So we all know that Steph changed the modern NBA with how he shoots the three, but the three-point shot wasn’t always as omnipresent in the NBA. 

It was only a couple of decades ago that the shot was ostensibly reserved for one particular player on a squad: The Three-Point Specialist. In the decades before that, the shot was seen much more as a gimmick than anything else with coaches distrusting it and using the shot only in moments of desperation. But how did the three-pointer come to be?

Though some colleges in the U.S. tested the shot in random games in the 40s, it wouldn’t become a part of a professional American league until ABL Commissioner Abe Saperstein, in an effort to inject some excitement into his fledgling league to compete against the NBA, worked to make the three-point line an official rule. The ABL shut down in 1963, but the three-point shot got picked up by the ABA a few years later. When the ABA would eventually merge with the NBA in 1976, the three-point shot would be one of the few rules that would get acquired and remain an official part of the game. 

Interestingly enough, one of the early supporters of the three was ABA commissioner and former player George Mikan, a six-foot-ten-inch forward who said in the book Loose Balls, “We called it the home run, because the three-pointer was exactly that…It brought fans out of their seats.” 

The three has definitely made the game more exciting and made for far more dynamic offences. Although, many have argued that the over-reliance on the shot in today’s NBA has made the game boring to watch. Frankly, I agree with those sentiments as seeing guys chuck up 50 a night is not a fun watch. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to see how a shot once thought of as a gimmick has evolved throughout the decades.