How Far Is the NBA 3-Point Line?
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Use this simple tool to find out how far the NBA 3-point line is from the basket for any given court.
The NBA 3-point line is 22 feet from the hoop
The NBA 3-point line is 22 feet from the hoop, and it is uniform for all shooters. This means that if you’re shooting from the left corner, you’re 22 feet away from the basket. If you’re shooting from the top of the key, you’re still 22 feet away.
The WNBA 3-point line is 20 feet from the hoop
The WNBA 3-point line is 20 feet from the hoop, which is 6 feet, 3 inches shorter than the NBA 3-point line. The NBA 3-point line distance was increased prior to the 2008-2009 season, when it was moved back 1 foot, to 22 feet, 1¾ inches.
The WNBA has not changed its 3-point line distance since the league’s inception in 1997. The shorter distance suits the game of women’s basketball, which is typically characterized by more plays near the hoop and less long-range shooting than men’s basketball.
The FIBA 3-point line is 22.15 feet from the hoop
The NBA three-point line is 22 feet in the corners and 23 feet, 9 inches at the top of the arc. That’s a big difference, and it means that shooters have less room for error when they’re chucking it from downtown in an NBA game.
The league has used this longer distance since the 2008-09 season, when they moved the line back a foot to create more spacing on the floor. The idea was to open up driving lanes and make the game more fun to watch.
It’s worked, to a certain extent. Three-point attempts have gone up league-wide since the rule change, but not by as much as you might think. In 2008-09, teams averaged 20.5 threes per game; by 2017-18, that number had only ticked up to 22.7 per game.
Still, there’s no question that the longer three has had an impact on how teams play offense. In recent years, we’ve seen a boom in “stretch fours” — power forwards who can shoot threes — and an explosion in popularity for small-ball lineups featuring five players who can all shoot from deep.
The result is a style of play that is much more free-flowing and wide-open than we used to see in the NBA. And that’s probably a good thing!
The NCAA 3-point line is 20 feet from the hoop
The NCAA 3-point line is 20 feet from the hoop. That’s 6.75 meters, or just over 22 feet. So, to answer the question, “How far is the NBA 3-point line?” we need to know how much larger an NBA court is than an NCAA court.
The answer: an NBA court is 50 feet wider and 12 feet longer than an NCAA court. That means the NBA 3-point line is 23.75 feet from the hoop, or just over 7.2 meters.
To put that into perspective, the average height of an NBA player is about 6’7”, so the 3-point line is just about as far away from the basket as an average NBA player can shoot from.
The high school 3-point line is 19 feet, 9 inches from the hoop
In the NBA, the 3-point line is 22 feet in the corners and 23 feet, 9 inches at the top of the key. That means that the distance from the 3-point line to the basket is 4 feet further than in high school.
When you’re shooting a 3-pointer in an NBA game, you have to be aware of where you are on the court. The further away from the basket you are, the more difficult it is to make a shot.
If you’re shooting from the corners, you have less distance to make your shot, so it’s easier to score. But if you’re at the top of the key, you have more distance to shoot, so it’s more difficult to score.
The NBA 3-point line is in place to create more scoring opportunities and to make the game more exciting. It opens up the court and gives players more space to operate.
The NBA 3-point line has been in place since 1979, and it has gradually been moved back over time. In recent years, there has been talk about moving the line back again because there are so many players who are capable of shooting from long range.
But for now, the NBA 3-point line remains at 23 feet, 9 inches from the basket.