3-Point Line: Evolution of Basketball

On April second, nineteen eighty six, the NC Doublea finally adopted the three point line to be used in the next season in the nineteen eighty seven Ncublea Tournament for the very first time, changing how college basketball would be played forever, but not right away, and we'll tell you all about it today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide to a rapid deep dive into sports history every day now. The three point line was actually first tested way back in nineteen forty five with a familiar name for US Daily Sports History listeners, between the University of Columbia and the University of Fordham, who was also the first team to be on a televised basketball game, and this line was a twenty one foot three point line, but they did not keep the rule and didn't get tested again until nineteen fifty eight, when they put in a twenty three foot line and a Saint Francis University of Siena game, but again just a one time experiment. They tested again in the nineteen sixty one season in nineteen sixty two, just doing it here and there for certain games, but it wasn't until Abe Sapristein, the creator of the Harlem Glowtrotters, who was part of the American Basketball League, was the first league to institute the rule permanently make games more exciting, especially at the end of games when it was very close. But sadly, the American Basketball League shut down and didn't become popular again until the American Basketball Association known as the ABA adopted the three point line. When they first started, who was giving the NBA a challenge as they were more focused on scoring in slam dunks and getting the crowd involved in the game, and the NBA adopted the three point line in a one year trial period in the nineteen seventy nine eighty season, but it wasn't the game changer as you might think, as in the nineteen eighty NBA Finals, Julius Irving made the only three pointer in the series, and there was even two games in the NBA Finals where no one even attempted a three point shot. But during this time, the NCAA didn't give up on its experiment either, as different conferences were trying it during their conference play, and the Southern Conference was the first conference to adopt the rule, putting in a twenty two foot line in their nineteen eighty eighty one season, and other conferences followed suit, as the Atlantic Coast Conference put in a seventeen foot nine inch line and the Big Sky Conference put in a twenty two foot line. The NCAA experimented with multiple different sides, but it wasn't until nineteen eighty six when the NCUBLA adopted the three point line for every Ncuba basketball game, and they set it at nineteen feet nine inches, and they continue to experiment with the length of the size, sometimes moving it farther back, sometimes moving it farther forward. They couldn't find the exact right size and this was nothing new. The NBA also experimented with where they wanted their three point line as well, changing the different dimensions on the corners and the length. But in two thousand and eight, FIBA, who runs the World Basketball Championship, announced they would have theirs at twenty two feet and one in three fourths inches, and that is where the NCUBLEA put their three point line as well. To maxis now. Like I mentioned earlier with the NBA Finals, it wasn't quickly adopted as when they first added it, it was usually about one to three three pointers taken in a single game, and the percentages of the shot being made was under thirty percent, But ten years later, in nineteen ninety, it had doubled to almost seven shots being taken a game and thirty three percent effective ring. But these days the attempts are closer to the thirties, with over thirty five percent being made today. And after the shortly after the NC double A made THEIRS Permanent made the three pointer permanent, High School followed suit. Currently, the NBA has their three point line at twenty three feet nine inches, which is the longest three pointer for any of the associations, but FIEBA, in AIA, n C DOUBLEA, and WNBA have their three point line at twenty two feet one and three fourth inch, whereas High School has THEIRS at nineteen feet nine inches. Now, not only has this changed how the game is played today, as the three point shot is a staple for any position. Even if you're a big man who plays center, you need to still be able to shoot a three pointer in most cases, or if you're the smallest guy on the team. Three pointers have changed how we play. It's created, it's made scoring go up, it's made the end of games more exciting, especially in the March Madness where smaller teams are able to compete against much larger schools and get many upsets that we all love during the March Madness tournament. But it did take a while and many times people will forget and it took and it took coaches and players time to understand this. Now there have been attempts to add a four point line, and the Harlem Globetrotters actually do this for their games, adding their four point line is thirty feet away, and even the upstart Big Three League has a four point field goal which is a circle located thirty feet away from the basket. But this hasn't made its way to the NBA, but you know, if they did, it eventually would become the staple that the three point line has become today. Thank you for joining us today on Daily Sports History. If you have a topic that you would love for us to dive into, please let us know. Send us an email Daily Sportshistory at gmail dot com. We'd love to hear from you, or if you want to tell us how much you're enjoying the show or anything like that, we'd love to hear from you that really makes my day. To see how much you guys are enjoying the show, or to have your input. Trust me, trust me, trust me. It means the world to me. And come back tomorrow for more Daily Sports history.