76ers, Hawks, Nets, Bulls, Bucks Practicing With 4-Point Line - Def Pen

Several teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks, are practicing with some form of a 4-point line, reports ESPN‘s Malika Andrews.

As he turned to retreat on defense, Young swept his fingers near the tail of the purple “L” of the Lakers’ midcourt logo, more than 30 feet from the hoop. In Los Angeles, he was merely pointing to an anonymous spot on the floor. But if he had been in Atlanta’s practice facility, he would’ve been pointing at something more tangible: the Hawks’ “4-point line.”

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And with the NBA’s ongoing emphasis to make players think efficiency and spacing, Brown installed one extra line on the Sixers’ practice court in February 2017: a phantom gray 4-point line.

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The Chicago Bulls taped a white 4-point line to the floor of the Advocate Center over the summer. Pierce, who was an assistant coach in Philadelphia prior to this season, brought the line south when he was hired to coach the Hawks this offseason. The Brooklyn Nets have also had one since the 2016-17 season.

“We are all thieves,” Brown says, smiling slyly and noting that he, too, has stolen precious coaching goods. “It is a copycat league. I look at it as a compliment that other people value that.”

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When Mike Budenholzer was named coach of the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason, he instructed the video coordinators to tape five blue squares on the team’s practice courts. The 1.5-foot-by-1.5-foot boxes are arranged outside the 3-point arc: two in the corners, two at the angles and one at the top of the key.

There is a possibility – not a probability – that the NBA will institute a 4-point line at some point. Practicing with 4-pointers in play is likely more about teaching players about spacing in the modern NBA than it is about preparing for an eventual in-game 4-point arc or line.

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