Not everyone likes the three-point line in the NBA.

Certainly not former Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, who expressed his displeasure with the three-point shot during a recent appearance on OutKick’s “The Ricky Cobb Show.”

“For me, the three-point shot is the worst thing that has happened to basketball in my life. And let’s go back to history for a moment. The ABA did not introduce the three-point shot. The ABA absorbed the three-point shot. The three-point shot, as we know, was a gimmick of a promoter,” Ryan said. “It was the gimmick of a promoter, namely Abe Sacks, the impresario of the Harlem Globetrotters who in 1961 founded a league called the American Basketball League that he hoped would be an opposition to the NBA. would be.

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Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors shoots a three-point basket during the game against the LA Clippers on October 27, 2024 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. (Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE via Getty Images)

“That league lasted a year and a half; in the second year things went wrong, but he had a three-point shot because he needed a gimmick. The Eastern League, a league I was quite familiar with, because I grew up in Trenton, New Jersey, and we had a franchise. I was a big fan of the Eastern League, (they) adopted the three-point shot. And when the ABA came into being in 1966, it obviously needed gimmicks, and they had them: the three-point shot and the red, white and blue basketball. .But keep in mind that this is the distraction of the three-point shot.”

The NBA introduced the three-point line during the 1979-80 season. Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics made the first three-point shot in NBA history on October 12, 1979.

The game has changed dramatically since then, with the Celtics attempting 61 three-point shots in their opening game against the New York Knicks this season.

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Boston Globe sports columnist Bob Ryan poses for a photo at his home. (Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Ryan thinks Steph Curry is the most influential player of the 21st century because of his shooting ability.

“All over America, eight-year-olds are playing threes. Steph Curry is the most influential player of the 21st century… now it’s Steph Curry. Every little kid wants to be Steph Curry, and it’s the game, the three-point shot. The Warriors mastered it with multiple championships. The Celtics mastered it on their way to a championship last year, and it looks like they’re going to use the same technique to get there,” Ryan said.

Ryan knows the game won’t return to the way it was played before the three-point line entered the NBA, but he’s looking for more balance in shot selection in today’s game.

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United States Stephen Curry (4) reacts during a gold medal men’s basketball game at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, August 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

“I just want balance. All I want is balance. By balance I don’t mean equal 50% three and 50% two. I mean a reasonably intelligent balance where probably a 2-1 ratio of twos to threes would be better. When the stats are broadcast, they’re great, but look at the nights where someone is 9-40, it’s beyond ugly.

“And that’s not basketball as I came to know it. I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s not going anywhere. I can’t do anything about it, so I just have to try to enjoy the game as much as I can. But I’ll tell you what , I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to.”

Ryan began covering the Celtics in 1969 for The Boston Globe as their beat reporter until 1982. He then became a general sports columnist and retired in 2012.

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