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The three-point line was introduced in the NBA before the start of the 1979-80 season. It was a concept that was borrowed from the American Basketball Association (ABA), the now-defunct league that merged with the NBA in 1976.
In its early years, the three-point shot wasn’t encouraged in the league. The emphasis was on playing near the basket or in the mid-range. As prominent NBA analyst and author Kirk Goldsberry notes in his brilliant 2019 book, Sprawlball, “Through the simple lens of points per game, the three-pointer had gone from a forgettable role player that scored just 2.4 points per team per game in 1979 to a dazzling superstar that poured in 31.5 per game in 2017-18…”
It is only in the past decade, and with the phenomenal success of Stephen Curry, that three-point shooting has exploded in the league. Teams are relying more than ever on the three-ball, with an increasing demand for sharpshooters who can nail it from the outside. So here, then, are the significant individual milestones in the evolution of three-point shooting, which ultimately led to Stephen Curry’s record-breaking 402 made triples in the 2015-16 season.
#1 Brian Taylor knocks down 90 triples in the 1979-80 NBA season
Brian Taylor is largely a forgotten name in NBA history, except for one little detail. Taylor knocked down the most triples in the first season the three-point line was introduced in the NBA. He knocked down 90 threes during the 1979-80 NBA season while playing for the then-San Diego Clippers. The next highest mark was 73 long-range shots by Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry.
Taylor played only two more years in the NBA, hitting only 44 and 23 triples in subsequent seasons. Darrell Griffith of the Utah Jazz would marginally improve Taylor’s record, when he made 91 and 92 three-pointers respectively in the 1983-84 and 1984-85 NBA seasons.
#2 Danny Ainge hits 148 three-pointers in the 1987-88 NBA season
The next big individual explosion from behind the three-point line came when the Boston Celtics’ Danny Ainge knocked down 148 long-range shots in the 1987-88 season. But Ainge wasn’t the only one to shatter the century mark for long-range shooting that season. Michael Adams from Denver and Dale Ellis from Seattle knocked down 139 and 107 three-pointers respectively to become the first three members of the ‘more-than-100-threes-in-a-season’ club.
Interestingly, neither Ainge, Adams nor Ellis ranked among the top five in three-point shooting efficiency in 1987-88. All three ball players, however, ranked in the top three for three-point shot attempts, with Adams taking pole position.
#3 Dan Majerle falls eight shy of the 200 mark in the 1993-94 NBA season
For the next few seasons after 1987-88, the most triples tallied by a player in a single season hovered around the 160-170 mark. Then in the 1993-94 season, Dan Majerle of the Phoenix Suns fell eight shy of breaking the 200 mark in a single season. Majerle nailed down 192 three-pointers for the Suns, but ranked 20th in three-point shooting efficiency, shooting only 38.2% from behind the arc that season.
The reason Majerle got close to 200 threes is that he attempted a league-best 503 three-point shots that season. Majerle’s long distance shot attempts were a hundred more than second-placed Vernon Maxwell, who attempted 403 triples but made only 120 of them at a 29.8% clip for Houston.
#4 Dennis Scott makes 267 three-pointers in the 1995-96 NBA season
The season after Dan Majerle knocked down 192 threes, the NBA instituted a shortened three-point line for three seasons between 1994 and 1997 to combat a decrease in scoring. The line went from being 23 feet, 9 inches (22 feet at the corners), to a standard 22 feet all around the basket. As a result, there was an immediate surge in three-point scoring. John Starks led the league in 1994-95 with 217 triples. Reggie Miller made 229 threes two seasons later in 1996-97.
But the real star of the NBA’s shortened three-point line was Orlando’s Dennis Scott aka 3-D. Scott hit 267 triples in 1995-96. He was closely followed by Dallas forward George McCloud, who knocked down 257 threes in the same season.
Although a shortened 3-point line led to more 3-point shot attempts, it further led to a dip in scoring. The league, consequently, pushed the three-point line back to its original distance of 23 feet, 9 inches (22 feet at the corners) after the 1996-97 season.
#5 Ray Allen runs amok, nailing 269 threes in the 2005-06 NBA season
The next big splash as far as individual record-setting from the three-point line is concerned was when Ray Allen, the all-time leader in three-point shooting, broke the 250 mark with the three-point line being back at its original length.
Allen, who played for Seattle in 2005-06, made 269 triples that season, a figure nearly thrice as many made by Brian Taylor in the 1979-80 NBA season.
Allen sank his three-pointers that season with a 41.2% efficiency. An additional interesting stat that Goldsberry gives in his book about Allen’s then historic season is that “of Allen’s 269 threes, 202 were assisted [75.1%] and only 67 were unassisted.”
#6Stephen Curry annihilates the 400 mark in the 2015-16 NBA season
Finally, we get to Wardell Stephen Curry II. Curry had already improved Allen’s 2005-06 mark by sinking 272 triples in 2012-13 and 286 of the same in 2014-15. Curry then took a sledgehammer and absolutely smashed the single-season three-pointer record when he knocked down 402 threes in his unanimous MVP season in 2015-16.
In doing this, not only did Curry become the first player to obliterate the 400 mark (a record that stands to this day), he improved the three-point mark for a single season by a whopping 116 triples in one go. That is the single biggest jump made by any of the names on this list over the previous single season record.
An interesting trend to observe over here is that since the 1995-96 season, significant jumps have been happening in three-point shooting every 10 years. From Dennis Scott in 1995-96, to Ray Allen in 2005-06, to Steph Curry in 2015-16. We better watch out for the 2025-26 season in that case!
Also read: Top 10 3-point shooters in NBA history
Guess the Lakers players!
