The 5 Greatest NBA Shooters of All-Time
The Greatest Shooters in NBA History!
The NBA, although the best basketball league in the world, has become a leader in the show business of sport.
But a great sports product also needs great players, and in all sports, those that score.
Reggie Miller - Competitive, combative but above all, a great shooter
Tthere is no doubt that the best basketball is played in the NBA, with some of the greatest basketball players and athletes in the world.
In this article, we will focus on a pure basketball skill: shooting.
There’s nothing like a good dunk on the court. These shots are an indicator of physical fitness, power and dominance rather than intangible basketball knowledge and talent.
The jump shot is the strongest offensive weapon out on the court and the most important tool in the arsenal of every great basketball player.
In this article, find out about 5 of the greatest NBA shooters of all time, considering shooting percentages, mechanics and elegance while shooting.
The Sporting Blog presents the 5 Greatest Shooters of All Time.
5. Larry Bird
Larry Bird is one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. He is also one of the greatest Boston Celtics franchise players ever.
Bird was a member of the American Dream Team from 1992, and a fierce rival of Magic Johnson during the 1980s, when their duels were the main topic of the NBA for almost a decade.
Bird was a brutal shooter. Whether you get in front of him or not, he found a way to get the ball up and towards the hoop.
Twice, he managed to achieve a performance of 50-40-90 during the season.
This means that, during the season, he had a shooting percentage of greater than 50%, for three more than 40% and from free throws more than 90%.
A winger with a height of 206cm, Bird wanted only one thing: to win every single game.
There are many anecdotes out there about this incredible player.
During one match, he told the opposing players, word for word, how he would move, where he would receive the ball and where he would shoot from...
Yes, everything in the game was exactly as he said, and the defense, despite knowing what was going to happen, failed to defend against him.
This was even more significant as he took his shot at the sound of the buzzer, winning the game.
4. Predrag Peđa Stojaković
Yes, there are players from Europe on this list and Pedja is one of the best shooters of all time.
Of course, his shooting mechanics are flawless and almost indefensible, and he shoots with incredible speed...
However, that's not the only thing that graces Pedja's shot. There was also an exceptional feeling of security when he shoots, consistency is key, and Pedja OWNED this particular key.
Pedja didn’t like dribble a lot, nor was he a player who would look for the ball to play against his marker one-on-one.
He simply liked to follow the action of his team and slip away from his man at a moment’s notice, finding himself alone for a second and scoring with a jump shot.
Points from the two-step were not a priority for him, although he had solid predispositions to use it as a powerful weapon in the attack.
The fact that he preferred to shoot outside the three-point line is why he became so recognisable as a shooter, and he is remembered as one of the best at it.
He was also 2× NBA Three-Point Contest champion (2002 and 2003).
3. Reggie Miller
Reggie Miller, perhaps the best player in the history of the Indiana Pacers franchise, was one of the best NBA players in the 1990s.
He was a brutal shooter, specialising in the three-point shot. Reggie didn't choose just one shooting position, since he was equally accurate from all of them.
He was so thin that it seemed as if any contact with an opponent would cause him to snap in half!
However, this was only an optical illusion. Miller never ran away from contact, he even liked to come into contact to force a shooting foul.
He rarely missed in such situations, as his shot was simply magical. When there was a second or two to go, everyone would back off and let Reggie finish off the job.
When everyone else was scared, he was as cool as ice.
On May 7 1995, Miller scored eight unanswered points in 8.9 seconds in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Knicks, leading the Pacers to a 107–105 victory.
2. Ray Allen
In 18 years of playing in the NBA league, Ray Allen scored 24,505 points. A third of these points were from the three-point line, which was his speciality.
Ray Allen's shooting mechanics were simply unique, and it is impossible to imitate his style.
An extremely fast release, an indefensible shot and an incredible precision.
If a player was just a fraction of a second late, they were punished in the form of received points from Allen.
Reaching 2899 three-pointers during his career, he was the record holder for the most three-pointers in the history of the NBA at that time.
When Allen shoots, the three-pointer seems to go in the blink of an eye. Imagine if he got a little closer to the basket, how easy it would be for him to hit!
Allen spent 18 seasons in the NBA, playing for Milwaukee, Seattle, Boston and Miami. During his career, he averaged 18.9 points in 1,300 games and appeared in ten "all-star" matches.
1. Stephen Curry
Currently one of the best and most popular players in the NBA, Curry is already one of the greatest NBA shooters of all-time.
He shoots the three-pointer from half-court, and spectators can always count on his accuracy and efficiency to increase dramatically as he gets further away from the basket.
Despite this, his shooting style is actually quite ordinary, but he is fast and very difficult to block.
Steph Curry is unanimously recognised by all experts and basketball fans as the best shooter in the history of the NBA.
He made the most three-pointers in a season ever. Curry makes a three-point shot look easy, with fans watching in disbelief every time he steps onto the court.
His game against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, played on the night between December 14 and 15 2021, will go down in history as one of the best!
At this game, Curry took first place on the all-time list of players with the most three-pointers during the regular NBA season.
It was his 2,974th successful three-point shot. He surpassed Ray Allen's record, and became the best three-point shooter of all-time.
Curry recorded these shots in just 788 games, 511 fewer than it took Allen to set the previous record.
Ray Allen and Reggie Miller also watched the match live, and they were among the first to congratulate Curry on this great achievement.
The entire system of play in Steve Kerr's Warriors team contributed to Curry reaching this historic record. Kerr encourages the players to act fast, with a lot of assists, creating plenty of chances for shooters like Curry.
So, if your life depended on just one shot, which player would you like to take it? Ray Allen? Or maybe Steph Curry?
Or maybe you would choose someone who’s not on the list? Tell us in the comments!
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