FROM novelty to reality.
In a shock move that drew mixed reactions, the PBA has approved instituting a four-point line for its games this coming Season 49.
As innovative as the decision is, it’s one that dared to push the rules of the game of basketball – one that last occurred more than four decades ago when the three-point line was first introduced.
READ PBA officially adopts four-point shot for next season
And to be honest, it’s one that elicited a lot of excitement as seen in the All-Star Game when the PBA first tested the idea.
But the PBA really isn’t the first to adopt the four-point shot.
Talks for the introduction of a four-point line have long been discussed by basketball pundits, all the more with how the world has fully embraced the three-point line that purists deemed the long ball to be too easy nowadays.
The NBA has actually used the four-point line back in 2019, but that has largely been limited to the Celebrity All-Star Game during its NBA All-Star Weekend. Like in the PBA, the distance was also pegged at 27 feet away from the rim.
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The WNBA also used the four-point shot in its All-Star Game starting in 2022, but that has to be taken from one of the two circles on each side of the court which are about 28 feet from the basket.
New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu actually connected with three straight four-pointers back in 2023.
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Big3 has the same concept with its four-point shot areas.
With the game being played in a halfcourt, however, it’s only on three designated zones which are 30-feet away from the rim. Being the disruptor brand that it is, the Ice Cube-owned league pushes the boundaries of the game, deviating from the traditional Fiba 3x3 rules and adopting the so-called Fireball3.
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The first to really adapt the four-point line, however, was the semi-pro American Basketball Association (ABA) which was re-launched in 2000. It’s rule, however, is straight up: any shots made from beyond the half-court is counted as four points, making the half-court line the de-facto four-point line.
Truth be told, the PBA taking in the four-point line is a bold gambit, and as ridiculous as the proposal sounds, it’s still too early to be judged.
And who knows, the league might just find itself being a trailblazer if ever this gets embraced by the basketball world in the long run. After all, some of the world’s greatest inventions started as crazy ideas. Only time can tell.
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