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Mark Cuban Suggests Moving The NBA 3-Point Line Back

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 09:50 PST, Feb 27, 2016

Mark Cuban recently revealed his suggestions for improving play in the NBA. The Dallas Maverick’s owner told ESPN that he thinks the three-point line should be moved back to help diversify the game and showcase the player’s skills.

“It’s getting too close,” Cuban said on Friday night. “Guys are shooting a foot behind it anyways…. That’s something we should look at. It’s worth looking at.”

The three-point arc is currently 23-feet, nine-inches at the crest and 22-feet in the corners, where there is no room to move it back, according to ESPN. Cuban’s idea came Friday after the Mavericks’ 122-116 win over the Denver Nuggets. During the game, both teams attempted 29 three-pointers. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in three-point attempts. According to Bleacher Report, in 2013-14, the Houston Rockets led the NBA with an average of 26.6 three-point attempts per game. In the prior year, they attempted 6.1 more three-point shots per game.

During the 2015-2016 season, the top six teams in the NBA are averaging at least 28 three-point attempts per game: the Houston Rockets averaged 31.2; Golden State Warriors averaged 30.6; Charlotte Hornets averaged 29.4; Portland Trail Blazers averaged 28.5; Cleveland Cavaliers averaged 28.2; and the Dallas Mavericks averaged 28.1. According to ESPN Stats & Information, “the single-season record for 3s is 55,137. Teams are on pace to hit 58,477 this season.”

“I don’t think the number of shots would decline, but I think it would reward skill and open up the court some more,” Cuban continued. “So guys would still take [three-point] shots if it’s seven inches back or whatever, but at the same time, it opens up the court for more drives, more midrange game.”

Cuban said he thinks the NBA should consider moving back the three-point arc to also help improve the spacing of the game.

“I think it’d open it up more so guys with different skill sets could play,” Cuban said. “It would open up play for more drives. Guys with midrange games would be rewarded and that would stay in the game. There would be more diversity of offensive action in the game. You’d see a little bit of decline in the 3. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing that we shoot so many 3s, but it’s worth it in the D-League to see what happens [with a deeper 3-point line].”

Mark Cuban thinks basketball players, ranging from youth league to the NBA, have become too reliant on long-range shooting, and by moving the three-point arc back, it will bring back more of the midrange game.

“Part of the consideration is not just how our game works, but how kids learn how to play,” Cuban said. “It’s turned into nobody has a midrange game coming out anymore. Unless you shoot a 3, you can’t shoot anymore pretty much.”

In other Mark Cuban news, the billionaire who serves as an investor on Shark Tank, recently struck a deal with Shaan Patel, an entrepreneur with a perfect SAT score. Patel didn’t make it into the Ivy League school of his choice so he started working on a SAT-prep startup program, which is now thriving.

“My goal is to become Mark Cuban’s most successful ‘Shark Tank’ investment,” Patel told the Business Insider.

What do you think about Mark Cuban’s suggestion to the NBA? Leave your comments below.

[Photo by Bob Levey/Associated Press]

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