If you time travelled today's analytics to the start of the 1980s

[Marchesk]

Would NBA players be able to shoot threes by the end of the decade like we see now?

[E_Stamkos]

The sports world would be enthralled by who Russell Westbrook is and would be anticipating him as the future GOAT...

And yes, if they observe how grossly inflated 3pt FGA's are, I'd hope those in the game would be able to put two and two together.

[bigkingsfan]

Why do you need analytics, it's basic math.

[Marchesk]

Why do you need analytics, it's basic math.

You need a convincing reason in 1980 for teams and players to focus on three point shooting.

[Ben Simmons 25]

You need a convincing reason in 1980 for teams and players to focus on three point shooting.

No, you don't.

As he said, it's basic math.

35% three point shooting = 105 points over 100 shots.
50% two point shooting = 90 points over 100 shots.

The league had already broken 30% three point shooting as a league average by the mid 80s... which is... 90 points over 100 shots.

The league has never averaged 50% from the field, for the record.

If you explain the basic math behind it, and maybe dig a little into rebounds to sell your point, the league would be way better at three point shooting by the second or third year and the entire NBA history landscape would be drastically different.

As for the OP... would they be shooting it the way they are now? Eh... maybe. Maybe not. Probably, to be honest. But it's impossible to say, really. But if you could really sell the idea of the math to them by 1980, yes, I believe they would.

Two teams stand out to me that really propelled this strategy forward to be a league wide thing... Dantoni's/Nash's Suns and Van Gundy's/Howard's Magic... it had exploded to be a league wide thing within 10 years of those teams existing.

[Marchesk]

No, you don't.

As he said, it's basic math.

A history lesson for the both of you:

In 1979/80, the Houston Rockets as a team were third with 4.6 3PA per game. James Harden today is averaging almost triple that.

So yeah, they would need a reason beyond basic math.

[FKAri]

Did you forget about hand checking? Drive and kick + 3pt shots become more difficult in that ruleset. They'd probably shoot more 3's but they wouldn't be able to take it to the level of today.

[Marchesk]

If you explain the basic math behind it, and maybe dig a little into rebounds to sell your point, the league would be way better at three point shooting by the second or third year and the entire NBA history landscape would be drastically different.

I guess that might be convincing? I know growing up back then that almost nobody thought that way. Loyola Maramount might have been an exception in college. Even the Denver Nuggets in the late 80s with their high scoring offense didn't shoot that many threes.

[scuzzy]

Did 80's players need analytics to start lifting weights?

[kells333]

No, you don't.

As he said, it's basic math.

35% three point shooting = 105 points over 100 shots.
50% two point shooting = 90 points over 100 shots.

The league had already broken 30% three point shooting as a league average by the mid 80s... which is... 90 points over 100 shots.

The league has never averaged 50% from the field, for the record.

If you explain the basic math behind it, and maybe dig a little into rebounds to sell your point, the league would be way better at three point shooting by the second or third year and the entire NBA history landscape would be drastically different.

As for the OP... would they be shooting it the way they are now? Eh... maybe. Maybe not. Probably, to be honest. But it's impossible to say, really. But if you could really sell the idea of the math to them by 1980, yes, I believe they would.

Two teams stand out to me that really propelled this strategy forward to be a league wide thing... Dantoni's/Nash's Suns and Van Gundy's/Howard's Magic... it had exploded to be a league wide thing within 10 years of those teams existing.

Maybe im an idiot but how is 100 shots shooting 50% only 90 points?

[eliteballer]

If nobody was allowed to play defense like today then why not.

[Marchesk]

In 79/80 season, the league average 2P was 48.8%. The 3P% was 28%.

So that argument would be a harder sell early on. The Lakers averaged 53.4% from two, and 115 points a game as the best team in the league with only 1.2 3PA a game.

It would be a hard sell for Magic and Kareem to build an offense around three point shooting.

[Odinn]

It's about the rule book. Not about basic math.
Current 3pt percentage efficiency looks great because no one's allowed to touch the player on offense. In the '80s, even though the decade isn't known for its reputation with the defense, the players wouldn't be able to shoot like they do now. First they banned hand-check. Then completely anything but torso. Now all touching is at fault.

[Marchesk]

From looking over league averages for the 80s, it looks 3P% only became more efficient than 2P% in the 89/90 season:

33.1% to 48.8%

The rest of the decade, the 2P% was higher and 3P% lower. 80s teams were pretty efficient from two, partly because it wasn't a great era for defense, but also because lots of players were very skilled at getting a two from midrange, the post or fast breaks.