When did the 3 point field goal appear in the NBA?

The league didn't adopt the 3-pointer until 1979 Magic Johnson and Larry Bird's rookie season. While certain college basketball conferences experimented with it in the early '80s, the NCAA didn't universally implement a 3-point line until 1986, with high school basketball following suit a year later.

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28 Comments

cbmagicfan

Ken Walkley ABA also introduced the 24 second clock

cbmagicfan

Correct Phil Kennelty,

Phil Kennelty

I thought it was originally introduced in the ABA and was brought to the NBA after the merger.

Kitty White

I'm not much in to sports but I thought a field goal was in football. I didn't realize there was one in basketball.

james parrillo

joan musicmasters, I thought it may even have been more recent than that. I might have chosen years between 1980 and 1999. Thank you, Christine, James's wife

jmmorgan

Patrick Shannon: In 1967 the Pacers' were still in the ABA... And the ABA is who created the 3 pt. Shot at their inception. NBA absorbed the Pacers, the Nuggets, the Nets, and the Spurs. That's how the Pacers' won with a 3 pt. Shot in 1967.

Ron Hinton

Patrick Shannon, ABA

Patrick Shannon

Then how did the pacers win in 1967 with a 92 foot shot? Oh, wasn’t “official” yet. But still was a 3 pointer.

abimiabim

I played basketball so I better not have missed that one.

joan musicmasters

No clue - guessed it right.

vasily tchaikovsky

Good sport Q and A . actually ABA introduced it at 1967-68 season.

Janice Fish

It was a gimmic

Helen Keen

No field, no goal post, just a court and two baskets, how do they come up with the term field goal?

Ken Walkley

The three point shot came into vogue when the ABA was folded into the NBA. Two interesting facts about the ABA and the three point shot: the ABA used Red, White and Blue colored leather balls. Though they were considered to be the "same size" as the NBA ball, in actuality because of the coloring of the leather, they did not have the same dimpling as a standard NBA "brown" leather ball. The slicker surface made them just slightly smaller than a NBA ball, which made it easier for them to fit through the hoop. The ABA made its reputation on high-scoring games, featuring what I tend to call "street basketball" style play: a lot more isolation and one-on-one play as opposed to the traditional "team movement" ball of the NBA. The three-point shot stretched the defense considerably, making both the long "Alex English" shot as well as the backboard-destroying "Chocolate Thunder" dunks much more dramatic, and therefore crowd-pleasing. If it wasn't for players like David Thompson and Julius "Dr. J" Erving, the stylish "head above the rim" dunks of today would be a thing of the past. Imagine the NBA without the dunk contest! The ABA did a lot to rescue the game of pro basketball and bring it to what we know today.