A three-point shot was “the worst thing that could have happened to basketball,” says the former columnist

Not everyone likes the three-point line in the NBA.

Certainly not former Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, who recently expressed his displeasure with the three-point shot during an appearance on OutKick's “The Ricky Cobb Show.”

“For me, the three-point shot is the worst thing that has happened to basketball in my life. And let's go back to the story. The ABA did not introduce the three-point shot. The ABA has absorbed the three-point shot.” “The three-point shot, as we know, was a promoter's gimmick,” Ryan said. “It was a promoter's ploy, that man was Abe Sacks, the impresario of the Harlem Globetrotters, who in 1961 founded a league called the American Basketball League that he hoped would be a rival to the NBA.”

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“This league lasted a year and a half; the sophomore failed, but he had a three-point shot because he needed a play. The Eastern League, a league I was pretty familiar with, having grown up in Trenton, New Jersey, and we were a big fan of the Eastern League, (they) adopted the three-point shot. And when the ABA came into being in 1966, it obviously needed gimmicks, and they had them: the three-point shot and the red, white and blue basketball. But keep in mind that this is the derivative of the three-point shot.

The NBA introduced the three-point line in the 1979-1980 season. Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics made the first three-pointer in NBA history on October 12, 1979.

The game has changed drastically since then, with the Celtics attempting 61 three-point shots in their opening game against the New York Knicks this season.

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Boston Globe sports columnist Bob Ryan poses for a photo at his home. (Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Ryan believes Steph Curry is the most influential player of the 21st century because of his shooting skills.

“All over America, 8-year-olds are doing threesomes. Steph Curry is the most influential player of the 21st century… now he's Steph Curry. Every little kid wants to be Steph Curry, and it's the game, the three.” “The Warriors handled it with multiple championships, and the Celtics handled it last year en route to a championship, and it looks like “They would use the same technique to get there,” Ryan said.

Ryan knows the game won't go back to how it was played before the NBA introduced the three-point line, but he's aiming for more balance in shot selection in today's game.

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USA's Stephen Curry (4) reacts during a men's gold medal basketball game at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Saturday, August 10, 2024 in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

“I just want balance. All I want is balance. By balance I don't mean 50% threes and 50% twos. I mean sensible, intelligent balance, where a 2:1 ratio of twos to threes would probably be better. When “The stats come on air, they are wonderful, but look at the nights someone is 9-40. It’s beyond ugly,” Ryan said.

“And that’s not basketball as I’ve come to know it. I've resigned myself to the fact that it's not going anywhere. There's nothing I can do about it, so I just have to try to enjoy the game as much as possible. But I tell you what, I don’t enjoy it as much as I did before.”

Ryan began covering the Celtics as a beat reporter for the Boston Globe from 1969 to 1982. He then became a general sports columnist and retired in 2012.

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