In the first episode of HIGH SCORE, we take a look at how the NBA record for single-game attempts has changed hands over the years. The three-pointer started as an experiment -- a gimmick borrowed from the weirder ABA that gained some popularity thanks to former players from that league.
The first players to really run wild with it were members of the 1980s Denver Nuggets, one of the first NBA clubs to really embrace running and gunning. That team’s primary shooter, Michael Adams, set the bar for three-point chucking at 20 attempts in a single game, and that would last for years, until some guys playing late-season games on broken, carefree teams figured they’d mess around and break a record.
But nowadays, heaving threes is acceptable, and we’ve seen some incredible recent high scores coming from great players on great teams -- even in a WNBA playoff game.
If three-point chucking is a game within the game of basketball, then there’s never been a better time to thrive doing both.
(One correction: Tony Jackson’s wild night of three-point shooting actually take place in the ABL, a few years before he played in the ABA.)
(And another correction: That baby photo is of Seth Curry, not Stephen, but Steph was indeed born on the same day of Michael Adams’ 15-three outburst.)