[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

How can you score 3 points on a throw that is not a try or tap for goal? If I'm not mistaken, the purpose of the 3-point line is to challenge shooters to attempt tries further from the basket. This means that only tries (or taps) from 3-point distance should be awarded 3 points. Why then do scenarios also exist in the rules that award 3 points for a ball thrown in the basket from 3-point distance that is not a try (I.e. a failed alley-oop pass that enters the basket)?

The answer has already been posted:

Comments On The 2001-02 Revisions

Three point basket clarified. Three points shall be awarded for any ball thrown, passed, or shot from beyond the three point arc that passes through a team’s own basket. Where in most situations a try can be differentiated from a pass, to eliminate possible confusion this change should help to clarify by not requiring judgment as to whether the ball in flight was a pass or a try.

5.2.1 Situation: With 2:45 left in the second quarter, B1 has the ball on the left wing in Team B’s frontcourt, standing behind the three point arc. B5 makes a back door cut toward the basket. B1 passes the bail toward the ring and B5 leaps for the potential alley-oop dunk. The ball, however, enters and passes through the goal directly from B1’s pass and is not touched by B5. Ruling: Score three points for Team B. A ball that is thrown into the goal from behind the three point arc in the frontcourt scores three points, regardless of whether the thrown ball was an actual try for goal.

For the first fifteen years after the the invention of the three point line, before the clarification, while not extremely common, there were a few odd alley-oop plays every season that had officials scratching their heads. The clarification took judgment out of the equation, allowing officials to be more confident in their calls.

At least, that's the bill of goods that we were sold back then.