Every time a basketball swooshes through the net from the three-point line, crowds go wild – a shot so spectacular fans cheer madly for it. But in recent years, the feeling of accomplishment after scoring a three-point shot has faded away because players have adapted to the three-point line, and their statistics are getting higher by the day. The NBA has introduced a variety of new rules in an attempt to bring back the audience.
Adding a four-point line would bring back that magical feeling to the audience. Other nations like the Philippine Basketball Association have already started incorporating it into their league, and it is time the NBA does the same.
According to the NBA, in the 2011-2012 regular season, the Golden State Warriors made around 500 three-pointers. In the 2024-25 season, Golden State made 1,264 three-pointers.
The Los Angeles Lakers similarly experienced an increase in the three-pointers made per game, which increased from 360 to 1,092.
Teams have more than doubled their three-point shot percentage, and the NBA has not attempted to solve this disparity, which has become a problem throughout the years because basketball is starting to require less and less skills. Major elements of the game, like dribbling and scoring around the basket, have become useless as teams begin to rely more and more on shooting three-pointers. Adding the four-point line would stabilize the escalating scores.
The need for the ability to shoot three-pointers has drastically increased throughout the years. The owner of the NBA, Adam Silver, agrees that three-point shooting is a must-have skill in the NBA. Basketball has become less of a match of teams switching between offensive and defensive strategies and more like a shootout.
The Philippine Basketball Association saw the increasing scores as a problem, and to solve it, they added the new four-point line. In 2024, the four-point line provided immediate results.
According to the Philippine News Agency, the first game in which the four-point line was introduced saw attendance numbers that broke a decade-long record. The excitement of basketball was back.
If the four-point line were to be introduced to the NBA, players would see a decrease in their statistics, which might discourage initial playing conditions. Because of how far the four-point line is – 27 feet away from the basket – there would be a definite decrease in the shooting percentage of players. According to ESPN, Filipino players like Robert Bolick had a 16% shooting rate after the introduction, which is proof of a decreased shooting percentage.
The addition of the four-point line will mean a decrease in the statistics of players within the NBA, but that is not necessarily a bad thing for fans. One of the reasons basketball was entertaining to watch was because of its difficulty, and a four-point line could help bring back the magical feeling to the NBA.