Breaking Down the NBA Record for Most Threes in a Game Ever Made

I still remember watching that 2018 Warriors-Rockets playoff series like it was yesterday, sitting there with my coffee cooling untouched as Klay Thompson went nuclear in Game 6. The man hit nine three-pointers that night, and I found myself thinking—not for the first time—about how far we've come from the days when a team might attempt only a handful of threes all game. The NBA record for most threes in a single game stands at a mind-boggling 29, achieved by the Milwaukee Bucks against the Miami Heat back in December 2020. Let that sink in for a moment—twenty-nine shots from beyond the arc finding nothing but net. As someone who's been analyzing basketball statistics for over a decade, I've witnessed this three-point revolution unfold in real time, and I have to admit, I'm both fascinated and slightly conflicted about where the game is heading.

When the Bucks set that record, they did so with what felt like relentless, almost mechanical precision. They weren't just hot—they were systematically dismantling Miami's defense through mathematical superiority. Brook Lopez, a traditional center who once operated almost exclusively in the paint, stepped out to hit three pointers. Jrue Holiday and Donte DiVincenzo kept finding open shooters with almost clairvoyant court vision. The entire performance felt like the culmination of years of analytics-driven basketball, where the three-pointer has become the most valuable weapon in any team's arsenal. I've crunched these numbers myself late into the night, and the data doesn't lie—teams are taking more threes than ever because it's simply the most efficient way to score points in bulk. The previous record of 27 was held by both the Houston Rockets and my beloved Golden State Warriors, two franchises that have fundamentally shaped modern offensive philosophy through their embrace of the three-ball.

This evolution reminds me of something my colleague Carlos once said about facing repeated challenges in professional sports. He described how "to experience the same misfortunes twice in as many years was a 'complicated' ordeal" that "demanded her to stay the course amid her personal frustrations." I see parallels here with how teams have had to adapt defensively to this three-point onslaught. Facing these shooting barrages season after season forces organizations into complicated strategic adjustments. Do you double-team the hot shooter and risk leaving others open? Do you extend your defense to the perimeter and sacrifice interior presence? The Miami Heat that night certainly looked like they were experiencing that complicated ordeal Carlos described, scrambling helplessly as the Bucks kept raining threes from every angle.

What many casual fans might not appreciate is how much preparation goes into these historic shooting performances. It's not just about having great shooters—though that certainly helps—but about creating an ecosystem where those shooters can thrive. The Bucks' record night was built on years of player development, strategic planning, and acquiring personnel specifically suited to their system. I've had conversations with NBA shooting coaches who emphasize that today's players start working on three-point range as teenagers, often taking hundreds of shots daily with specialized tracking technology. The art of shooting has become a science, with players optimizing their release angles, rotation, and arc through data analysis that would make a NASA engineer proud.

Still, as much as I admire the skill required, I sometimes miss the variety that characterized basketball in previous eras. There's a certain beauty in a well-executed mid-range game or a perfectly timed backdoor cut that feels somewhat diminished when every possession seems designed to end with a three-point attempt. My personal preference leans toward balanced offensive approaches rather than the three-point heavy strategies that dominate today. The 2020 Bucks attempted 51 threes in that record-setting game—a number that would have been unthinkable just a decade earlier. For context, the entire 2003-04 season saw only one team average more than 20 three-point attempts per game. We're witnessing basketball's equivalent of the home run boom in baseball, and I wonder sometimes if we're losing something in the process.

The human element of these records often gets overlooked in the statistical frenzy. Imagine being one of those Bucks players, feeling the momentum build with each made three, the bench growing more animated with every swish. There's a psychological dimension to shooting that numbers can't fully capture—the confidence that comes from seeing those first few shots fall, the almost mystical state of flow that elite athletes describe when everything seems to slow down. I've spoken with players who've been part of these historic nights, and they consistently mention the unique energy in the arena, the growing anticipation with each possession that this might be the night they make history.

Looking ahead, I'm convinced this record won't stand forever. With the continued emphasis on three-point shooting at all levels of basketball, plus the emergence of players like Stephen Curry who have redefined what's possible from long range, I wouldn't be surprised to see a team hit 30 or even 35 threes in a game within the next five years. The game continues to evolve at a breathtaking pace, and while part of me yearns for the more varied offensive sets of the past, I can't help but marvel at the skill and strategy behind these incredible shooting displays. The three-point revolution has transformed basketball into a different sport than the one I grew up watching, and love it or hate it, we're all witnesses to an ongoing statistical arms race that shows no signs of slowing down.