Does anyone remember when the NBA moved the 3-point line closer?

[RoxSteady]

This is CRAZY to think about, given the number of three pointers launched per game these days but:

"For three seasons beginning in 1994–95, the NBA attempted to address decreased scoring by shortening the distance of the line from 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) (22 ft (6.71 m) at the corners) to a uniform 22 ft (6.71 m) around the basket. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-point_field_goal

Does anyone have any interesting thoughts or anecdotes related to this? Mine is that it didn't work.

[benson13]

Jordan shot 40% from the 3 point line for a season when that happened. Daryl Morey probably treats game footage from back than like most dudes treat Pornhub videos.

[CoachD]

3PT attempts in 93/94 were 9.9 a game at a clip of .333 across the league.

The next 3 years it was

15.3 3PA
16.0 3PA
16.8 3PA

The following year the line was adjusted and attempts went to 12.7 per game across the league.

It took 10 years before they would again average more than 16 3PA per team per game.

By contrast, this past season is the first time the league averaged over 30 3PA per team per game

[RoxSteady]

Jordan shot 40% from the 3 point line for a season when that happened. Daryl Morey probably treats game footage from back than like most dudes treat Pornhub videos.

That's really interesting regarding MJ! And really gross regarding Morey...

[RCM88x]

Jordan shot 40% from the 3 point line for a season when that happened. Daryl Morey probably treats game footage from back than like most dudes treat Pornhub videos.

That's really interesting regarding MJ! And really gross regarding Morey...

Jordan's 3pt shooting numbers were all over the place after his first retirement, and really during his whole career.

In his short '95 season he shot 50% on 2 attempts per game, in '96 he shot 43% on 3.2 attempts per game. And in '97, hte last year of the shortened line, he shot 37% on 3.6 attempts per game.

Then when the line was moved back in '98 he shot 24% on only 1.5 attempts per game. His playoff numbers were equally as random, maybe even more so.

[Sark]

Jordan shot 40% from the 3 point line for a season when that happened. Daryl Morey probably treats game footage from back than like most dudes treat Pornhub videos.

That's really interesting regarding MJ! And really gross regarding Morey...

Jordan's 3pt shooting numbers were all over the place after his first retirement, and really during his whole career.

In his short '95 season he shot 50% on 2 attempts per game, in '96 he shot 43% on 3.2 attempts per game. And in '97, hte last year of the shortened line, he shot 37% on 3.6 attempts per game.

Then when the line was moved back in '98 he shot 24% on only 1.5 attempts per game. His playoff numbers were equally as random, maybe even more so.

Well he did shoot 38% in 1990, the first year he started to add the 3 point to his repertoire, and that's with the normal line.

[RCM88x]

That's really interesting regarding MJ! And really gross regarding Morey...

Jordan's 3pt shooting numbers were all over the place after his first retirement, and really during his whole career.

In his short '95 season he shot 50% on 2 attempts per game, in '96 he shot 43% on 3.2 attempts per game. And in '97, hte last year of the shortened line, he shot 37% on 3.6 attempts per game.

Then when the line was moved back in '98 he shot 24% on only 1.5 attempts per game. His playoff numbers were equally as random, maybe even more so.

Well he did shoot 38% in 1990, the first year he started to add the 3 point to his repertoire, and that's with the normal line.

And then 27% on 1.2 attempts per game in 1992, but the next year he did get better, 35% on 2.9 attempts in '93. Like I said, pretty random.

[Sark]

Jordan's 3pt shooting numbers were all over the place after his first retirement, and really during his whole career.

In his short '95 season he shot 50% on 2 attempts per game, in '96 he shot 43% on 3.2 attempts per game. And in '97, hte last year of the shortened line, he shot 37% on 3.6 attempts per game.

Then when the line was moved back in '98 he shot 24% on only 1.5 attempts per game. His playoff numbers were equally as random, maybe even more so.

Well he did shoot 38% in 1990, the first year he started to add the 3 point to his repertoire, and that's with the normal line.

And then 27% on 1.2 attempts per game in 1992, but the next year he did get better, 35% on 2.9 attempts in '93. Like I said, pretty random.

When he dropped his attempts back down to 1 per game. Like I said, it was never a big part of his repertoire.

[NPZ]

This is CRAZY to think about, given the number of three pointers launched per game these days but:

"For three seasons beginning in 1994–95, the NBA attempted to address decreased scoring by shortening the distance of the line from 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) (22 ft (6.71 m) at the corners) to a uniform 22 ft (6.71 m) around the basket. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-point_field_goal

Does anyone have any interesting thoughts or anecdotes related to this? Mine is that it didn't work.

