Bountiful Days

The 3 point shot is the second most exciting way of scoring in basketball. It's somewhere far behind savage dunks which have been reserved for the more athletic beings among us. That says something. Other than the fact that 3's are worth 3 points it's a shot that less able bodies, sometimes even injured bodies, can hit. Fans, usually excitable males, can relate to the 3 more than jumping a foot off the ground to stuff the ball in the hoop over a memeable, gifable defender. 38 year old Ray Allen is still out there shooting and hitting 3's along with 33 year old and forever ailing Mike Miller. The 3 ball is a car commercial for a vehicle that looks like it should cost 2 years salary but doesn't. As a matter of fact it's affordable and it doesn't guzzle gasoline.

Look at the no name Orlando Magic hit 23 3's against the Sacramento Kings:

Dwight Howard is on this Magic squad but he's over 7 feet tall and he can snap you and the rest of your family members, including distant relatives, in half. This video is about the Hedo Turkoglus and Rashard Lewis' of the world. They're only about a foot taller than the majority of us, they don't make the huge bucks, they probably weren't the first players interviewed after the game, and that makes them somewhat more relatable.

On November 14th, 2010 the 'Lotta White Dudes Suns dropped 22 3's on the Lakers. Hedo Turkoglu is on this team as well (theories?):



Setting a record against the Lakers is always welcome. They're one of the most prolific franchises in the league and their players carry themselves accordingly. It's what the kids nowadays refer to as "swag," something Turkoglu definitely does not have nor care to have. The 2010-11 Suns had Zabian Dowdell and Jared Dudley (least tough name of all time. Compare this to Mike Tyson (murder), Charles Oakley (disembowelment), or Zach Randolph (Satan's Stuffed Bear)). This squad had the demeanor of a cubicle riddled telemarketing office.

James Harden's beard. Jeremy Lin's bible study courses. Chandler Parsons uncanny ability to be invited into the homes of strangers. 23 3 pointers on May 2nd, 2013.

 

The inclusiveness of the 3 point shot is what makes it so special. You, sitting in front of your computer or looking down at your phone can hit a 3 after a couple of tries. Chances are you can't get up right now, trot onto a court and windmill dunk on a group of high school kids ditching school. Try it. Now that you're back and thoroughly humiliated check out the Spurs set a NBA Finals record for 3 pointers made in a single game:


There are no fireworks at most graduations. Your neighbors don't build a stage on the sidewalk to announce their arrival. No one congratulates you every day you arrive to work on time. You wait in line like most other people. The 3 is for you. The fact that the uber mysterious Spurs did this against the Heat doesn't matter more than a single game in a 7 game series as far as basketball goes, but it does darken the line between the pursuit of the spotlight and humility.

-Alex Moran