10. Chuck Person
He would place in the top ten in three point attempts 6 times and three pointers made 4 times. He finished his career with 1,220 three pointers made, currently 29th all time, and hit a personal best 190 in the 95-96 season. Person earned his nickname by refusing to be beat or bettered by any opponent. His willingness to shoot for shot for shot with anyone would become his trademark.
While his career three point percentage is just 36.2%, Person’s presence and ability to hit the shot when it counted most is what secures his place on our list.
9. Dell Curry
His personal best was 164 three’s made in the 95-96 season. Curry was one of the games premier shooters, and while he came off the bench his entire career his place on this list is secure as one of the very best three point shooters to ever play in the NBA.
8. Dan Majerle
Majerle would lead the league in three pointers made and attempted in the 92-93 and 93-94 seasons and then finish 2nd in makes and 3rd in attempts in the 94-95 season with his personal best 199 made and 548 attempts. He would hit 558 three pointers the most in the NBA during that stretch. Continuing his success Majerle would lead the league in playoff 3′s made and attempted in the 92-93 season as well. While most have assumed that his nickname “Thunder” came from his long range three pointers, it was actually a name given to him his rookie season in regards to his dunking ability. Majerle would have less success after he left Phoenix, but remained one of the most feared three point shooters during his time.
He retired with a 35.8% mark behind the line, not a high number in comparison with others on our list, but in the 90′s everyone knew if the Suns had the ball and where down by 3 points or less that it didn’t matter where he would get the ball, he was always a threat to make the big shot.
7. Peja Stojakovic
Stojakovic has also enjoyed success in the NBA 3 Point Contest as well, winning the contest twice in the 01-02 and 02-03 seasons. At his current pace Stojakovic figures to secure his spot in 3rd place for most three pointers made all time, which may not sound like much for a guy who is already 4th, but given the totals of the players in 1st and 2nd, he may have to settle for 3rd.
6. Steve Nash
Nash has placed in the top ten in 3′s made twice, but hasn’t broke the top ten in attempts a trait reserved for the games most accurate shooters. Over the past 4 seasons Nash has averaged better than 50% from the field, 90% from the free throw line, and 40% behind the three point line a feat unmatched by anyone in the NBA. Nash has hit 1,360 three pointers so far in his career, currently 16th all time, but given his age and skill Nash figures to be in the top ten in no time.
5. Glen Rice
Rice would also place in the top ten in 3 point percentage 3 times during his career. When Rice retired he was 5th in NBA history with 1,559 3′s made and 11th in attempts with 3,896. Rice was at his best in the 94-95 season when we won the All-Star 3 Point Contest and set a All-Star game record with 24 points in a quarter.
4. Dale Ellis
He’d also place in the top ten for attempts 8 times, leading the league in the 86-87 season. Proving he was more than your average shooter he would also place in the top ten in three point percentage 7 times, hitting a personal best 47.8% in the 88-89 season and leading the league in the 97-98 with a 46.4%. Ellis would be the first player not named Larry Bird to win the 3 Point Shooting Contest in 88-89 season and would go on to enter 7 contests in all, the most of any player ever. When Dale Ellis retired he was leader in both 3′s made with 1,719, currently still 3rd all time and 3′s attempted with 4,266 currently still 6th all time. H
e was a 40.3% lifetime shooter behind the arc and set the record for most 3′s hit in a single game when he hit 9 three-pointers in on April 20, 1990. (The record has since be surpassed on numerous occasions) Dale Ellis was one of the finest shooters to ever play in the NBA and was the first to hold several career records in the 3 point catagory a true standard setter for those to follow.
3. Larry Bird
Bird would be in the top ten for 3′s made in a season 6 times including being number one twice, the first in the 85-86 season and the other the very next year (86-87) when he would hit his career high of 90. Bird would also finish in the top ten in 3 point percentage 8 times with a career high 42.7% in the 84-85 season.
In the 85-86 playoffs Bird would make and take the most 3 pointers for the first and only time in his career. In 1985 the NBA would create a new skills contest during the All-Star weekend, the 3 point shootout. Bird would not only enter but would win the event each of the first 3 years after it’s creation. And in the 1986 event Bird would do what has become a legend in NBA lore when he would boldly guarantee his victory by asking who was going to play for second place before the contest would even begin. Bird would finish his career with 649 three pointers made, currently 122nd in the NBA all time ranks and have a career 3 point percentage of 37.6%.
What many overlook is that over the course of 4 seasons early in Bird’s career (80 thru 83) he would hit only 71 out of 276 three pointers for a meager 25.7%. But Bird’s Celtic’s would also win 2 Championships during those 4 seasons proving that it’s not how many you hit, but when you hit them. The legacy of Larry Bird has been captured in so many forms one could spend countless hours watching his incredible performances. While he is 3rd on our list, Bird is considered to be the best pure shooter in NBA history.
2. Ray Allen
Allen has hit the second most 3 pointers in NBA history with 2,299 while shooting an impressive 39.8% and at his current pace could be #1 in just a few seasons. Allen set the NBA record for 3′s made in a season in the 05-06 season when he hit 269, breaking the record previously held by Dennis Scott. He has been in the top ten in 3′s made and attempted 10 times in his career finishing 1st in three seasons which is an NBA record (01-02, 02-03, and 05-06) and 2nd in three others (99-00, 00-01, and 08-09).
Allen set the NBA record for most 3′s made in a NBA Finals series with 22 in the 2008 series. He also shares two other NBA records in 3 point shooting, the first for 3′s made in a single half with 8 and the other 3′s made in a single NBA Finals game with 7. Allen led the league in play-off 3′s made in the 00-01 and 07-08 seasons also. Allen also won the NBA All-Star 3 Point competition in 2001 and finished the season with his personal best 3 point percentage of 43.4%. Allen already has numerous big time shots to his resume, but one of Allen’s greatest performances came on January 22, 2006 vs. the Suns when he would hit 8 three pointers in the 4th quarter and 2 overtimes including the game winner.
The only downside to his remarkable night, is that it was the same night Kobe Bryant would score 81 points preventing his performance from getting the attention it deserved.
1. Reggie Miller
His career would also become an NBA record as he hit over 100 three pointers in 15 consecutive seasons. In his career Miller twice lead the league in 3′s made, the first in the 92-93 season the other in the 96-97 season when he hit his career high of 229. Miller would also place in the top ten in 3 point percentage 5 times with a career best .429 in the 97-98 season. But Miller’s penchant for 3′s wasn’t limited to the regular season, as he lead the league in playoff makes in the 97-98 and 99-00 seasons also.
Perhaps the one thing that separates Miller from the other shooters on our list, was his ability to hit the 3 when his team needed it the most. Reggie Miller has almost as many NBA highlights for hitting the big 3 point shot as Micheal Jordan does for dunking. And his truly best moment has become legendary, against the Knicks in game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals Miller would score 8 points in 8.9 seconds including a pair of 3 pointers capping an incredible win for the Pacers.
Source: www.toptenz.net
