As a disclaimer before we dive into my list, this is a ranking of the top 5 purest shooters in the NBA. Players like Kevin Durant and James Harden won’t be included because a ton of their shots are not 3 pointers and for this list I am considering players who use the three pointer as a majority of their game. Also this is a list based off of the top 5 shooters I would want on my team for next season so I am also predicting who I think will make a jump next year.
5. Seth Curry, Dallas Mavericks, Guard
Having the last name Curry usually brings up the first name Steph in most people’s minds. 90% of the time no one brings up his younger brother Seth who is quite the NBA player in his own right. Though he is not the shooter that his brother is from range and off the dribble, Seth Curry is a serious sniper. In the 4 years that he has been a regular player in the NBA after a few stints in the G-League, Curry has not shot below 42% from three on an average of 4 attempts a game. This past season Curry averaged 13 points per game and shot 45% from three on 5 attempts a game. Luckily for the Mavericks Curry is an amazing compliment to Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis and is under contract for the next three seasons.
4. JJ Redick, New Orleans Pelicans, Shooting Guard
I could not name one NBA team who would not want JJ Redick on their team. He is the definition of an ideal role player. Redick has been in the NBA for 14 seasons and has stuck around for that long because of his leadership and elite shooting. Redicks career has gone a little backwards. His scoring and efficiency have gone way up after the age of 30. For his career JJ Redick is a 41.6% career three point shooter on 5 attempts a game. Redick has had his best statistical seasons from age 30-35. In those 6 seasons, he shot 42% and above from three for 5 seasons and never averaged less than 15 points per game. Redick has range, is an elite shooter on the move and off the catch, and has been an elite shooter for his career and seems to get better with age like a fine wine.
3. Duncan Robinson, Miami Heat, Forward
Obviously over their careers JJ Redick is better than Duncan Robinson but this year that was not the case. Duncan Robinson went from being barely known to one of the best shooters in the whole league in only a year. Robinson went from playing 15 games on a two way contract and making 10 three at a 29% rate to starting 60 of 65 possible games for a contender and making 243 threes at a 45% rate. Also most of Robinson’s three pointers were not wide open. He made them from deep, off screens, on the move, and off shot fakes. Robinson does not provide much else besides shooting but he does it so well and in so many different ways that the Miami Heat have a real weapon on their team and I believe he is only going to improve.
2. Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors, Guard/Forward
Klay Thompson is in my opinion the second greatest shooter of all time, talent wise. He has shot 42% from three for his career on 7 attempts and never below 40% or 4 attempts in his career. He might be the best catch and shoot player of all time as well as one of the most efficient. Klay can catch fire at any time and is part of the best shooting duo in NBA history. Teams will never be able to stop Klay’s shot, they can only hope to slow it down. Thompson by the end of his career will be solidified as the second best shooter ever and although he is coming off a serious injury, I believe he will still be an elite shooter.
1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, Point Guard
I think we all knew who would be at the top of this list. Steph Curry is the best shooter in NBA history hands down. He single handedly brought in a new era of basketball because of his unique style of play. Before him there were no shooters willing to pull up from the logo and actually able to drain the shot. Steph Curry’s degree of difficulty on his three pointers is actually absurd yet he is a 44% career three point shooter on 8 attempts a game which is actually video game numbers. In 2015-16 Curry broke his own record for threes made and made 402 at a 45 percent rate. He shot 11 threes a game…Curry is the best shooter of all time and his elite stroke combined with elite handles makes him unguardable and able to score from anywhere on the court. You genuinely have to guard this guy the second he crosses half court.
