Who do you recognize as the 2nd greatest shooter of all time?

[Larry Ellison]

Klay destroys everyone else on volume and percentage, is he not? So I'm guessing the only argument against him is playing next to Steph?

He is not penalized at all for playing next to Steph. His volume and 3PT% are elite. But Klay missed two full seasons with injury, and has not been the same player since. Warriors fans that lived through his last season with the team understand. Klay is one of my favorite players. It is not a diss to say he is a top 5 shooter all time, but not #2. Klay is shooting 26% from 3PT so far this season. Small data set, I know. But there is a multi-year trend. I hope he turns it around. He is a legend.

[Optms]

Between Ray Allen and Klay for me.

[dhsilv2]

If we are talking about relative to era and factoring in somewhat how good they would be with the modern game/focus.

It would probably be.
Ray Allen
Reggie

If you just said all things were equal.
Durant
Klay

I actually think Durant is underrated in these discussions. He is insanely efficient outside the paint and I think 'shooter' only meaning 3s is not how i see it. 3s have more weight but Durant is an elite 3p shooter combined with a close to GOAT level mid range shooter.

Given that first criteria I'd say Jerry West needs strong consideration.

[TheGeneral99]

Really weird to me how little Steve Nash is mentioned - the guy with the most 50/40/90 seasons.

The guy who is a career 43% 3 point shooter, who shot 43% in 2005, 44% in 2006, 46% in 2007, 47% in 2008, 44% in 2009, and 43% in 2010 from 3 point range...just mind boggling. The dude also had an elite mid-range game, step backs, fadeaways, could shot off the dribble, off the catch etc.

I always saw Steph Curry as Steve Nash on steroids...very similar to Nash shooting wise but a quicker release, more range and way more volume.

[jojo4341]

I would have to go with Bird. As others have addressed...yes, his raw numbers show he didn't attempt enough for volume. However, when you watched him play, he can get an accurate shot off with no help, no screens, no catch-and-shoot and being the primary target for the defense. His high release and ability to shoot off either hand made him very hard to defend. He just lacks Steph's quick off the dribble threes and logo threes. He's been fairly consistent shooting a high percentage despite offenses not being designed to shoot open threes. So a larger percentage of his made/missed threes were just desperation threes with the clock winding down. Of course, his midrange and FTs were already efficient.

Before my time, but I will say Pete Maravich is an interesting case. He retired shortly after the 3-point line had been introduced and shot a blistering 66%, albeit on low volume. If that claim that he made 13 threes a game in college (with their line of course) is true, that's very impressive.

[sisibilio]

HM to Petrovic.

[Mavrelous]

Klay and Korver are C&S players, they lack the off the dribble shooting ability at the level of other shooters.
It's Steve Nash for me, with Ray Allen and Reggie Miller getting honorable mention, I didn't watch Mark Price but Thinking Basketball had him with that group.

[Bad Bart]

If we're just talking shooting the basketball, and shooting only, I think Anthony Morrow is the purest shooter I've ever seen. Steve Novak was also remarkable.

[Doctor MJ]

Honorable mention to Durant - I think his jumper is just so insanely smooth.

But my answer has to be Reggie Miller. People look back and say "oh well he didn't shoot that many 3s really" but nobody did back then. He was shooting more 3s than almost anyone else and hitting them at a great clip.

But the 3-pointer wasn't even his best shot! The 18-foot catch-and-shoot jumper after curling around 3 screens was his money, his bread and butter. And his free throw shooting was off the charts, leading the league most seasons.

True Shooting Percentage is a good stat for judging pure shooters. If you look at the all-time leaders, it's mostly big men. The highest ranked guard is Steph Curry, at number 8.

The next highest ranked guard? None other than Reggie Miller.

Reggie was a great shooter but really needed those screens.

Ray Allen maybe.

I mean, Reggie was 6'7", so he didn't actually need screens to get his shot off generally.

I'd suggest it wasn't so much about Reggie needing screens as it was about him creating a new rover position that to this day every single team needs but most don't have it, and many don't know they need it.

[Doctor MJ]

Maravich

Sorry to be negative, but I actually think it's important to understand that Maravich wasn't actually very effective as a shooter or decision maker when playing against professionals.

For me the question about Maravich is always how he could have been differently if a) his father hadn't given him terrible habits, and b) he'd access to modern analytics.

