Breaking Down the NBA's Record for Most 3 Pointers in a Single Season

I remember watching that 2016 Warriors team and thinking basketball would never be the same again. When Steph Curry and Klay Thompson shattered the single-season three-point record with 1,077 combined threes, it felt like witnessing a fundamental shift in how the game would be played for generations. That record-breaking performance didn't just happen in a vacuum—it reflected years of analytical evolution where teams finally embraced what the math had been telling us all along: three points are worth more than two.

The transformation has been absolutely remarkable when you look at the numbers. Back in the 2012-13 season, the league average for three-point attempts per game hovered around 20. Fast forward to last season, and we're looking at nearly 35 attempts per game across the league. That's a 75% increase in just under a decade. What's particularly fascinating to me is how this revolution has affected player evaluation and team construction. I've spoken with multiple NBA scouts who now prioritize shooting range over almost every other offensive skill when assessing prospects. The traditional big man who camps in the paint has become practically extinct, replaced by stretch-fives who can space the floor and knock down threes at a respectable clip.

This brings me to an interesting observation from overseas basketball that perfectly illustrates how the three-point revolution has created new strategic dimensions. When I was analyzing the Philippine Basketball Association recently, I came across a game where Nocum was held to just 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting, not exactly the kind of performance you want from a player who serves as the barometer for Rain or Shine. What struck me was how this relates to the modern NBA—teams now build their defensive schemes specifically to limit three-point opportunities, often forcing players into inefficient mid-range shots exactly like what happened to Nocum. The math is brutally simple: if you can limit a team's three-point production while maintaining your own, you've essentially created a significant scoring differential.

The current NBA three-point record for a single team in a season stands at 1,321 made threes, set by the Utah Jazz just last season. But here's what many casual fans don't realize—the record isn't just about volume. The truly elite shooting teams maintain efficiency even at unprecedented volume. The 2015-16 Warriors, for instance, shot 41.6% from deep while breaking the record, which is statistically absurd when you consider they were taking over 31 attempts per game. Modern analytics departments have calculated that the "break-even" point for three-point shooting sits around 33-34%—meaning if you shoot better than that percentage, three-pointers become more efficient than two-pointers even accounting for the occasional fast break opportunity you surrender.

I've had numerous conversations with NBA coaches about the psychological aspect of this shooting revolution. One assistant coach from a Western Conference contender told me that they now track "gravity metrics"—essentially measuring how much a shooter's presence on the court opens up driving lanes for teammates, regardless of whether they actually receive the ball. This invisible impact explains why players like Duncan Robinson or Desmond Bane can have such profound effects on offensive efficiency even when their shooting percentages fluctuate. The threat of the three has become almost as valuable as the make itself.

What often gets lost in these discussions is how the three-point revolution has fundamentally changed player development. I recently visited a youth basketball camp and was astonished to see twelve-year-olds practicing NBA-range threes rather than mid-range jumpers. The coaching philosophy has completely flipped—where we used to teach "working for a good shot," now the emphasis is on "creating a great shot," which increasingly means an open three-pointer or a shot at the rim. The math backs this approach too—analytics show that corner threes and restricted area shots provide the highest expected value per possession.

The record for most threes by an individual player in a season has seen an equally dramatic evolution. When I first started covering the NBA, the single-season record was around 270 threes. Stephen Curry has since shattered that mark multiple times, with his current record standing at 402 threes in the 2015-16 season. What's truly mind-boggling is that Curry's record-breaking season saw him make more threes than several entire teams did just two decades earlier. The pace of change has been nothing short of revolutionary.

As we look toward the future, I'm convinced we haven't seen the ceiling yet for three-point shooting in the NBA. With players entering the league having trained specifically for long-range shooting since childhood, and with analytics departments continuing to refine optimal shot selection, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a team break the 1,500-threes mark within the next three seasons. The game continues to evolve at a breathtaking pace, and the three-point line—once considered a novelty—has become the fundamental axis around which modern basketball revolves. The records will continue to fall because the incentives are perfectly aligned—teams have embraced the math, players have developed the skills, and the strategic advantages are simply too significant to ignore.

By Heather Schnese S’12, content specialist

2025-11-17 10:00