Larry Bird On Changes, Future of the NBA

NBA Hall-of-Famer Larry Bird says that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the league introduce a 4 point line.

The Boston Celtics legend joined the NBA in 1979, the same year the 3 point line was introduced. As a result, Larry Bird is well placed to comment on how the game is changed.

At the time, barely anyone shot threes with any regularity. Now, three point shots are integral to the way NBA basketball is played. 

Larry Bird thinks that at this point, a 4 point line wouldn’t require a huge transition. He thinks players would adapt, just as he and his teammates would have adapted to having to shoot more threes.

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“Obviously, we’d be taking more 3-pointers because that’s where the game evolving,” Bird said.

“You know, back in the day, we wouldn’t even guard guys out beyond the 3-point line. And very few games looked at the basket from 23 to 25 feet.

“But the game has changed and the game goes through periods where it changes and you just have to adapt to the changes. And that’s what we would’ve done, we would adapt. I can remember back in the day Danny Ainge said we should shoot all 3-pointers every game.”

The 4 point line is already a prevalent and popular feature in the BIG3 League. As well as that, teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks have added 4 point lines to their practice courts.

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“It’s definitely a major change, but you can remember 10 or 15 years ago, they moved the 3-point line up and, eventually, they got smart about it and moved it back,” Bird said. 

“But a 4-point line wouldn’t make much difference.

“I think the problem with that would be guys shooting a lot of air balls and a lot more fast breaks, but it really doesn’t matter. The league is always looking at ways to speed the game up and score more points. If they did it, I wouldn’t be surprised. But, I like the game where it is now and it’s doing fine.”