Philadelphia 76ers Top 20 Performances Of All Time
By Josh Wilson
Manute Bol Hits Six Three Pointers (Bonus performance)
When one thinks of Manute Bol, one envisions of an incredibly tall lanky preying mantis roaming the court swatting shots at an unprecedented rate. But do you think of three point shooting?
Manute sure did! Manute drained 6 threes in the 2nd half during a 10 point loss to the Phoenix Suns on March 3rd, 1993 (the record at the time for 3s in a half was 7). Manute actually took 12 of his 13 shots in that game from beyond the arc, which is absurd considering he was seven feet, seven inches tall and should never have been further than five feet from the basket! Imagine if wilt had played in todays game, where almost everyone gets a green light from deep? Might be giving Stephen Curry a run for his money.
So why did he take so many threes in that game? Bob Ford, in an Inquirer column the next day, had the money quote: “They did not guard me, so I took the shot. Everybody else told me to keep shooting, so I did.” Manute had crazy form on his threes, a two-handed overhead shot that looks like a sideline throw in during a soccer game. It was definitely a part of his game though, one manicured during his years on the Golden State Warriors under the tutelage of then coach Don Nelson, himself an early adopter of the importance of the three-point shot.
Manute’s game was as memorable as his appearance was, maybe not always for the best reasons. But his occasionally prolific three-point shooting only added to the legend. Ford summed it up best in the same article, writing, “Watching Manute Bol toss up three-point field-goal attempts is like watching someone try to throw pennies into a Coke bottle. It’s possible they will go in, but you wouldn’t want to bet on the proposition.”
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