Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson has been a premier marksman for much of his NBA career, and he believes he is one of the five greatest shooters in history. Thompson was asked to give his top-5 list on Showtime with Coop, and he put together a good one.
“Steph [Curry], Reggie [Miller]… I like Reggie’s highlight tape because he has so many game-winning shots in his arsenal,” Thompson said. “Then I’mma go Ray [Allen] because Ray obviously held the record for most threes made in NBA history for all those years.”
Host Michael Cooper had gone with a top five of Thompson, Stephen Curry, Mark Price, Dale Ellis, and Kevin Durant. He had somehow forgotten Reggie Miller and Ray Allen and hilariously stated that Thompson was making him look bad with his list.
“Number four, I’mma go Larry Bird just because Larry [is a] three-time three-point champ,” Thompson stated. “Didn’t even take his warm-up off when he won it. That’s ridiculous. He just walked in there, didn’t even have to take his warm-up off. Got the win. And then number five, I’mma go myself because I do have some prominent records now.”
There always tends to be a bit of controversy whenever someone gives their top five list, but each of the players Thompson selected is among the best snipers we’ve seen.
Curry took the top spot, and Thompson has hailed his former Golden State Warriors teammate as the greatest shooter ever in the past as well. He is the NBA’s all-time leader in threes made with 4,058 and is nearly 1,000 clear of second place (James Harden, 3,175).
Curry has been remarkably efficient, too, shooting 42.3% from beyond the arc for his career. He has won the three-point contest twice as well.
Thompson went with Miller next, and he used to hold the record for most threes made in NBA history at one point, with 2,560 makes at a respectable rate of 39.5%. He has now dropped down to sixth thanks to the three-point revolution that Curry and Thompson ushered in.
Allen had to settle for third spot, and he was the record holder before Curry. He now ranks third with 2,973 threes made at a 40% clip. Allen also won the three-point contest once, back in 2001.
Larry Bird came in at fourth, and he won as many three-point contests as the three men above him combined. Bird won each of the first three three-point contests in 1986, 1987, and 1988, with his last triumph being the most memorable one. As Thompson mentioned, he won the 1988 contest without taking off his warm-up jacket, and even Michael Jordan was impressed by that.
Players didn’t shoot a lot from beyond the arc in Bird’s era, though, so you won’t find him anywhere near the top of the list for makes or percentage. He finished his career having made just 649 threes at a 37.6% clip, but he is still one of the finest shooters we have seen.
Lastly, we get to Thompson himself. The 35-year-old is currently fifth all-time with 2,697 made threes at a rate of 41.1%. Thompson spoke about holding some records, and he has made the most threes in a game with 14. The five-time All-Star also won the three-point contest in 2016.
As mentioned earlier, this was a pretty good list. With the NBA having had so many great shooters, though, some terrific ones would inevitably be left out.
Damian Lillard is perhaps the most notable omission, and you can perhaps make a case for him to get in over Bird. Lillard ranks fourth all-time in threes made with 2,804 at a rate of 37.1%. He is a two-time winner of the three-point contest and is certainly in this conversation.
