The modern era of basketball is in love with the three-point shot, and teams have moved their offense to live and die by it. The idea is pretty simple. The three-point shots statistically put more points on the board. With more attempts, more points are likely to be piled on. That is why having a sharpshooter on the team is a massive need, and that is why teams have no issue paying a premium for their services.
- Point Guard – Stephen Curry
- Shooting Guard – Ray Allen
- Small Forward – LeBron James
- Power Forward – Dirk Nowitzki
- Center – Karl-Anthony Towns
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The presence of a shooter allows the offense to be more open. The spacing and relaxed defensive rules call for quality looks around the perimeter. That is why we have seen more three-pointers per position, even at center. Long before Stephen Curry, the two best shooters were Ray Allen and Reggie Miller. Kyle Korver even got some love here and there, but there was not this quantity of outside shooters.
Now, we can see players like Nikola Vucevic and Joel Embiid pull up from deep. Even Giannis Antetokounmpo, the league’s best finisher three feet away from the basket, has developed a three-point shot. The era of positionless basketball is upon us. With that said, we still will have guards, forwards, and centers. Data will continuously be tracked for their performance at each position.
These are the best three-point shooters at each position.
Point Guard – Stephen Curry
Leader: Stephen Curry – 3,179 3-Pointers (838 Games Played, 42.8% 3P%)
2nd Place: Damian Lillard – 2,174 3-Pointers (719 Games Played, 37.3% 3P%)
Curry owns a Hall of Fame resume as a three-point shooter alone. With plenty of years left in his career, Curry is continuously padding his record for three-point field goals. Curry has never shot less than 38% from deep in a season other than the 2020 season, which saw him play five games. Because of Curry, the league has changed for good.
There was a five-year stretch in that Curry led the league in three-point field goals between 2013 to 2017. During that time, Curry set the single-season record with 402 total three-point shots made in 2015-16 when he became the first unanimous MVP. Curry has led the league in three-point field goals the last two seasons and is currently leading the league in threes and attempts. If that holds, it would be the eighth time in his career.
Shooting Guard – Ray Allen
Leader: Ray Allen – 2,973 3-Pointers (1,300 Games Played, 40.0% 3P%)
2nd Place: James Harden – 2,613 3-Pointers (951 Games Played, 36.1% 3P%)
Before Curry, both Allen and Miller were the greatest shooters of all time. Both players were consistent in their shots as well by hovering near the 40% line. For Allen, he led the league in three-point field goals three times. It featured back-to-back seasons in 2002 and 2003. During the 2002-03 season, he was traded from the Bucks to the SuperSonics and kept his shooting touch when he landed in Seattle.
Allen led the league in three-point field goals with a career-high 269 during the 2005-06 season. It was also the one time he led the league in attempts as well. Allen made at least 200 three-point field goals NBA season five times and just missed 200 with 199 during the 2008-09 season with the Celtics.
Small Forward – LeBron James
Leader: LeBron James – 2,157 3-Pointers (1,376 Games, 34.5% 3P%)
2nd Place: Paul Pierce – 2,143 3-Pointers (1,343 Games, 36.8% 3P%)
It was not until recently that James passed Pierce as the greatest three-point shooting small forward in league history. Both players used their longevity to get to this point by playing in over 1,300 games. With that said, the world knows that James is not the greatest three-point shooter, but he has made enough in his career to rank near the top due to nearly playing in the league for two decades.
James has never reached 200 three-point shots in a season. His career high of 161 three-point field goals came last season. Due to the Lakers trading Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, James had to step up as the team’s best outside shooter. With his 35.9% shooting mark in 2021-22, that might explain one major weakness the Lakers have. Anyways, James is pushing his 20th season in the league and could be the first small forward to reach 2,200 three-pointers this season.
Power Forward – Dirk Nowitzki
Leader: Dirk Nowitzki – 1,982 3-Pointers (1,522 Games, 38.0% 3P%)
2nd Place: Kevin Love – 1,495 3-Pointers (823 Games, 37.4 3P%)
These last two players are constantly in the conversation for being named the greatest big-man shooter in league history. Nowitzki was the first power forward to win a Three-Point Shooting Contest. His accuracy was so consistent. After a rookie season that saw him shoot 20.6% from deep, Nowitzki worked on his game and shot at least 37% the next four seasons. After that, he reached the 40% mark five more times in his career and just missed six times had he not shot 39.9% during the 2004-05 season.
Nowitzki made at least 100 three-point field goals in a season nine times. That included 138 three-pointers during the 2017-18 season when he was 39 years old. His career high of 151 came in 2000-01, which was his third season in the league. In the end, the all-time great Maverick will likely hold this record for a long time.
Center – Karl-Anthony Towns
Leader: Karl-Anthony Towns – 808 3-Pointers (496 Games Played, 39.6% 3P%)
2nd Place: Kelly Olynyk – 757 3-Pointers (625 Games, 36.8% 3P%)
If Towns keeps shooting the way that he is, he is going to pass Nowitzki as the greatest big-man shooter in league history. What Towns has done in 494 games is impressive. Not to mention, he is flirting with shooting 40% from three-point range. Again, he is nearly making two out of five three-point attempts as a center. If we told you this would happen during the 90s, everyone would have laughed at us. Instead, Towns has evolved into the modern game to make him a lethal inside and outside shooter.
Towns didn’t always use to be this way. Towns made only 30 three-pointers in 82 games in his rookie season. That jumped to 101 in his second season and he has not shot less than 100 three-pointers since his rookie year. That included 142 three-pointers in 2018-19 and a career-high 150 last season. Towns have shot over 40% from three-point range four times in his career. In a few years, Towns is going to do the unthinkable and net 1,000 career three-pointers as a center.
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