On October 12, 1979, Boston Celtics guard Chris Ford made the first three-point field goal in NBA history. It came against the Houston Rockets at Boston Garden, on an opening night that also introduced Larry Bird to the league. Boston won 114–106, but one ordinary-looking perimeter shot had started a much larger change.
The NBA had added the three-point line for the 1979–80 season. A successful shot from beyond it was now worth one more point than a basket from inside the arc. That simple difference created a new calculation for players and coaches: a longer attempt could be less likely to fall and still offer a competitive scoring return.
Ford's basket did not instantly turn basketball into the version familiar today. Teams still had established habits, personnel and offensive systems built for a game without that extra boundary. A new line on the floor could change the rules immediately, while changing the way a team used space would take much longer.
The shot's eventual importance reaches beyond the player taking it. A defender stepping farther from the basket leaves different openings behind him. A passer can use that extra room. A trailing team gains another way to close a gap, and a specialist gains a skill that can justify a place in the rotation.
October 12 is therefore both a small first and the beginning of a broad tactical story. Ford supplied the initial make, without knowing how many later possessions would revolve around the same arc. The basket counts as three points in one Boston win. Its historical value lies in the new possibilities it put into the game.