1. TIME FOR A NEW CHALLENGE. The NBA has become a “Game of Threes” like the “Game of Thrones” but without the drama or excitement. The 3 point shot is becoming almost BORING as it has been nearly perfected by so many players with the great Steph Curry being Exhibit A. It is almost automatic for him and so many players shooting 50% or more from the three. Curry is so special not only because of his unbelievable range but also because he looks and acts like a normal person you might see on the street instead of some prima donna overpaid NBA dunkster. Bottomline: the 3 pointer is no longer an exciting shot, and it is time for a new challenge in this great sport.
2. WHO WILL OUR NEW LONG-RANGE NBA HEROES BE? We pay BIG BUCKS to the NBA and its players to watch them, and we need to get more bang for our buck. We are entitled to see which players will step up and attempt to conquer this new skill set? Who will our new long-range NBA heroes be… will it be Curry or someone else? Also, when the players throw up a half court or longer shot at the end of a period, it will now mean something (i.e., 5 rather than 3 points) and put them in the record book instead of being replayed as a carnival shot.
3. TIME FOR NEW AND HIGHER SKILL SETS. Basketball is a simple game of skill where the goal is to put the ball in the basket…hence the name of the sport. The more skill involved, the more points. We allow one point for the “free throw” and two points for everything else. Yes, there is a critical defensive component to the game, but on the offensive side where is the skill for athletic and big players who can dunk the ball at ease? When we created the three pointer, we increased the level of skill required, especially for smaller players who can’t dunk, and we also created and entire new skill set. Now is the time to create two more skill sets. Going to the three pointer was truly a Revolution in the game, but going to the 4 and 5 pointers is a needed Evolution. It WILL happen at some point in time so why not now?
4. STOP THE BIGS FROM DOMINATING THE SPORT. Basketball is almost the perfect sport where both men and women, boys and girls of all sizes and skill sets have a chance. But, with the dominance of big and athletic players inside, especially their dunking, there is less chance for the small and less athletic players to be involved except for outside shooting. The answer to make the game more competitive and restore competitive balance is to create two more possible skill sets where such players can hopefully excel from the new 4 and 5 point lines. Also, by stretching the defense further, this opens up the floor to more exciting play making by the guards.
5. GIVE EVERY TEAM A LAST MINUTE CHANCE TO COME BACK. The new 4 and 5 pointers will INCREASE EXCITEMENT and give every team a chance for a comeback with 4 and 5s that can be 5s or 6s with fouls…can you imagine a 6-point play! No longer will we say it is a one or two possession game when it is close, since now more teams will have a chance. It is totally American to root for the underdog, and now we are giving them a real chance to get back in the game. Even at an international level, where was the fun in watching our American Men and Women Basketball Dream Teams blow out teams from China and elsewhere by 40 to 60 points or more? Had these underdog teams had some 4- and 5-point sharp shooters to keep the games competitive, perhaps we would have been more entertained rather than watching so many blowouts.
6. KEEP FANS IN THEIR SEATS TIL THE END. The NBA is a big business that, like all businesses, is focused on making money. Their latest effort to increase revenue involved putting advertising on the jerseys of the NBA players. If the NBA needs more money, get it from increased advertising revenue rather than making our NBA players look like second-rate NASCAR drivers with advertising on their jerseys. The new 4 and 5 pointers will increase advertising revenues by keeping fans in their seats until the end of games as long as they are fairly close. The old rule of thumb about getting within “ten points with two minutes left” in the game will no longer be relevant. It will now be getting within “15 points within two minutes.” The fans will love to see who will try the 4s and 5s and who their new heroes will be from this range. Also, no longer will we see fans headed for the doors on blowouts, since there will be no such thing as a blowout if a team can get within 15 points within the last two minutes. More fans in the seats means more sales of food and drinks and more TV advertising revenue which means more money for the teams and the NBA
7. ADVERTISERS WILL LOVE THE NEW 4s and 5s. No longer will fans be turning off TVs when games are out of reach, since very few games will be out of reach with these new shots. This means more advertising revenue since fans will watch the games until the end instead of leaving in the middle or near the end of the fourth quarter where no one watches the TV ads. Also, fans will hang around at the end of the other quarters, especially halftime, to see who will be attempting a 4 or 5 pointer with but a few seconds left in the period. More advertising means more sales, and that is why we have advertising.
8. MAINTAIN GAME DATA INTEGRITY. The new 4s and 5s will keep the integrity of game stats since we will not need to experiment with any of the really radical ideas put forth such as raising the basket height or extending the court size, etc. where all past stats are no longer relevant under such a new basketball infrastructure. With a 4 and 5 pointer, we are able to keep the integrity of all past stats and now just add two new categories. This is very important to data geeks like Coach T.
9. INCREASE INTEREST IN THE SPORT AT ALL LEVELS FOR NBA, NCAA, HIGH SCHOOLS AND WORLDWIDE. With the near perfection of the three, the 4 and 5 pointers will greatly increase the interest in this great sport at every level all over the world. Every one of the tens of millions of current or past basketball players around the world at every level will wonder if they can make a 4 or 5, and this will create a new interest in the sport.
10. NATURAL PROGRESSION OF THE SPORT. Those so-called “basketball purists” or those with self proclaimed “old school values” lost that argument when we went from the 2 to the 3. A shot with more skill means more points. Period. It is a natural progression of this hallowed sport to take it to the next level. Anything beyond half court will be a 5, since the odds of making such a shot will be very low. The refs will love the ease of signaling the new shots by simply putting up 4 or 5 fingers with their raised hands.
