Over the last 15 years, the three-point shot has become the most relevant and voluminous part of an NBA offense. The three-point revolution really took shape as Stephen Curry, and the Golden State Warriors began to win championships as a result of their perimeter-based play. All over the world, in basketball at all levels, all anybody wants to do is shoot three-pointers and be like Curry. See, the increase in the volume of three-point shooting isn’t limited to the NBA, but that is where it takes center stage on almost any given night.
Today, we will be discussing the greatest three-point shooters of all time and ranking them by tiers. We will base this on volume, efficiency, and impact on team success with their three-point prowess. These three-point marksmen will be placed into tiers much like we have done in the past with our all-time GOAT Pyramid and other examples. The 40 players below are undoubtedly the best three-point shooters that the game has ever seen and shall be honored as such moving forward.
These are the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history ranked by tiers.
Tier 5
Jamal Crawford, Paul Pierce, Kyle Lowry, Vince Carter, Joe Johnson, Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, Mike Miller, Danny Green, Glen Rice, Nic Batum, