We’re nearly finished with the 2021-22 season. The hot and cold streak outliers are off the table, and this year’s best high volume three-point shooters have risen to the top of the association.
- 10. Eric Gordon
- 9. Tyrese Maxey
- 8. Jrue Holiday
- 7. Grant Williams
- 6. Doug McDermott
- 5. Seth Curry
- 4. Lonzo Ball
- 3. Desmond Bane
- 2. Cameron Johnson
- 1. Luke Kennard
- 45.0 3P%; 175-389 (3PM-3PA)
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Many of this season’s most elite high-volume long-distance marksmen were not considered pure shooters during previous years. Still, hard work is hard work, and clearly, the players on our list hit the lab over the summer, building the muscle memory necessary to nail multiple long-distance bombs nightly.
At the same time, several of the league’s most renowned bombers like Joe Harris, Marcus Morris Sr., Bryn Forbes, Joe Ingles, and Stephen Curry find themselves outside our rankings due to injury setbacks or year-to-year regression.
Below we’ll rank the best high volume three-point shooters in 2021-22, only considering players who shot a minimum of 200 long-distance jumpers this season.
10. Eric Gordon
41.2 3P%; 124-301 (3PM-3PA)
Eric Gordon struggled immensely for the Houston Rockets throughout the last two seasons due to injury woes and poor roster construction. Here’s a breakdown:
2019-20: 31.7 3P% off 8.4 attempts per game
2020-21: 32.9 3P% off 7.8 attempts per game
Gordon has played mostly injury-free basketball this season, suiting up for 57 games. He’s found a nice rhythm as one of the lone bright spots in the Rockets’ tank-for-the-top-spot-in-the-draft season connecting on a sweet 41.2% of his outside looks.
Eric Gordon has averaged 5.3 three-point attempts nightly, and 3.3 of those shots have been catch and shoot bombs, showing he’s not hijacking Houston’s 27th rated offense by launching reckless off-the-dribble jumpers from deep. Instead, he’s provided an excellent floor-spacing outlet for rookies Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun, helping his young teammates gain experience and advance their development.
Eric Gordon’s amid the second-best three-point shooting year of his career, showing at 33, he’s still a valuable floor spacing wing who’s got several good years of basketball left.
9. Tyrese Maxey
41.3 3P%; 112- 271 (3PM-3PA)
Tyrese Maxey showed about as much year-over-year improvement in his three-point stroke as possible. He shot 30.1% from deep throughout his first campaign, and in just his second season in the league, he’s upped his three-point marksmanship to 41.6% off 4.0 attempts nightly.
And if Maxey’s three-point jump this season isn’t impressive enough, he’s taking only 2.1 catch and shoot triples per game, meaning nearly half his 4.0 nightly attempts are the more difficult off-the-dribble variety.
Tyrese Maxey shot 87.1% from the charity stripe last season, so his striking three-point leap didn’t come entirely out of the blue. The Sixers’ young point guard blends a smooth stroke with a quick release, and he has excellent footwork, routinely squaring up to the basket, even when under duress, for a quality shot at the rim off nearly every attempt.
Tyrese Maxey merges solid finishing skills at the rim and his improved three-point shot to give Philadelphia a genuine Big-3 along with Joel Embiid and James Harden.
8. Jrue Holiday
41.4 3P%; 120-290 (3PM-3PA)
Jrue Holiday has shown incredible long distance improvement over the last four seasons, upping his three-point percentages like clockwork for the Pelicans and Bucks.
2018-19: 32.5 3P% off 5.4 attempts per game
2019-20: 35.3 3P% off 5.7 attempts per game
2020-21: 39.2 3P% off 4.8 attempts per game
2021-22: 41.5 3P% off 4.7 attempts per game
Holiday’s climb up the three-point ladder didn’t happen by accident. He clearly put the time in the gym, and he’s reaping the benefits.
Holiday isn’t your prototypical high volume three-point shooter. He’s taking only 32.8% of his total shots per game from beyond the arc. Holiday is shooting nearly half of his nightly attempts inside the lane, using a shifty first step to scoot by opposing defenders. He’s also the Bucks’ top playmaker, responsible for running the offense and hitting his teammates with precision passes after they find their spots on the floor.
Jrue Holiday’s impressive three-point shooting and all-around two-way play give the Milwaukee Bucks a real shot at a two-peat this season and push him into the top-10 among all NBA point guards.
7. Grant Williams
42.0 3P%; 100-238 (3PM-3PA)
If you haven’t heard of Grant Williams, you’re not alone. Still, the third-year power forward is becoming a hometown hero in Boston after suffering through a disastrous sophomore year for the Celtics.
Grant Williams finished the 2020-21 season with an awful 105 offensive rating and 114 defensive rating, combining poor perimeter defense with a ho-hum outside stroke on offense as he watched his NBA career go on life support. Williams hit it hard over the summer, becoming an everyday gym rat as he worked on salvaging what was left of his time in the association.
Williams hasn’t merely staved off early retirement. He’s played so well for the 47-28 Boston Celtics he could get a solid payday over the summer.
Williams is shooting 42.0% from deep and 50% from the corners this season, providing Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown a much-needed deep outlet when teams crowd them in the lane. Overall, Williams has flipped his advanced stats this year—124 OFFRTG and 109 DEFRTG — going from a net rating disaster to one of the top role players in the league. His one-year three-point shooting swing is one of the biggest surprises in the association, and his prowess from deep has pumped life into the Celtics’ once stagnant offense.
6. Doug McDermott
42.2 3P%; 108-256 (3PM-3PA)
It’s not surprising to see Doug McDermott’s name on our top high-volume three-point shooters list. McDermott ranks 22nd all-time in three-point shooting with a 40.9% career mark from deep, and he’s up to his old tricks in 2021-22, knocking down 42.2% of his 5.0 shots from deep nightly.
McDermott is your consummate floor-spacing three-point specialist. He takes over 50% of his nightly attempts from deep, and they’re nearly all catch and shoot shots. In today’s modern NBA, Dougie McBucket’s (that’s his actual nickname) shooting stroke is incredibly valuable. He’s provided San Antonio point guard Dejounte Murray space to work out of the pick and roll or isolation sets, helping an under-manned Spurs team win four in a row and surpass the Lakers for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Doug McDermott’s outside stroke is as clean as they come, and he doesn’t step out of his lane by over-dribbling or driving down towards the rack. He knows his role is to spread the floor with his outside touch, and McDermott stays within the confines of his prescribed part on the court perfectly, playing mistake-free basketball and hitting big shots from deep.
5. Seth Curry
42.2 3P%; 149-353 (3PM-3PA)
Seth Curry struggled to break into the league, traveling from Memphis to Cleveland to Phoenix, and then to Sacramento as he played a total of only 50 games throughout his first three NBA seasons. Curry found his place in the association during his fourth year with the Dallas Mavericks, shooting 42.5% from deep off 4.6 nightly attempts. And he hasn’t looked back.
Seth Curry rests third all-time in three-point shooting percentage at 44.0%, ahead of his more heralded MVP brother Steph. This season, Seth Curry shot 40.0% from deep for the Philadelphia 76ers, but after being traded to Brooklyn, he’s set the nets (pun intended) on fire connecting on 47.6% of his long-distance bombs throughout 16 contests.
The word is out on Seth across the association, and he rarely gets wide-open looks from deep. Only 17% of his three-point shots have come without a defender within six feet this season. It doesn’t matter. Curry’s excellent perimeter footwork and pure high-release stroke allow him to connect with regularity from the narrowest confines.
Curry has flourished next to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as he’s helped the Nets turn things around after a calamitous 0-10 stretch before he came to town as a part of the trade that saw Ben Simmons work his way to Brooklyn for James Harden.
4. Lonzo Ball
42.3 3P%; 110-260 (3PM-3PA)
Lonzo Ball’s ascension toward three-point mastery is shocking as hell. Ball began his career on the Lakers by shooting 30.5% from deep off 5.7 attempts while hitting a measly 45.1% of his shots from the stripe in one of the ugliest rookie displays we’ve ever seen. Ball followed up his dreadful freshman campaign by shooting 32.9% from beyond the arc and 41.7% from the line throughout his sophomore year in the league.
The Lakers promptly shipped off Ball to the Pelicans after only two seasons in LA before he became untradeable.
It turns out that Lonzo Ball’s funky elbow-out shot wasn’t broken. Ball’s dad and his constant chirping, plus his ridiculous BBB shoes, and the pressure of Hollywood, had climbed inside Lonzo’s head, giving him a monster case of the yips. Once Zo found his way to the Pelicans, he took a breath and found his stroke in the comfy and often empty confines of the Smoothie King Center.
This season Lonzo Ball has been death from deep. He’s played only 35 games after undergoing surgery on his left knee and still cracks our list of best high-volume three-point shooters. While Ball was on the court, he hit 42.3% from deep off a massive 7.4 attempts per game, providing the Bulls with an excellent floor spacing point guard alongside All-Star Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.
Lonzo Ball is due back soon. His combination of excellent perimeter defense and court vision, along with his top-tier three-point stroke, will give the Chicago Bulls a giant boost heading into the postseason.
3. Desmond Bane
42.9 3P%; 216-504 (3PM-3PA)
Desmond Bane has amazed many folks around the NBA with his play this year. He has made a solid case as the Most Improved Player during this, his second season, jumping his numbers up from 9.2 PPG last season to 18.2 PPG.
His three-point numbers, however, aren’t surprising in the least. Desmond Bane shot 43.3% from deep throughout 141 college games as a member of TCU. Last season he connected on 43.2% of his 271 total three-point attempts as a rookie for the Grizzlies.
It’s more of the same in 2021-22. Desmond Bane is shooting 42.9% from deep off 7.0 attempts per game this season. He’s the only player on our list with over 200 total three-point makes, and out of the 12 NBA players who’ve also made over 200 long-distance shots for the year, he’s the only one shooting over 40%.
Bane has formed an impressive two-headed backcourt monster with Ja Morant. Bane is the deep bomber with a solid rim-attack arsenal, and Morant is the most athletic isolation player in the NBA with a decent outside stroke.
Ja Morant gets most of the national credit for the Grizzlies’ swift rise toward a championship contender. But if you talk to diehard Memphis fans, they’ll tell you Desmond Bane’s sweet outside stroke, and solid all-around play have been just as crucial to their hometown squad’s quicker-than-expected success.
2. Cameron Johnson
44.8 3P%; 159- 355 (3PM-3PA)
Cameron Johnson’s rise to the league’s second-best high-volume three-point shooter came out of nowhere. He shot 34.9% last season on a team-high 3.5 wide open (no defender within 6 feet) three-point shots. Not exactly clean numbers.
Cameron Johnson began the 2021-22 season with a dud, shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc across five October games before he settled down and connected at a 44.8% three-point clip for the Phoenix Suns.
Cameron Johnson has benefited from Chris Paul’s masterful passing, Devin Booker’s top-5 mid-range jumper, and Deandre Ayton’s ability to attract attention in the lane. He’s taking 3.4 wide-open three-point jumpers this season, easily the highest number on our list.
Still, he’s put in the gym time necessary to make his unmolested looks, a feat that has bested many solid NBA players. Similar to Luke Luke Kennard, Johnson has gone into beast-mode during tight end game situations, hitting 63.6% of his clutch bombs, propelling the Phoenix Suns to the best crunch time record in the association at 31-6.
Cameron Johnson’s 2021-22 stroke is about as good as they come. The space he creates from beyond the arc is one of the many reasons the Suns are the team to beat in this year’s playoffs.
1. Luke Kennard
45.0 3P%; 175-389 (3PM-3PA)
Luke Kennard is the NBA’s best high-volume three-point shooter. Similar to
Doug McDermott and Seth Curry, Kennard also lands on the NBA’s list of best all-time shooters in 14th place with a 42.4% career hit rate from deep.
Luke Kennard leads the Clippers in spot-up three-point attempts this season at 4.6 per game. He’s formed a nice two-way synergy with his overworked point guard, Reggie Jackson, helping clear space for him to drive into the lane.
Luke Kennard has also been a crunch-time hero for the Clippers, shooting 61.5% from deep in clutch situations off 13 total attempts, helping LA’s other team pull out several close wins with their two superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, on the bench recovering from injury.
Luke Kennard mixes one of the quickest releases in the association with the ability to launch with confidence as his defender does everything possible to block his shot. Kennard is a wizard working off perimeter screens and he has the expertise to float toward the slithers of open space on the floor, helping to create quality looks with his basketball I.Q.
Luke Kennard’s immaculate outside stroke is one of the major reasons the injury-wracked Clippers have hung on to the eighth spot in the Western Conference this season.
Our List of 2021-22 High Volume Three-Point Shooters Is Full Of Surprises
Nobody expected Luke Kennard to transform into the best high volume three-point shooter of 2021-22. Similarly, Eric Gordon, Jrue Holiday, Grant Williams, Tyrese Maxey, Lonzo Ball, and Cameron Johnson’s long distance rise have made great storylines this season.
Seth Curry, Desmond Bane, and Doug McDermott form a trio of long distance shooting precision this season, and all three players land inside the NBA’s all-time three-point shooting rankings.
Perhaps next year, old mainstays like Joe Harris, Joe Ingles, and Stephen Curry will reclaim their spots as the best three-point marksmen, or maybe our new incumbents will continue to block them from the top-10 for the second season in a row.
