Putting the orange ball into the hoop is what the game of basketball is all about. Although the concept of shooting is pretty straightforward, it is a skill that is quite complex to master. In addition, many players use different techniques to shoot the ball. For instance, players like Ray Allen and Dirk Nowitzki share no similarities in their shooting style, but both are considered masters of shooting the basketball.
In this article, I’ll focus on the top ten shooters in the history of the NBA and rank them based on their accomplishments, statistics, and how their shooting style changed how players today put the ball into the white net.
Stay tuned and discover who the best shooters ever are to grace the basketball court!
#10 – Steve Kerr
Steve Kerr wasn’t just one of the greatest shooters in basketball history. He’s also a coach and a mentor to two elite shooters on this list. Kerr is the leader in all-time career 3-Pt percentage (45.4%) in NBA history. This isn’t the only impressive record that Kerr has on his resume. He also holds two of the top five 3-point shooting percentages in a single season in the NBA. He shot 52.4% from beyond the arc in the 1994/95 season and 51.5% in the next season.
Despite the fact the NBA experimented by implementing a shorter 3-point line in those two seasons, no one can deny Kerr’s shooting prowess. Apart from his individual accomplishments, he won 5 NBA championships in total, 4 of them with the Bulls and 1 with the Spurs.
Throughout his career, Kerr proved to be a clutch shooter in numerous games. His most memorable clutch shot was hitting a winning 17-foot 3-pointer in the final moments of Game 6 versus the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals, leading the Bulls to an NBA title. Because of Kerr’s achievements and shooting precision, he deserves to be in the top 10 NBA shooters ever.
#9 – Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki is one of the best shooting big men who ever stepped onto an NBA court. Standing at 7 feet, he was unguardable and could make 3-pointers from the most challenging positions on the court. What’s even more impressive about his shooting is that he could knock down three-pointers with an exceptionally high shooting arc.
Nowitzki revolutionized the game and influenced many big men to start shooting beyond the arc more frequently. Nowitzki is the reason why players like Jokić, Porzingis, and Embiid pull up from deep to make 3-pointers. Moreover, his legendary one-legged fadeaway move is often used by many players today in basketball, with the best example being Lebron James.
Dirk wasn’t just a great long-range shooter, and the numbers speak for themselves. Beyond the 3-point line, he shot with 38.0% accuracy. Dirk’s field goal percentage was 47.1%, while his career average from the free-throw line was 87.9%. His best season was 2006/07 when he was the MVP of the league and a rare player who managed to average 50% from the field, 40% beyond the 3-point line, and 90% from the free-throw line in a single season. Only nine players in NBA history have done that.
However, Dirk’s greatest accomplishment was winning an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
#8 – Steve Nash
One of the best point guards in NBA history, Steve Nash, was a highly efficient player. Nash won two MVP awards and was the engine of the Phoenix Suns as well as the Dallas Mavericks in the 2000s.
While some fans think that Nash didn’t deserve to win those two MVP awards, no one can say he wasn’t a superb shooter. In his prime, Nash had four 50-40-90 seasons and almost had five, but he averaged 89.9% from the free-throw line in 2006/07, missing the free-throw mark by a narrow 0.01%.
Perhaps Nash’s only weakness as a shooter is that he didn’t attempt enough shots as he should’ve. Across his career, his 3-point shooting percentage was 42.8%, but he only attempted 3.2 3-pointers on average. Even though his shot volume is low, only a few shooters on this list were as accurate as Steve Nash.
Apart from being a precise 3-point shooter, Nash is the 2nd all-time NBA career leader in free-throw percentage with 90.43%.
#7 – Kyle Korver
One of the greatest catch-and-shoot scorers in the game, Kyle Korver, holds the no.7 spot on this list of the top 10 shooters in NBA history. He was a role player and a top-notch 3-point shooter throughout his career. Korver made 2450 3-pointers in 17 seasons in the NBA, and he’s 5th player on the all-time NBA career 3-Pt Field Goals list.
Korver’s 3-point shooting precision was impressive since he had a 42.9 percent during his career. His best season was 2014/15, when he had a 49.2 3-Pt% and an 89.9 free-throw percentage. But that season wasn’t even his best when you look at the 3-point percentage. In 2009/10, Korver hit 53.6% of all the threes he attempted while playing for the Utah Jazz.
The key to Korver’s success as a shooter is that he constantly analyzed his shots and adjusted his shooting.
Even though Kyle Korver wasn’t a superstar, like some other players on this list, he surely deserves a spot in the hall of basketball’s finest shooters.
#6 – Kevin Durant
Standing at 6’ 11”, Kevin Durant is among the best shooting big men in the NBA. He’s also one of the toughest players to guard, thanks to his size, shooting ability, and athleticism. Overall, he’s a fantastic player, but when we talk about his skills as a shooter, he’s one of the greatest in NBA history. Durant can make shots at any time, thanks to his elite ball-handling skills. Also, his quick release and high shooting arc are a nightmare for many defenders who try to guard him.
His shooting statistics are impressive: almost 39% from beyond the arc, over 50% from the field, and nearly 89% from the free-throw line. When you look at that shooting percentage from midrange, it’s safe to say that Durant is one of the greatest shooters from the field. In addition, his pull-up jump shot is probably among the most recognizable signature moves in the league.