There's an article from the late '70s talking about Maravich being despondent looking at how bad his efficiency was compared to teammate Adrian Dantley and trying to figure out how he was scoring so little on so many shots - and it's also noted by a Jazz scorekeeper that they were actually purposefully not counting some of Maravich's missed shots just to be nice, that in other words, as terribly as efficient as as a site like basketball-reference says Maravich was, the situation was actually worse than that.

[Bornstellar]

It's probably Nash honestly. But factoring in volume and role I think there's no wrong answer between Reggie Miller and Ray Allen

[Doctor MJ]

Steve nash.

Especially if you consider the different levels of shooting and not just 3's, mid range, free throws included.

But even if not, nash comes to mind for his pull up ability and efficiency from deep.

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

Yup, and I'd say this is where we should be noting:

The best shooters should probably be known for being great at other sports that require outstanding finer motor skills.

So if you're a "great shooter" and you're not great at golf, what's the problem?

The main acceptable answer to my mind is that golf is an incredibly boring elitist thing that is fading from prominence.

The other answer would be about choking tendencies. People think basketball is a clutch sport, but it's far lower pressure than sports like golf or tennis.

So when asking about players who are great shooters in basketball, this is a skillset that should probably be visible outside of basketball like it is for Steph & Steve.

[JinKaz69]

If MJ was a better 3pt shooter it would have been him without hesitation.

Inside the arc he is the absolute best.

[JRoy]

Honorable mention to Durant - I think his jumper is just so insanely smooth.

But my answer has to be Reggie Miller. People look back and say "oh well he didn't shoot that many 3s really" but nobody did back then. He was shooting more 3s than almost anyone else and hitting them at a great clip.

But the 3-pointer wasn't even his best shot! The 18-foot catch-and-shoot jumper after curling around 3 screens was his money, his bread and butter. And his free throw shooting was off the charts, leading the league most seasons.

True Shooting Percentage is a good stat for judging pure shooters. If you look at the all-time leaders, it's mostly big men. The highest ranked guard is Steph Curry, at number 8.

The next highest ranked guard? None other than Reggie Miller.

Reggie was a great shooter but really needed those screens.

Ray Allen maybe.

I mean, Reggie was 6'7", so he didn't actually need screens to get his shot off generally.

I'd suggest it wasn't so much about Reggie needing screens as it was about him creating a new rover position that to this day every single team needs but most don't have it, and many don't know they need it.

Not sure I agree.

His handles were mediocre.

[Special_Puppy]

If you’re including midrange shots too I think Kevin Durant deserves very serious consideration

[Doctor MJ]

If we are talking about relative to era and factoring in somewhat how good they would be with the modern game/focus.

With the mention of era I'll say this:

The 3-point shot has been in connected to what are now NBA affiliated leagues since the birth of the ABA in 1967, 58 years ago.

If we break that 3-point shot history into 2 era, both about 29 years, Steph Curry is clearly the avatar of the 2nd era.

Who is it from the 1st?

Louie Dampier of the Kentucky Colonels.

[Doctor MJ]

Reggie was a great shooter but really needed those screens.

Ray Allen maybe.

I mean, Reggie was 6'7", so he didn't actually need screens to get his shot off generally.

I'd suggest it wasn't so much about Reggie needing screens as it was about him creating a new rover position that to this day every single team needs but most don't have it, and many don't know they need it.

Not sure I agree.

His handles were mediocre.

Because he was 6'7".

Short guys need handles to get their shots off, tall guys can just play catch & shoot.

[JRoy]

I mean, Reggie was 6'7", so he didn't actually need screens to get his shot off generally.

I'd suggest it wasn't so much about Reggie needing screens as it was about him creating a new rover position that to this day every single team needs but most don't have it, and many don't know they need it.

Not sure I agree.

His handles were mediocre.

Because he was 6'7".

Short guys need handles to get their shots off, tall guys can just play catch & shoot.

Some taller guys have very solid handles. Reggie was pretty one dimensional.

[ropjhk]

Klay if we're talking about just 3pt shooting.

If we are considering FTs and midrange shots then I'll go with Nash but I'm a bit conflicted here. I don't think Nash could have shot as well as he did playing a style more like Ray Allen or Reggie Miller. I don't think Nash could have been an effective shooting guard. So there's a shot type bias in favour of Nash and his stats. Still, we can only judge what we saw them do on the court and based on that Nash gets my vote.

[Doctor MJ]

Not sure I agree.

His handles were mediocre.

Because he was 6'7".

Short guys need handles to get their shots off, tall guys can just play catch & shoot.

Some taller guys have very solid handles. Reggie was pretty one dimensional.

Can you name a tall player whose drastically better handles made him better at shooting than Reggie?