Phil Jackson used his first post in more than a year to propose a way to improve the NBA game.
It is actually one the legendary head coach said he has pitched to the league for more than a dozen years.
The topic became relevant after one of Jackson’s former players with the Bulls and current Warriors coach Steve Kerr broached the idea of eliminating the 3-pointer altogether.
The 80-year-old Jackson, who won 13 NBA championships as a player and coach, doesn’t want to go that far, but he does want to see an adjustment made to the 3-point line.
Phil Jackson is pictured in May 2017. NBAE via Getty Images “15 years I’ve been asking the NBA rules committee to widen the court apron. Corner shot b-comes 23.9,” Jackson wrote Monday on X.
Jackson’s suggestion would make the 3-point line uniform around the entire court and eliminate the enticing and easier-to-hit 22-foot trey from either corner.
While the switch could disincentivize teams from sticking with the 3-point-happy offenses that now dominante the league, it’s not a simple one to make. It would mean eliminating some pricey front row seats from arenas everywhere.
Kerr, whose future in Golden State is uncertain after 12 seasons and four NBA championships, was against a more radical change but didn’t mind saying goodbye to 3-pointers altogether when asked during an interview with The New Yorker this week.
It does seem a little odd coming from someone who was a 3-point specialist as a player and coached two of the most prolific 3-point shooters in NBA history in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson with the Warriors.
Steve Kerr reacts during the Warriors’ April 5 game. NBAE via Getty Images “I would never do a four-point play,” Kerr said. “In fact, I would even consider getting rid of the three-point line.”
Kerri helped Jackson win three of his championships, playing a key role in the Bulls’ second three-peat from 1996-99.
Jackson stepped away from the spotlight after his failed tenure as Knicks president from March 2014 to June 2017.