I was 18 in 94, so I remember it being a dumb decision. The NBA was trying to make it easier to score, they also made the Derek Harper straight arm handcheck illegal that offseason. The 94 Finals was 7 games of no 100 pt tallies and the Knicks made up for choppy offensive talent by throwing everything they had into their D. Even the Bad Boy Pistons had consistent offensive talent before them. The Knicks had John Starks..... The Cavs under Mike Fratello were also milking every shot clock down to keep scores low so they could scrape out 44ish wins. That was an embarrassment for the NBA. They held opps to 90 points or thereabouts one year (still the all time record) and that was with the shortened arc. Lakers usually lost to those Cavs teams which was frustrating, but they were good at what they did. They weren't the only boring low-O team then, either. That's the general backdrop to the 22 foot arc. The only problem is that every Tom, Dick and Larry who had no business shooting from 22 feet started doing it. It was a gimmick that became progressively more obvious and it was mildly surprising that they did it for as long as 3 years. Game didn't appreciably suffer in overall quality when they moved it back imo.

[LKN]

Jordan shot 40% from the 3 point line for a season when that happened. Daryl Morey probably treats game footage from back than like most dudes treat Pornhub videos.

That's really interesting regarding MJ! And really gross regarding Morey...

Jordan's 3pt shooting numbers were all over the place after his first retirement, and really during his whole career.

In his short '95 season he shot 50% on 2 attempts per game, in '96 he shot 43% on 3.2 attempts per game. And in '97, hte last year of the shortened line, he shot 37% on 3.6 attempts per game.

Then when the line was moved back in '98 he shot 24% on only 1.5 attempts per game. His playoff numbers were equally as random, maybe even more so.

He actually shot 2 or 3 points better from the normal line during his playoff career.

The variance is likely due to low volume.... MJ only had 4 seasons where he took more than 2 3PA per game (2 with normal line, 2 with short). This resulted in a decent percentage of his 3s being bailouts and heaves.

[Pennebaker]

This is CRAZY to think about, given the number of three pointers launched per game these days but:

"For three seasons beginning in 1994–95, the NBA attempted to address decreased scoring by shortening the distance of the line from 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) (22 ft (6.71 m) at the corners) to a uniform 22 ft (6.71 m) around the basket. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-point_field_goal

Does anyone have any interesting thoughts or anecdotes related to this? Mine is that it didn't work.

Yes, I remember that era clearly. What it did was turn the 1996 Chicago Bulls into an insane juggernaut because it turned Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen into dangerous three point shooters.

It's really unfair historically. When comparing MJ to other players you really should just remove those years.

But the league was looking for a way to increase scoring and that was one of the repercussions that may or may not have been unforeseen.

[Pennebaker]

That's really interesting regarding MJ! And really gross regarding Morey...

Jordan's 3pt shooting numbers were all over the place after his first retirement, and really during his whole career.

In his short '95 season he shot 50% on 2 attempts per game, in '96 he shot 43% on 3.2 attempts per game. And in '97, hte last year of the shortened line, he shot 37% on 3.6 attempts per game.

Then when the line was moved back in '98 he shot 24% on only 1.5 attempts per game. His playoff numbers were equally as random, maybe even more so.

He actually shot 2 or 3 points better from the normal line during his playoff career.

The variance is likely due to low volume.... MJ only had 4 seasons where he took more than 2 3PA per game (2 with normal line, 2 with short). This resulted in a decent percentage of his 3s being bailouts and heaves.

The low volume being due to MJ having little confidence at the regular distance.

Remember Jordan's shrug game in 1992? He makes 6 threes in the first half and he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

One can try to spin Jordan's three point ability in several different ways, but one thing is certain: he was not confident in that shot.

[LKN]

Jordan's 3pt shooting numbers were all over the place after his first retirement, and really during his whole career.

In his short '95 season he shot 50% on 2 attempts per game, in '96 he shot 43% on 3.2 attempts per game. And in '97, hte last year of the shortened line, he shot 37% on 3.6 attempts per game.

Then when the line was moved back in '98 he shot 24% on only 1.5 attempts per game. His playoff numbers were equally as random, maybe even more so.

He actually shot 2 or 3 points better from the normal line during his playoff career.

The variance is likely due to low volume.... MJ only had 4 seasons where he took more than 2 3PA per game (2 with normal line, 2 with short). This resulted in a decent percentage of his 3s being bailouts and heaves.

The low volume being due to MJ having little confidence at the regular distance.

Remember Jordan's shrug game in 1992? He makes 6 threes in the first half and he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

One can try to spin Jordan's three point ability in several different ways, but one thing is certain: he was not confident in that shot.

MJ was a lot of things... but he was never lacking confidence. He didn't take a lot of 3s because Phil Jackson didn't want him taking a lot of 3s. This has been covered in multiple interviews with Jackson and Jordan during and after his playing days. Guys didn't shoot a lot of 3s back then - it wasn't a part of most players games. Heck, they didn't even have a 3 point shot in HS or college when MJ (and a lot of other guys) came up.

Honestly, I'm not trying to spin anything. MJ never shot many 3s and he wasn't consistent over his career. However it's also true that a lot of his attempts (particularly early in his career) were bailouts and heaves. He took less than 300 3 point shots total over the first 5 years of his career. I mean that's well under 1 attempt a game.

[Pennebaker]

He actually shot 2 or 3 points better from the normal line during his playoff career.

The variance is likely due to low volume.... MJ only had 4 seasons where he took more than 2 3PA per game (2 with normal line, 2 with short). This resulted in a decent percentage of his 3s being bailouts and heaves.

