Three-Point Shots and Zone Defenses

Journalists compare sports teams and athletes across eras without acknowledging the way rules affect statistics. Look at the way rules have affected professional basketball during the last 70 years.  The three-point shot and the zone defense both have unique histories.  The current three-point shot says a lot about how basketball’s philosophy has changed.  How? The three-point shot may be used as a secondary strategy, just as much as it has the ability to be a primary play that can immediately change a game’s outcome.

As it relates to scoring, the zone defense in professional basketball is important and must be addressed. Zone defenses say a lot about individual-versus-team cohesion. In professional basketball, playing defense is approached by using a variety of strategies. Players are able to guard their opponents on the defensive end by using a variety of zone defenses,  as well as by using a one-on-one approach. At a different level, professional basketball players, namely National Basketball Association players, were once measured by their ability to score against man-to-man defensive schemes. As a side note, the zone defense was first outlawed by the NBA in 1947.  Zones were allowed again in 2001, but have specific rules that govern their use.

The rules governing NBA basketball games can be found in the, Official NBA Rules Book, which was published by Sporting News (Currently, printed copies are difficult to attain. A digital rule book is available from the National Basketball Association). The distance of the three-point shot makes it a skillful challenge, but well worth the  points it counts for. The ‘3-point shot’ rule went into effect during the 1979-80 season, where the, “Three-point line established 22 feet in the corners extending to 23 feet, nine inches at the top of the key.”  During the 1994-1995 season, the NBA, “Shortened the three-point line [22 feet in the corners extending to 23 feet, nine inches at the top of the key] to a uniform 22 feet around the basket.” During the 1997-1998 season, “The three-point line, 22 feet from the basket, lengthened to its original distance of 23 feet, nine inches, except in the corners, where the distance remained 22 feet.” There had been a three-year period starting with  the 1997-1998 season that represented the experimental distance, before restoring the previous distance of the 3-point shot.

Currently, “The three-point field goal area has parallel lines 3′ from the sidelines, extending from the baseline and an arc of 23’9″ from the middle of the basket which inter-sects the parallel lines.”  Today, the three-point shot is  viewed as less risky, and is treated like a long-range, two-point jump shot.

People fail to realize that the NBA was not the first professional basketball league to use the three-point basket.  The book,  Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association,  by Terry Pluto explained how the three-point shot was used by the ABA in 1967, long before the NBA first used it. 

One-on-one styled defense measures individual offensive skill. The general idea is that, if a player can score ‘at will’ in a one-on-one situation, that is a good indicator of whether they are skilled enough to score points in a professional basketball environment. More skills are needed, but the basic premise was:  since no zone defense was allowed in the NBA, mastering isolated one-on-one play represented the skill level of  a professional basketball player.  For the 1946-47 season, zone defenses were outlawed on January 11, 1947. 

For the 2001-2002 season, the NBA banned the illegal defense rule and instituted  their 3 seconds rule. The Official NBA Rule Book (2017-2018) states, ” Section VII—Defensive Three-Second Rule a. The count starts when the offensive team is in control of the ball in the frontcourt.  b. Any defensive player, who is positioned in the 16-foot lane or the area extending 4 feet past the lane endline, must be actively guarding an opponent within three seconds. Actively guarding means being within arm’s length of an offensive player and in a guarding position.” Sections (c) (d) and (e) include more specific guidelines pertaining to the 3 second rule.  Conveniently, the three-point shot and quick perimeter passing are effective strategies that work well against zone defenses.  When people compare eras, they must acknowledge the different  rules and the way the game was being played.