Here's something I never thought I'd hear: Steve Kerr—the coach who revolutionized three-point shooting with Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors—says he'd consider getting rid of the three-point line entirely.
Yeah, you read that right. The man who holds the all-time record for three-point percentage thinks the line might be ruining basketball. In a recent interview, Kerr said the analytics revolution has created a "weird situation" where only certain shots matter: layups and corner threes.
"The game, as it was designed, is really to create the best shots possible," Kerr explained. "You have this whole no man's land between those areas. If you shoot a twenty-two-footer now from the top of the key, that's considered a really bad shot. I just wonder if we got rid of the three-point line, if it would diversify the way everybody would play."
Has he proposed this to anyone with power? Nope. And he won't—at least not until Steph Curry retires. "I coach Steph Curry, so I'd rather wait till Steph's retired," he joked.
But here's the thing: Kerr has a point. Basketball has become predictable. Teams hunt for corner threes and layups, and everything else is considered inefficient. The midrange game—once the bread and butter of legends like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant—is dead.
Would eliminating the three-point line fix this? Maybe. It would force teams to get creative again, to find new ways to exploit defenses. But it would also fundamentally change the sport in ways we can't predict.
Look, I'm not saying this is going to happen. But the fact that Steve Kerr—of all people—is even floating this idea should tell you something about where the game is headed. That's what sports is all about, folks—evolution, debate, and asking the tough questions about whether we've taken analytics too far.
