break 3 and 1.16 points per corner 3. In contrast, players have averaged just 0.79 points per 2-point attempt outside of the restricted area.

April 22, 1954 The N.B.A. on this date adopted the 24-second shot clock, ushering in the modern era of pro basketball. The game radically changed when the season began the following October (see Oct. 30) as players forced the ball downcourt, concentrating on speed and offense.