A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, trey, 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 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 from the center of the basket; and in the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) the arc is 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 from the sideline; as a result, the distance from the center of the basket gradually decreases to a minimum of . FIBA specifies the arc's minimum distance from the sideline as , resulting in a minimum distance from the center of the basket of . The NCAA and NAIA arc is the same distance from the center of the basket as the FIBA arc, but is 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.
History
The three-point line was first tested at the collegiate level in 1945, with a 21-foot (6.4 m) 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 (7.01 m) 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.Monagan, Charles, "Three-For-All," Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, Nov-Dec. 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018. 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 commissioner Abe Saperstein, the newly formed American Basketball League (ABL) became the first basketball league to institute the rule in 1961. 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 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 . Saperstein, who had significant power in the league as owner of the popular Harlem Globetrotters basketball entertainers, disagreed with this and simply ignored the ruling. Games continued with the 25 feet 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 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
Three years later, in June 1979, the NBA adopted the three-point line (initially on a one-year trial) for the 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 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 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, scoring 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, 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, 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.
The sport's international governing body, FIBA, introduced the three-point line in 1984, and it made its Olympic debut in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea.
The NCAA's Southern Conference became the first collegiate conference to use the three-point rule, adopting a line for the 1980–81 season. Ronnie Carr of Western Carolina was the first to score a three-point field goal in college basketball history on November 29, 1980. Over the following five years, NCAA conferences differed in their use of the rule and distance required for a three-pointer. The line was as close as in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and as far away as in the
Used only in conference play for several years, it was adopted by the NCAA in April 1986 for the 1986–87 season at and was first used in the NCAA tournament in March 1987. The NCAA adopted the three-pointer in women's basketball on an experimental basis for that season at the same distance, and made its use mandatory beginning In 2007, the NCAA lengthened the men's distance by a foot to , effective with the season, and the women's line was moved to match the men's in 2011–12. The NFHS, along with elementary and middle schools, adopted a line nationally in 1987, a year after the NCAA. The NCAA experimented with the FIBA three-point line distance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) then adopted that distance for all men's play with a phased conversion that began with Division I in the 2019–20 season. The NAIA and other American associations also adopted the new NCAA distance for their respective men's play. In that same 2019–20 season, the NCAA planned to experiment with the FIBA arc in women's postseason events other than the NCAA championships in each division, most notably the Women's National Invitation Tournament and Women's Basketball Invitational; these events were ultimately scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA announced on June 3, 2021 that the FIBA three-point distance would be extended to the women's game starting in 2021–22.
For three seasons beginning in 1994–95, the NBA attempted to address decreased scoring by shortening the distance of the line from ( at the corners) to a uniform around the basket. From the 1997–98 season on, the NBA reverted the line to its original distance of ( at the corners).
In 2008, FIBA announced that the distance would be increased by to , with the change being phased in beginning in October 2010. In December 2012, the WNBA announced that it would use the FIBA distance, starting in 2013; by 2017, the distance at the corners was lengthened to match the NBA. The NBA has discussed adding a four-point line, according to president Rod Thorn.
Three-point revolution
In the NBA, attempting three-point field goals has become increasingly frequent in the modern day, particularly from mid-2015 onwards. The increase in latter years has been attributed to two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, who is credited with revolutionizing the game by inspiring teams to more heavily employ the three-point shot as part of their winning strategy, as well as shoot from well beyond the arc.
Curry is the NBA's all-time leading scorer in three-point field goals made and is ranked highest in "Off Ball" average attention drawn. Calculated by the average attention each player receives as the total amount of time guarded by each defensive player divided by the total time playing, Curry's was ranked at 1.064, with Kevin Durant coming in second at 1.063, in a 2015 study.Alexander Franks. Andrew Miller. Luke Bornn. Kirk Goldsberry. "Characterizing the spatial structure of defensive skill in professional basketball." Ann. Appl. Stat. 9 (1) 94 - 121, March 2015. https://doi.org/10.1214/14-AOAS799
Season Average three-point goals per game Average three-point attempts per game EffectivenessNBA League Averages - Basketball Reference 1979–1980 0.8 2.8 29% 1989–1990 2.2 6.6 33% 1999–2000 4.8 13.7 35% 2009–2010 6.4 18.1 36% 2019–2020 12.2 34.1 36% 2021–2022 12.4 35.2 35% 2022–2023 12.0 34.2 35% 2023–2024 12.8 35.1 36% 2024–2025 13.5 37.6 37%
Rule specifications
A three-point line consists of an arc at a set radius measured from the point on the floor directly below the center of the basket, and two parallel lines equidistant from each sideline extending from the nearest end line to the point at which they intersect the arc. In the NBA, WNBA, NCAA or NAIA, and FIBA standards, the arc spans the width of the court until it is a specified minimum distance from each sideline. The three-point line then becomes parallel to the sidelines from those points to the baseline. The unusual formation of the three-point line at these levels allows players some space from which to attempt a three-point shot at the corners of the court; the arc would be less than from each sideline at the corners if it were a continuous arc. In American high school standards, the arc spans 180° around the basket, then becomes parallel to the sidelines from the plane of the basket center to the baseline (). During the period in which the NCAA/NAIA arc was at from the center of the basket, the arc was from the sideline in that area. The distance of the three-point line to the center of the hoop varies by level: Competition Arc radius Minimum distancefrom sidelines Reference NBA FIBANAIANCAAWNBA FIBA: NAIA, NCAA: WNBA: NFHS
The high school corner minimum is taken as a requirement for newer high school gymnasiums and fieldhouses built in the three-point era. Courts built in older eras before state high school sanctioning bodies issued rules regarding court sizes have narrower markings, requiring home court ground rules where there is less space behind the three-point arc, the space on the sides of the arc can barely accommodate the shooter's feet due to lack of room, or it may be marked closer than the suggested minimum.