PHOENIX, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 24: LaMelo Ball #2 of the Charlotte Hornets puts up a three-point shot over Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns during the second half of the NBA game at Phoenix Suns Arena on February 24, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Some sports stay pretty static over the years. For example, the rules of soccer have changed very little over the last century. The most recent additions to the beautiful game’s regulations have been around “financial fair play” and the use of new technology like VAR in making refereeing decisions rather than around how it is played.
The NBA, on the other hand, has taken a very liberal approach to its rules. The league’s bosses have not been afraid to innovate and experiment to make basketball more exciting and engaging for fans.
The games played in 1946, when the NBA was first founded, looked very different to those that are held today. Back then, zone defense was commonplace and the lane was only six feet wide.
Other major rule changes have included the penalty which grants a team free throws after the opposing side’s fifth foul, and the introduction of the shot clock in 1954. Both of these changes have helped to speed up the game and increase the number of baskets scored.
Another major change has been the three-point line. Introduced for the 1979-80 season, this added a new element to NBA games by giving teams the chance to score an additional point per basket if they took the risk of shooting from further away.
It was actually pioneered by the American Basketball League back in the 1960s, but the American Basketball Association (ABA) is the organization that’s credited with making it popular. The ABA called it “the home run”, borrowing the phrase from baseball due to the significance and difficulty of scoring from that far out.
After the NBA and the ABA merged in 1976, the three-point line disappeared for a few years, but the league eventually agreed to a one-season trial three years later. It was so successful that it was made permanent, surviving to this day.
In the 1980s, three-pointers were hard to get. In the first season that the NBA used it, there was an average of 2.8 three-pointers scored per game. By 1990, that number was nearly 10, and by 2017-18, it had reached 29.
As three-pointers become more prominent in games, they begin to have more of an effect on which teams were successful. Three of the top four teams that Betway has given favorable outright NBA odds for the 2021/22 championship also top official NBA stats for “Three-Pointers Made” and “Three-Point Percentage”. This includes the Brooklyn Nets, who make 37.9% of their baskets from behind the three-point line and are current favorites to win the NBA Championship with odds of 3.50.
The problem is that players have become much more adept at making three-point field goals. The current generation of players have never known a time without them, so have had years of practice. Michael Jordan, for example, played college basketball without a three-point line, whereas LeBron James has had it available for his entire career.
Jordan had a sub-20% conversion rate from three-pointers until his fifth season in the NBA, while James has regularly achieved double this throughout his time in the league.
Discussions about changing the three-point rule have been going on for several years now, but the case for it is growing stronger.
Some of the suggestions are pretty radical too. In 2019, several commentators began suggesting a four-point line after it was trialled at the Celebrity All-Star Game that year. During the match, 10 four-pointers were made, an achievement that many fans were impressed by.
More conservative suggestions include extending the current three-point line even further or using a four-point line that is only active during certain periods of the game, such as in the final two minutes of a half.
What is clear, though, is that something needs to change as players are going to keep getting better at netting three-pointers and basketball is going to become tedious to watch.
Thankfully, the NBA has proven itself to be innovative and willing to experiment with ways to keep the show exciting.
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