Stephen Curry is revolutionizing the game of basketball – literally. With his never-ending, awe-inspiring three-point shooting onslaughts game after game, season after season, a question has arisen: Is the three-point line not enough? Should the NBA introduce, dare we say, a four-point shot?
Larry Bird and Reggie Miller – widely considered two of the greatest shooters of all-time – have contrasting viewpoints.
“When I played, I never did practice three-point shots,” Bird said in a recent interview with The New Yorker. “But these kids here, that’s all they do. The game has changed, no question about it. Every 10, 12, 15 years, there’s something new coming in. You put that four-point line in there and people will start practicing. And once they start practicing, they get better at it. Maybe five or ten years down the road, fours are what everybody will be shooting. The game evolves.”
To Bird's point: The NBA is an ever-changing league. As the game evolves, new rules are subsequently put into place. For example: The introduction of the the 24-second shot clock in 1954; The widening of the lane from 12 to 16 feet in 1964; The three-point line being established in 1979; The instant replay system being introduced in 2002; Hand-checking becoming a foul in 2004.
Following that historical trend, is it time for a change? Should players be rewarded for knocking down shots from well beyond the three-point line?
Miller doesn't seem to think so.
“It’s comical,” Miller told The New Yorker. “The league will be a laughingstock, and I will be in front of the line laughing the loudest. Why are we always trying to change and adjust the game?”
“No one else has (Curry's) kind of range," he continued. "Maybe Damian Lillard? Even Kyle Korver doesn’t have this kind of range, and he’s a great three-point shooter. If there were 10 guys doing what Curry can do, then we could talk about it. But even then it feels like it could become a pinball machine: ‘Add a four-point play! Then a half-court shot!’ I just think a four-pointer would be a gimmick."
To Miller's point: Curry is a three-point shooting anomaly. Looking beyond his record-shattering 402 three-pointer season, he made 158 shots this season that were between 26 and 40 feet (top of the arc is 23 feet, 9 inches), which was more than double the amount that the second-place Damian Lillard made (75 at 37.5%).
But while Bird and Miller may not see eye-to-eye on the potential innovation, the fact remains: A four-point shot would give the world's deadliest perimeter threat yet another weapon in his arsenal.
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