3-pointer or three-pointer

For basketball, which is the proper AP style, 3-point basket or three-point basket?

Thanks for any help.

 

According to AP Style Guide, it states that you need to spell out numbers one through nine; 10 and up, use Arabic numerals. The correct form would be three-pointer

 

Wrong. From "Ask The Editor" on the online Stylebook...

They're not going to say someone was seven of eight from the field. The spelling out of numbers applies in most cases, but not all. All I know is it's 3-pointers. I won't go further, because I'm unsure what's AP style and what's my paper's style.

 

3-pointer is AP Style

 

Yes, 3-pointer.

 

3-pointer is what I was taught, but mind you I am learning here in Canada. It could be different elsewhere.

 

Definitely 3-pointer.

 

Damn, I should talk to my Content Manager (who I don't think as ANY knowledge of sports) because everytime I put 3-pointer (which I thought was orginally correct), she makes me change it to three-pointer.

 

3-pointer, three-point play.

 

I always would look at the NBA roundups or stories on the wire and see what was done in those stories to help convince my old boss it should be 3-pointer.

IJAG, I have never seen 3-point lead. In that instance I would definitely write it out.

 

My understanding of the rule is that points are always written as Arabic numbers. It's one of a few exceptions to the "always spell out one through nine" rule.

You wouldn't say the score was seven to five early in the game...It was 7-5. In the same way, a player has 3 points, not three points, after he hits a 3-pointer. Obviously, everyone's style differs. I know Sports Illustrated uses "three-pointer," but I think the points-are-numbers argument works.

The same reasoning, at least at my paper, applies to yardage totals in football. I'm pretty sure AP style says yards are always numbers: A team is at the 1-yard line, not the one-yard line. By the same token, a run from the 31-yard line to the 40-yard line gains 9 yards, not nine.