Three-point field goal

A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful basket is worth three points, in contrast to the two points awarded for field goals made within the three-point line and the one point for each made free throw.

The distance from the basket to the three-point line varies by competition level: in the National Basketball Association (NBA) the arc is 23 feet 9 inches (7.24 m) from the center of the basket; in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (all divisions), and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the arc is 6.75 m (22 ft 1.75 in) from the center of the basket; and in the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) the arc is 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) from the center of the basket. Every three-point line becomes parallel to each sideline at the points where each arc is a specified distance from the sideline. In both the NBA and WNBA, this distance is 3 feet (0.91 m) from the sideline; as a result, the distance from the center of the basket gradually decreases to a minimum of 22 feet (6.7 m). FIBA specifies the arc's minimum distance from the sideline as 0.9 meters (2 ft 11 in), resulting in a minimum distance from the center of the basket of 6.6 meters (21 ft 8 in). The NCAA and NAIA arc is the same distance from the center of the basket as the FIBA arc, but is 3 feet 4 inches (1.02 m) from each sideline because the North American court is slightly wider than the FIBA court. In 3x3, a FIBA-sanctioned variant of the half-court 3-on-3 game, the same line exists, but shots from behind it are only worth 2 points with all other shots worth 1 point.

The three-point line was first tested at the collegiate level in 1945, with a 21-foot line, in a game between Columbia and Fordham, but it was not kept as a rule. There was another one-game experiment in 1958, this time with a 23-foot line, in a game between St. Francis (NY) and Siena. In 1961, Boston University and Dartmouth played one game with an experimental rule that counted all field goals as three points. In 1962, the St. Francis (New York) head coach, Daniel Lynch, once again made the suggestion of a three-point line to the New York Basketball Writers Association.

At the direction of Abe Saperstein, the American Basketball League (ABL) became the first basketball league to institute the rule in 1961. As commissioner of the new league, Saperstein wanted to add excitement to the game and distinguish the league from the bigger NBA. He hoped the three-pointer would become basketball's equivalent of the home run. “We must have a weapon,” Saperstein said, “and this is ours.”

To determine the distance the new shot line should be from the basket, Saperstein and longtime DePaul University coach Ray Meyer went onto a court one day with tape and selected 25 feet as the right length. “They just arbitrarily drew lines,” his son Jerry Saperstein said. “There’s really no scientific basis. Just two Hall of Fame coaches getting together and saying: ‘Where would we like to see the line?’” Not long after, in June 1961, Saperstein was traveling when the other seven ABL owners voted 4-3 to officially shorten the line, to 22 feet. Saperstein, who had significant power in the league as owner of the popular Globetrotters, disagreed with this and simply ignored the ruling. Games continued with the 25 feet (7.62 m) shot. Saperstein eventually acknowledged there was one problem with the 25-foot arc and solved it by adding a 22-foot line in the corners. “It made for interesting possibilities,” he wrote.

After the ABL shut down in 1963, the three-point shot was adopted by the Eastern Professional Basketball League in its 1963–64 season. It was also popularized by the American Basketball Association (ABA), which introduced it in its inaugural 1967–68 season. ABA commissioner George Mikan stated that the three-pointer "would give the smaller player a chance to score and open up the defense to make the game more enjoyable for the fans". During the 1970s, the ABA used the three-point shot, along with the slam dunk, as a marketing tool to compete with the NBA. Its ninth and final season concluded in the spring of 1976.

Three years later in June 1979, the NBA adopted the three-point line (initially on a one-year trial) for the 1979–80 season, despite the view of many that it was a gimmick. Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics is credited with making the first three-point shot in NBA history on October 12, 1979. The season opener at Boston Garden was more remarkable for the debut of Larry Bird (and two new head coaches). Rick Barry of the Houston Rockets, in his final season, also made one in the same game, and Kevin Grevey of the Washington Bullets made one that Friday night as well. Barry would later set the original 3-point record at 8 in a single game on February 9, 1980 against the Utah Jazz. The three-point field goal was slow to be adopted by teams in the NBA. In the 1980 NBA Finals, Julius Erving made the only three of the series (and first in Finals history) in Game 3, and in Game 4, neither team attempted a single shot beyond the arc.

In its early years, the three-point shot was considered to be nothing more than a gimmick or desperation tactic, but in the late 1980s the three-pointer began to emerge as an important offensive weapon. Danny Ainge was the first player to make over 100 three-pointers in a season in 1988, draining 148 that season. In the following years, players like Ainge, Dale Ellis, Michael Adams, Vernon Maxwell and Reggie Miller gained a reputation as three-point specialists. In 1994, Dale Ellis became the first NBA player to reach 1,000 career three-pointers. In 1995, John Starks became the first player to make over 200 three-pointers in a season. In 1997, Reggie Miller surpassed Ellis as the NBA's all-time leader in three-pointers, eventually retiring with a record 2,560 three-pointers made. Miller remained the all-time leader in three-pointers made until 2011.