Written By: Jack Dwyer
On August 3rd 1949, after a 3 year battle between the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) the NBA was formed. A peach basket with a round ball, no shot clock and no three point line was formed. Since then a lot has changed in the NBA such as the formation of the shot clock so teams couldn’t dribble the clock out for an entire quarter. Or the better structure of basketball goals so the rims don’t break or the baskets don’t fall down. However, in this article, I will be talking about the formation of the three point line in the NBA.
The three point line was adopted in the NBA in 1979. It had been an idea for a while and was already introduced in the ABA in 1967, however now that the NBA was the sole basketball league they decided to implement the line in their league to change it up and attract fans due to higher scoring games and deeper shots taken with the addition of the line. The first player credited to make a 3-pointer is Chris Ford who was on the Boston Celtics when he knocked down the shot.
The NBA 3 point line is 23 feet 9 inches, but in the 1994-1995 season the NBA made the line significantly shorter and changed the length from the basket to 22 feet. The line remained like this until the 1996-1997 where it went back to the original 23 feet 9 inches.
The reason for adding the line was to make the game a little more exciting. After it was implemented teams would only take a few threes a game if any. Now teams live and die by the three point line and some even build their game around the 3 point line. To say that the 3 point line has changed the game would be an understatement. The line has changed the game, teams strategies and how players train.
Looking years down the road people are thinking that a 4 point line or a 4 point area might be created for an even crazy game change. The idea has been thrown around and even implemented in All-Star games and Globe Trotter games. It would be from a ridiculous distance but if it’s added no one can deny that someday that 4 point line will change the game just like the 3 point line did.
Check the link below to see how the 3 point line has changed the game drastically today!
https://clutchpoints.com/brief-time-90s-3-point-line-shorter/
This was how the NBA court looked like before the three point line was made 
This is the difference between a high school, college and NBA three point line 
This is a look at the current NBA 3 point line 
If a 4 point line is implemented, this is what they are thinking it would look like 
This was the 3 point line from 1994-1997 when it was shortened
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