Bob Ryan Calls the Three-Point Shot "The Worst Thing to Happen to Basketball"
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Bob Ryan, the legendary sports columnist formerly of The Boston Globe , recently shared his strong criticism of the three-point shot in the NBA, calling it "the worst thing to happen to basketball." During an appearance on OutKick’s The Ricky Cobb Show , Ryan delved into the history of the three-point shot, his concerns about how it’s altered the game, and the influential role Stephen Curry has played in popularizing it. Ryan has been around the NBA for decades, covering the Boston Celtics in the late '60s and beyond, so his views come from a deep knowledge and appreciation of the game as it once was.
Ryan traced the origin of the three-point shot back to the American Basketball League (ABL), founded in 1961 by Harlem Globetrotters impresario Abe Saperstein. For Saperstein, the three-pointer was originally a marketing gimmick to set the ABL apart from the NBA. Though the ABL didn’t last long, the idea stuck around and was eventually adopted by the ABA, and later, by the NBA in the 1979-1980 season. The first official three-pointer in NBA history was scored by Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics, and the shot has since revolutionized the game.
In Ryan’s view, though, this revolution has come at a cost. He argues that the three-point shot has disrupted the balance of play, moving the NBA away from the inside game and post-play that once defined it. Players and teams today prioritize shooting beyond the arc, and in his eyes, this focus on three-point shooting leads to a “disgraceful” style of play when teams miss the mark repeatedly, resulting in low shooting percentages on high-volume attempts. For Ryan, this “chuck-it-up” mentality detracts from the basketball he once knew, a sport that balanced outside shooting with drives to the basket, post-play, and mid-range shots.
Ryan acknowledged that there’s no going back. The success of Curry and teams like the Golden State Warriors have cemented the three-point shot as a cornerstone of modern NBA strategy. Curry, who has revolutionized the role of the three-pointer, is described by Ryan as “the single most influential player of the 21st century.” Kids across America, he says, are shooting threes because they want to be like Curry. But while this shooting style has won championships and transformed scoring, Ryan feels it has also stripped the game of its versatility and unpredictability. His hope is not to eliminate the three-pointer, but to see a more “intelligent balance” where two-point shots play a greater role alongside threes, ideally in a two-to-one ratio.
Although Ryan is resigned to the reality that the three-point shot isn’t going anywhere, he openly misses the style of play from previous decades. For him, modern NBA games often lack the skillful inside play that once defined the sport, and despite his deep love for basketball, he admits he doesn’t enjoy watching it as much as he once did. His critique stands as a passionate call for a game that balances the thrill of three-pointers with a broader spectrum of scoring and strategy, keeping basketball engaging, dynamic, and multifaceted.
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