Who is the best shooter of all time?

Who is the best all time shooter in NBA history?

  • Jason Kapono

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Mike Penberthy

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Nikola Jokic

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Terry Mills

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Mark Price

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Kyle Korver

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Mike Miller

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Dale Ellis

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • JJ Redick

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Brent Barry

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Antoine Walker

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    102

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May 9, 2013
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Among all player-seasons in NBA history with at least a 30 percent usage rate and 1,000 minutes played, the three best true shooting percentages are, in order: Curry in 2018, Curry in 2016, and now Curry in 2021.
 

Gameova_

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Mar 16, 2011
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Absolutely Durant. Were talking shooters, nit just 3 point shooters. He's probably the third best scorer the game has ever seen. So yeah he can shoot.

As a shooter then yeah he's good. I dunno if he's too 3 all time but I thought you were talking three point shooter to be honest and not general
 
May 5, 2006
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Steph is a career 48-43-91 player, though. To most players a 50, 40 or 90 season is a big deal. Getting the 40-90 pretty much every year is ridiculous. His FG% is also impressive given how many 3s he shoots. He's not Gobert or Zion who are chained a metre from the bucket.
 
May 9, 2013
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Steph is a career 48-43-91 player, though. To most players a 50, 40 or 90 season is a big deal. Getting the 40-90 pretty much every year is ridiculous. His FG% is also impressive given how many 3s he shoots. He's not Gobert or Zion who are chained a metre from the bucket.

What makes Steph's numbers stupid is that while you say he shoots 48/43/91, his 48 is heavily influenced by the number of 3s he takes. He shoots 52% from 2s, which is crazy good for a 6 foot 3 guy who can't jump. It's weird to think we look at field goal percentage as a thing. Stats should be read 2 point percentage/3 point percentage/free throw percentage.

To put in perspective.

Stephs 50/40/90 season - 50.4/45.4/90.8 - He shoots 56.6% from 2s. Because he shoots so many 3s, he needs to shoot well over 50% from 2s to "balance it out".

Meanwhile...

Birds 50/40/90 season - 52.7/41.4/91.6 - Bird shoots 54.6% from 2s. Because he shoots so few 3s, he doesn't need to shoot as well from 2 to "balance it out".

Steph this season is shooting better from 2 and 3 than Bird did that season, but because he shoots so many 3s, he won't get the overall 50% from the field, which makes it sort of a stupid way of looking at a shooter.

I always thought the best way to assess a shooter would be a 55/40/90 season, where the 55 would be 2 point percentage.

I haven't looked, but I imagine Steph in 2016 would be the only player with a 55/45/90 season.
 
Steph is a career 48-43-91 player, though. To most players a 50, 40 or 90 season is a big deal. Getting the 40-90 pretty much every year is ridiculous. His FG% is also impressive given how many 3s he shoots. He's not Gobert or Zion who are chained a metre from the bucket.
Steve Nash is a career 49-43-90 over 18 seasons. Not saying he’s the greatest shooter, but he gets missed in conversations.
 
May 5, 2006
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Steve Nash is a career 49-43-90 over 18 seasons. Not saying he’s the greatest shooter, but he gets missed in conversations.

Nash gets overlooked because he wasn't a prolific scorer. MVP Nash attempted 13 field goals a game compared to Curry's 20 and KD's 24.

Guys like Kyle Korver and Joe Harris are fantastic shooters but aren't in the conversation because they don't do a whole lot else. Shooting 2 or 3 out of 5 3 pointers a game is one thing, shooting 4 to 6 out of 10 is another, and shooting 40% on 10 3s a game all while running the offence is another again.
 

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Nash gets overlooked because he wasn't a prolific scorer. MVP Nash attempted 13 field goals a game compared to Curry's 20 and KD's 24.

