The Australian men's professional basketball league, the NBL, has formally lodged a request with the sport's rule-makers to trial a series of experimental rule changes, including rewarding a dunk with three points instead of two and awarding four points for a successful shot from mid-court, a shot commonly known as the "logo three." The proposal has been tabled with Basketball Australia, which has referred the matter to the international governing body Fiba for consideration.
Proposal aims to boost highlights but faces timeline hurdles
The NBL had sought to introduce these rule tweaks at its NBL Blitz pre-season tournament, scheduled for this week in Bendigo, to increase interest and generate more highlight plays. However, the timeline proved too tight, as Basketball Australia wanted to include Fiba in the approvals process before any trial could proceed. The league remains keen to pursue the test in the future, which would represent elite basketball's largest data collection exercise on rule changes that some fans have long advocated for.
The slam dunk has long been a staple of basketball, showcasing the athleticism and ferocity of its athletes. The proposed changes threaten to alter the game's fine balance, as the dunk is already a shot cherished by coaches due to its high probability of success. Currently, dunks account for around 6% of shots attempted in the NBA, and this rate has actually increased in recent years, even as the three-pointer has come to define the analytics era of basketball.
Mixed reactions from owners and community
The proposal has been widely condemned by the basketball community on social media, including by South East Melbourne Phoenix owner Romie Chaudhari. However, not all reactions were negative. Perth Wildcats owner Mark Arena, who has been vocal in his criticism of the NBL's leadership alongside Chaudhari, praised the league for its appetite for innovation. "I think the Blitz is the perfect place to try new things," Arena said on X. "Some may work and some may fail but you can't improve things without taking some risk. Personally I'm a fan of giving a really long shot for four points a go."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver also weighed in on the broader debate about three-point shooting, saying last year that he wanted to address the rise of three-pointers, which now account for around 40% of shots in the NBA, up from less than 10% in the early 1990s. Silver expressed reluctance to make "kneejerk" changes like moving the three-point line back. "To be honest, I wish it was as simple as just moving the three-point line back, because then we would just do it," he told American broadcaster Colin Cowherd. "Part of the concern from the basketball folks is that if you move the three-point line back, you'll end up just sort of clogging up the area under the basket, and that's not such attractive basketball either."
Potential unintended consequences and existing rule variations
Such a radical change to dunk scoring is likely to result in a range of unintended consequences. Dunks are more common off turnovers, which may encourage teams to gamble on steals in a bid to generate more dunks. Three-point dunks might therefore encourage a more dynamic defence, but could also discourage risk-taking on offence. Incentivising dunks is also likely to further advantage genetically gifted taller players, as it is lumbering centres who tend to accumulate the most dunks, potentially disenfranchising undersized but skilful or athletic players.
Variations in rules already exist in global basketball. International competition governed by Fiba features 10-minute quarters rather than 12 minutes in the NBA, and uses a three-point line closer to the basket than that in the American league, among other discrepancies. The Philippines Basketball Association introduced a four-point arc two years ago. The NBL largely follows Fiba's rulebook, with minor differences around timeouts and coaches' challenges.
The NBL's 2026-27 season starts next month, and while the Blitz trial did not materialise this time, the league's push for innovation signals a potential shift in how the sport could evolve at the professional level.
