Basketball’s Three-Point Shot and its Specialists: Dennis Scott, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen
The three-point shot in basketball is one of the more difficult shots to pull off. It is taken from a long distance away from the basket and counts as three points towards the score of a team. Some have said that dunking the ball is very hard and could be one of the hardest shots to make in the game. Others have said that the three-point shot is the hardest. Over the years, various three-point specialists have emerged and have been invaluable assets for their teams. With the competition levels increasing in all sports these days, basketball players will try to find their own niches in the game and some will become exceptional three-point shooters.
The three-point shot was first thought up way back in 1933, but did not become part of the game until much later. In the 30s, it was tested out at a distance of 30 feet from the basketball rim but when it was adopted later on by professional leagues, the distance varied. The first time it was used in a game happened to be in a college match between Columbia and Fordham in 1945. However, it was not used after that in a professional match until 1961, when it was introduced in the American Basketball League. It finally came to the NBA during the 1979-1980 season. From then on, it became a permanent fixture in all games played.
The distance of the three-point shot has varied widely over the years. The official governing body of the sport, FIBA, placed the three-point distance initially at 20 feet 6 inches or 6.25 metres away from the basket. The NCAA format of the game had the three-point line at 19 feet 9 inches nationally, but then changed the length to 20 feet 9 inches during the 2008-09 season. The NBA initially had the line at 23 feet 9 inches, then decreased it to a uniform 22 feet away from the basket, but then later changed the distance back to 23 feet 9 inches. In 2008, FIBA changed the three-point distance once again to 22 feet 2 inches. This is a very strange aspect of the game of basketball. Why does the game not have a uniform distance for the three-point line? If a player is playing by FIBA rules, the three-point line will be shorter than in the NBA, and if that player ever makes it to the NBA, it will be a lot tougher to score three-point shots. The governing body should really address this problem and make it a uniform length for all formats of the game; leagues, colleges and international matches.
Over the years, we have seen some very talented three-point shooters emerge in the NBA. A few years ago, a player named Dennis Scott set the record for the most three-pointers in a season at 267 during the 1995-96 season. Then along came Ray Allen, who broke the record by shooting 269 three-point shots in the 2005-06 season. A lot of people have wondered if Allen is the greatest three-point specialist to play the game. Others point to another incredible three-point shooter, Reggie Miller. Miller scored 2,560 three-pointers during an 18-season career, and Ray Allen has wrapped up 15 seasons and he has 2444 three-point baskets to his name. If Allen makes it to 18 seasons as well, he looks all set to break Miller’s record for the most three-pointers in a career. But does that make Allen the best out there? A three-pointer that wins a game or the most three-pointers scored during a winning season count a lot more than just a lot of threes in a career. However, ultimately it is up to the fans to decide who they think is a better three-point shooter, Allen or Miller.
In the next few seasons, with a whole bunch of talented newcomers entering the fray of the NBA, we will see a good few three-point specialists emerge. One of them might prove to be capable enough to take the crown away from either Reggie Miller or Ray Allen. The three-point shot remains a difficult yet beautiful thing in the game of basketball and will remain so in the future.
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