The low volume being due to MJ having little confidence at the regular distance.

Remember Jordan's shrug game in 1992? He makes 6 threes in the first half and he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

One can try to spin Jordan's three point ability in several different ways, but one thing is certain: he was not confident in that shot.

MJ was a lot of things... but he was never lacking confidence. He didn't take a lot of 3s because Phil Jackson didn't want him taking a lot of 3s.

You're wrong. He lacked confidence in his three point shooting. He wrote that even though defenses would leave him wide open at the three point line, begging him to shoot, he still wouldn't. And remember he played many years without Phil Jackson and it was the same thing.

But PJ wouldn't have wanted MJ to shoot threes for the same reason MJ didnt want to shoot threes: he wasnt good at it.

But once the line came in to a shorter distance, both MJ and Pip were allowed to shoot as many threes as they wanted (within reason).

[LKN]

The low volume being due to MJ having little confidence at the regular distance.

Remember Jordan's shrug game in 1992? He makes 6 threes in the first half and he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

One can try to spin Jordan's three point ability in several different ways, but one thing is certain: he was not confident in that shot.

MJ was a lot of things... but he was never lacking confidence. He didn't take a lot of 3s because Phil Jackson didn't want him taking a lot of 3s.

You're wrong. He lacked confidence in his three point shooting. He wrote that even though defenses would leave him wide open at the three point line, begging him to shoot, he still wouldn't. And remember he played many years without Phil Jackson and it was the same thing.

But PJ wouldn't have wanted MJ to shoot threes for the same reason MJ didnt want to shoot threes: he wasnt good at it.

But once the line came in to a shorter distance, both MJ and Pip were allowed to shoot as many threes as they wanted (within reason).

I disagree, but since neither of us can time travel to read MJs mind this discussion is dumb and pointless anyways (and honestly it doesn't matter... whatever the reason he didn't shoot a lot of 3s)

In any case it's kind of funny that people knock MJ for being a bad 3 point shooter when he has the same playoff 3 point % as Lebron and Kobe (and he's actually about 1.5 % better from the normal line than both).... and both those guys took a lot more 3s and worked on the shot way more.

[Johnny Bball]

NBA puts in a rule to increase 3 point shooting. Doesn't work and too many people don't like it, they move it back. 20 years later, pretty much the same thing from different rule changes, except now make it 30 3s a game, too many people don't like it again.... NBA says IDGAF. Perfectly logical.

[dakomish23]

Was this the year John Starks broke the record for most 3’s? Don’t remember

[homecourtloss]

MJ was a lot of things... but he was never lacking confidence. He didn't take a lot of 3s because Phil Jackson didn't want him taking a lot of 3s. .

That might be true, but the data goes against some of what you’re saying.

He ahot 557 threes in the two full seasons with a shortened line, 30%+ of all the threes he ever took. Now, it’s true that players begin taking more threes, so his career arc also shows that.

BUT, in the two seasons with the shortened line, he shot 279 threes a season. The very next season when the line went back to normal, he took 126 threes only. Then, in his Wizards stint, he took 53 and 55 threes total in 2002 and 2003.

41% of all the threes he ever made during the regular season were in 1996 and 1997 (plus the 17 games in 1995).

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

The rule change was funny. Meant to increase spacing and discourage teams from clogging the paint. All it did was make it easier for players to defend the paint, then make it out to the 3 point line to contest the shot.

[Greed]

Jordan's 3pt shooting numbers were all over the place after his first retirement, and really during his whole career.

In his short '95 season he shot 50% on 2 attempts per game, in '96 he shot 43% on 3.2 attempts per game. And in '97, hte last year of the shortened line, he shot 37% on 3.6 attempts per game.

Then when the line was moved back in '98 he shot 24% on only 1.5 attempts per game. His playoff numbers were equally as random, maybe even more so.

He actually shot 2 or 3 points better from the normal line during his playoff career.

The variance is likely due to low volume.... MJ only had 4 seasons where he took more than 2 3PA per game (2 with normal line, 2 with short). This resulted in a decent percentage of his 3s being bailouts and heaves.

The low volume being due to MJ having little confidence at the regular distance.

Remember Jordan's shrug game in 1992? He makes 6 threes in the first half and he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

One can try to spin Jordan's three point ability in several different ways, but one thing is certain: he was not confident in that shot.

Imagine posting that Michael Jordan lacked confidence at his ability to do anything in basketball

Jordan didn't lack confidence. You're making that up. If you'd like to prove it, go ahead and post where he said he wasn't confident he could make the shot. What we do have is Jordan and others saying that he preferred not to shoot them because it took away from the other parts of his game

If he lacked confidence in shooting 3's then why would he consistently shoot MORE of them in the playoffs than the season during his first 3-peat? He actually shot them pretty well during this time, too. Additionally, why would he accept the media's challenge that Drexler was a better 3-pt shooter than him if he wasn't confident he'd show them wrong?

If you have evidence of him saying he wasn't confident in his ability to shoot 3's, then we'll leave it at that. Otherwise, you're just making random assumptions with circumstantial evidence