Guys like Kyle Korver and Joe Harris are fantastic shooters but aren't in the conversation because they don't do a whole lot else. Shooting 2 or 3 out of 5 3 pointers a game is one thing, shooting 4 to 6 out of 10 is another, and shooting 40% on 10 3s a game all while running the offence is another again.
Nash was a far better facilitator than Curry and KD though and still maintained those shooting numbers. Imagine Nash shooting whilst playing off the ball!
I think the argument of “greatest shooter” is getting muddled by scoring volume, etc. Nash is a superior shooter to Durant for mine.
 
Volume is important though. Generally if you score less you are getting better looks.

If Steph shoots shots Steve Kerr shot, then he's probably shooting 50% from 3.
It’s a factor for sure, but then you also have to factor in aspects like Durant can basically get his shot off over anyone. Not so much for Nash and Curry.

Sure if Steph shoots Steve Kerr’s shot he’d probably average that, but this is what I’m getting at, we’re now not talking about simply “best shooter” we’re talking about best shooter who took x amount of shots whilst being a focus for defences, etc.

Also need to consider the increase in the pace of play, if Nash played today, he’d get more shots by virtue of the extra possessions available, thus would score more.

It’s why comparing players from different eras is always a tough task
 
May 9, 2013
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It’s a factor for sure, but then you also have to factor in aspects like Durant can basically get his shot off over anyone. Not so much for Nash and Curry.

Sure if Steph shoots Steve Kerr’s shot he’d probably average that, but this is what I’m getting at, we’re now not talking about simply “best shooter” we’re talking about best shooter who took x amount of shots whilst being a focus for defences, etc.

Also need to consider the increase in the pace of play, if Nash played today, he’d get more shots by virtue of the extra possessions available, thus would score more.

It’s why comparing players from different eras is always a tough task

All of those are factors in the discussion, otherwise just filter by percentage (which is obviously silly). You need to factor in a lot of things when it comes to best shooter.

For instance, I think Steph is a better shooter now than his MVP years, even though he's shooting a few percent points lower. The quality of shot he gets now is a lot harder.

Steve peaked at about 17-19 shots in Phx per 100 possessions (he had a couple of outliers in 19.8 and 21.3 in Dallas), while Steph has been around the 24-29 during his peak. It's a big step up, and quality of shot is harder.

Don't get me wrong. Nash is Top 5 of my favorite players list of all time, and I used to scream at the TV when watching him that he needed to shoot more. He is elite, and I'd have him to 10-15 shooters of all time. Could have been a lot higher on the list if he had some volume.
 
All of those are factors in the discussion, otherwise just filter by percentage (which is obviously silly). You need to factor in a lot of things when it comes to best shooter.

For instance, I think Steph is a better shooter now than his MVP years, even though he's shooting a few percent points lower. The quality of shot he gets now is a lot harder.

Steve peaked at about 17-19 shots in Phx per 100 possessions (he had a couple of outliers in 19.8 and 21.3 in Dallas), while Steph has been around the 24-29 during his peak. It's a big step up, and quality of shot is harder.

Don't get me wrong. Nash is Top 5 of my favorite players list of all time, and I used to scream at the TV when watching him that he needed to shoot more. He is elite, and I'd have him to 10-15 shooters of all time. Could have been a lot higher on the list if he had some volume.
I had been filtering by SuperCoach points.
 
It’s a factor for sure, but then you also have to factor in aspects like Durant can basically get his shot off over anyone. Not so much for Nash and Curry.

Sure if Steph shoots Steve Kerr’s shot he’d probably average that, but this is what I’m getting at, we’re now not talking about simply “best shooter” we’re talking about best shooter who took x amount of shots whilst being a focus for defences, etc.

Also need to consider the increase in the pace of play, if Nash played today, he’d get more shots by virtue of the extra possessions available, thus would score more.

It’s why comparing players from different eras is always a tough task

Lots of words here and none of them are;

Michael Diamond.
 

marcus1232

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Apr 19, 2009
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Its kind of scary that the warriors in the same team have had arguably two of the greatest 3 point snipers in history.

Steph who is in my opinion the clear greatest 3 point shooter
Klay who is borderline top 5
 
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