Step-back 3 NBA’s new weapon, though not a shot for everyone

James Harden turned to it to become the NBA’s most unstoppable scorer.

Luka Doncic has ridden it to stardom on both sides of the Atlantic.

The step-back 3-pointer is the perfect weapon for the modern NBA, practically a necessity in a game where the ability to find space to shoot from behind the arc is more valued than ever before.

“Things have changed and the game is so spread out,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “All over the NBA and all over the world really, everybody’s stretching the range out a few feet more. The 3-point line is being covered much better than it has in the past so guys are moving back, and guys that can create space to shoot 3s unassisted have a special skill . It’s going to be a necessary skill more as the game continues to evolve.”

But before guys who belong in the paint start hoisting them up from the perimeter, or taking balls off the rack and shooting stepbacks during this weekend’s All-Star 3-point contest, there a few things to consider.

Even Stephen Curry said it’s a tough shot to make. It’s fundamentally flawed and sometimes looks like a violation.

“You mean when they jump backwards and travel and shoot a 3?” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich quipped. “I guess it has been made legal. I don’t know. It’s very difficult to guard.”

That’s because the defender has to be prepared that the player with the ball is going to drive to the basket. But instead of continuing forward, the offensive player suddenly gathers his feet and steps backward to shoot , taking advantage of the extra space he has created.

Curry is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in history, but he’s also a wizard with his dribble. So whoever is defending him can never quite be sure which way he is going.

“Obviously you respect the athletic guys that can drive and use their first step and explosiveness and all that type of stuff,” Curry said. “It’s a tough shot to make consistently, but the guys that do, it’s obviously a shot and a look that you can always kind of count on to create space and knock it down.”

There will be more than a few hoisted up during the All-Star festivities.

But nobody shoots it more — or arguably better — than Harden, whose 151 step-back 3-pointers coming into this week represented 15 percent of the 1,006 makes thus far, according to the NBA’s statistics.