Durant has proved to be a high-level marksman in many crucial games during his career. For instance, he hit several iconic 3-pointers in the final moments of the 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals against the Cavaliers. He was the MVP in those two finals.
#5 – Reggie Miller
During the 90s and mid-2000s, Reggie Miller was considered the best shooter in the NBA. He played in an era where high-volume 3-point shooting, like today’s basketball, wasn’t a regular occurrence.
Miller only made 4.7 attempts per game when it comes to 3-pointers, and who knows how good he would be if he attempted to make more 3-pointers like many players today do. Nevertheless, even with low volume, he still managed to make 2,560 3s over the course of his career. He was the all-time leader in 3-pointers before players like Allen and Curry came along.
In almost two decades that he spent playing in the NBA, Miller averaged the following percentages: 47.1 FG%, 39.5 FG3%, and 88.8 FT%. What’s also fascinating regarding his shooting precision is that he averaged a minimum of 40% from beyond the arc for ten seasons. Miller’s shooting abilities also made him part of the 50-40-90 club.
Although many NBA fans remember Reggie as an elite shooter, he was also excellent at trash-talking.
#4 – Larry Bird
Bird is one of the greatest all-around shooters in NBA history. It didn’t matter where Bird was on the court. He could make shots from basically any position.
Throughout his illustrious career, he had a 49.6 field goal percentage, 37.6 3-point percentage, as well as 88.6 percentage from the charity stripe. He shot with a 40% accuracy from the deep for six seasons. Bird has amassed many accolades during his career. He won three NBA titles, two MVP awards, and also 3 Three-Point shooting contests.
Throughout the 13 seasons he spent in the NBA, Bird only had 1.9 3-point attempts per game, which is extremely low when players today attempt 6 or 7 3-pointers per game. However, Bird played in the 80s, when teams focused more on playing in the paint and draining midrange shots.
His shooting ability was shown on numerous occasions during his playing days. One of them was that he used his non-dominant hand on purpose against the Trail Blazers and scored 47 points.
#3 – Ray Allen
Ray Allen fills the No.3 spot on this list of the best shooters ever in the NBA. Before the “Splash Brothers” started playing in the NBA, Allen was considered the greatest shooter in the league. He was mostly known for his lightning-fast release and outstanding jump shot.
Allen played in the NBA for nearly two decades, and in that period, he made 2,973 threes and was the all-time leader in career 3-pointers before Curry surpassed him. During his time in the NBA, he averaged 40% beyond the 3-point line, and in 8 seasons, he connected on more than 40% of his attempts. Allen wasn’t only a talented shooter. He was also very disciplined. His pre-game routine was to take 300 shots from all positions on the court.
When you look at Allen’s statistics, they’re even more fascinating since he wasn’t the leading player in any of the teams he was a part of. He was primarily a role player. Ray Allen did attempt 5.7 threes per game, but he didn’t have the ball in his hands most of the time like Steph or Durant, for example. It’s hard to imagine how good he could’ve become if he hadn’t been primarily a three-point specialist and had been given more freedom to make shots throughout his playing days.
However, his teammates did pass him the ball in crucial times. Allen’s most clutch moment was when he shot the tying 3-pointer in the 2013 NBA Finals against the Spurs.
#2 – Klay Thompson
The 2nd player on the list of the top 10 shooters in NBA history is one of the “Splash Brothers,” Klay Thompson. He and Curry are undoubtedly the finest shooting backcourt duo who’s ever played in the NBA.
Thompson holds the record for the most made 3-pointers in an NBA game—14. He broke Curry’s previous record of 13 threes. What’s also great about that record is that he managed to hit that many 3s in just 29 minutes. Besides making 14 3-pointers, Klay also made 12 threes on two separate occasions.
Curry might be a better all-around shooter, but it’s game over for the opposing teams when Klay finds his rhythm. The best example was when he scored 11 3-pointers against OKC in the 2016 Western Conference Finals.
Regarding his shooting percentages, from the 3-point line, Thompson shot just under 42%, over 45% from the field, and over 85% from the free-throw line. Klay made over 2000 threes over the course of his career, and he’s in the top 10 list of NBA’s all-time career leaders in 3-point field goals.
#1 – Steph Curry
Steph Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history, and that’s not even up for debate. In 2021, Curry dethroned Allen and became the new 3-point King of the NBA.
Curry can produce shots from basically anywhere. It doesn’t matter if he goes for an off-the-dribble shot or a 3-pointer from the center of the court. It’s going into the hoop.
Over the course of his career, Curry made over 3,500 3-pointers with an almost 43% shooting accuracy from behind the arc. When you look at his shot volume of over nine 3-point attempts per game, that shooting percentage is more than impressive. In addition, Curry isn’t only an elite 3-point shooter. He can also make mid-range shots, jump shots, and floaters.
Besides having the most threes in NBA history, Curry holds additional records. He has the most threes made in one NBA season, with 402 in the 2015/16 season. Also, he’s the all-time leader in free-throw percentage, shooting almost 91% from the charity stripe.
Curry has simply revolutionized how basketball is played today since more and more players have become more confident in their 3-point shooting, thanks to Steph.
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