Not By A Long Shot

POSITION PLAYER/CAREER	3'S MADE	3'S ATTEMPTED	3FG%
PG STEVE KERR (Right) 1988--2003	726	1,599	45.4
The alltime leader in three-point accuracy, but his most memorable shot, the '97 title-winner, was a two
SG REGGIE MILLER 1987--present	2,468*	6,194	39.8
He has 43% more attempts and 44% more makes from behind the arc than any other player
SF DALE ELLIS 1983--2000	1,719	4,266	40.3
The three-point king until he was passed by Miller; he edges out Glen Rice for starting spot
PF DIRK NOWITZKI 1999--present	687*	1,838	37.4
The only other 7-footers with as many as 100 makes are Arvydas Sabonis (136) and Vlade Divac (100)
C CLIFFORD ROBINSON 1989--present	1,108*	3,110	35.6
Robinson and Antoine Walker are the only players to sink 1,000 threes and snatch 5,000 rebounds

If anyone should know a three-point opportunity when he sees one, it's Philadelphia 76ers forward Kyle Korver --who knew instantly what Ray Allen was about to do. You could tell by the dread in Korver's eyes after he was a split second late getting around a screen, giving Allen , the Seattle SuperSonics ' sharpshooter, the time and space to do what he does best. He prefers to catch the ball a foot or so behind the three-point stripe ("You don't want to be right up on it when you shoot," Allen says), take a quick look at the rim and let fly with the same flick of the wrist he uses to launch any other shot. Which is exactly what he did. Trey bien. � Yes, the three's a charm for players like Allen , who was shooting 44.0% from beyond the arc through last Saturday, and second-year man Korver, whose career three-point percentage (40.9) exceeds his two-point percentage (35.8) by the biggest margin in league history. Both use the shot in the way it was intended to be used: as a tool for igniting the offense, spreading the opposing defense and keeping a team (as well as the crowd) in the game. With Allen and Korver combining to make 11 of 24 threes--and with the man who hit the NBA 's first triple, 76ers scout Chris Ford , sitting courtside--the Sonics' 103--95 win on Nov. 16 in Philly showcased the three-point shot at its most sublime.

Alas, the three-point shot at its most ridiculous is far more prevalent in today's NBA . During an ugly 94--74 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 9, the Chicago Bulls hoisted 21 treys and missed 20. Suns swingman Quentin Richardson had attempted 102 three-pointers (6.4 per game) through last Saturday and made only 28, a percentage of 27.5%. Throughout his nine-year career, 6'9" Atlanta Hawks forward Antoine Walker has jacked enough three-pointers (3,138) to bring on bursitis; 32.6% of them have gone in. And so it goes. Players like Allen and Korver make the 23' 9" shot (22 feet in the corners) look like a 15-footer; many others make it look like a half-court heave.

It was 25 years ago that Ford, playing a bit part in a Boston Celtics game that featured the debut of a rookie named Larry Bird , took a swing pass and with a one-handed set shot launched the three-point era. ("Don't think Larry hasn't been pissed over the years that it wasn't him who made [the first one]," says Ford, laughing.) And like a lot of things that last 25 years--your beloved wing tips, that first set of dishes you got from your grandmother, the Volvo that used to purr like a kitten--the three-ball is starting to show wear and tear. It is thrown up (the appropriate term in all too many cases) with increasing frequency but not with a concomitant increase in accuracy, and has contributed to a widespread perception that the NBA game just doesn't look as good as it used to.

Stu Jackson , the league's director of operations, has taken note. This season the NBA implemented a rule change in its minor league, the National Basketball Development League : There will be no three-point shots until the final three minutes of each quarter (as well as throughout overtime). Jackson says the NBA has no plans to similarly curtail the three, and no one in his right mind believes the shot will go the way of tight shorts. But the NBA will monitor the NBDL results and gauge fan reaction. Adjustments are a distinct possibility.

Testing a possible rule change in the NBDL is something like testing a new federal statute in Mayberry. Some players are wary of Jackson 's experiment ("I didn't know about it," says swingman Corey Maggette of the Los Angeles Clippers , "but it seems weird"); some doubt a minor league's efficacy as a laboratory ("With the talent [discrepancy], I don't know how you could quantify those results," says Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle ); and others are upset that any tinkering is being done. Says Indiana guard Reggie Miller , the alltime leader in three-pointers made (2,468 through Sunday), " Stu Jackson hasn't come up with a single reason why this rule [change] is a good thing."

Well, Reg, here are 23,171 of them: That's the number of three-pointers missed in 2003--04, a total that's likely to be surpassed this season. The league has to get the three under control, and it needs to discover, through the NBDL test or other means, the right way to do it.

it's impossible to ignore the three-pointer's importance over the past 25 years, or the passion with which many embrace it. "The three-point shot is the best thing that ever happened to basketball," says Los Angeles Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich , who played nine of his 11 NBA seasons without the three. "I think it saved the game." One might conclude that Tomjanovich is a fan because the trifecta was a major weapon for the Houston Rockets teams he coached to titles in 1994 and '95; indeed, they are the only champions ever to lead the league in three-pointers made. But Rudy T is not alone. Sixers coach Jim O'Brien , a traditionalist in many ways, calls the three "a boost for the game, period." It was O'Brien who opened the cookie jar when Walker was a Celtic, never wincing when 'Toine fired 645 threes in 2001--02, only 222 of which went in. (Walker's volume that season is second only to the 678 by Dallas Mavericks swingman George McCloud in '95--96.)

Unlike any other shot, the three-pointer provides a delicious time delay. Reggie stops at the line ... releases ... and it's ... GOOD! Today's pros relish the triple, but then few of them have played without it. "The challenge of being able to step back and shoot the three," says Sixers swingman Aaron McKie , "there's nothing like it." Phoenix point guard Steve Nash , one of the league's more accurate long-range shooters, believes it's incumbent upon the NBA to leave the three-pointer unchanged because "it's an area where the little guy can compete with the big guy." Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom calls it "an art form," and Blazers guard Nick Van Exel holds that it does more to preserve the aesthetic of the "old days"--he means the ancient '80s--when the NBA was at its zenith. "Look at the those games on ESPN Classic , and you'll see guys going up and down, taking two dribbles and shooting," says Van Exel. Miller wholeheartedly agrees. "Hey, bring back the red, white and blue ball," he says. "Let's go all the way!"

No one--least of all New York Knicks superfan Spike Lee --will forget Miller's three-point artistry at Madison Square Garden . In Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference semis, the Indiana Assassin hit a three, made a steal, then hit another three, all in the span of 3.1 seconds, to carry the Pacers to a 107--105 victory. And that isn't even Miller's supreme three-ball moment at the Garden. He remembers with more fondness the one he buried with 5.9 seconds left that forced overtime in Game 4 of a second-round series in '98; the Pacers went on to win 118--107, then closed out the Knicks at home. Do the right thing, indeed.

Any collection of Michael Jordan moments must include the barrage of six first-half three-pointers he made against Portland in Game 1 of the '92 Finals in Chicago , the last of which was followed by his Ican't-explain-it-either shrug to Magic Johnson at the broadcast table. Yet the most famous shot in Bulls history is not one of Jordan's--it's the three-pointer by John Paxson that gave Chicago a 99--98 Game 6 win over Phoenix and the '93 championship, capping the Bulls ' first threepeat.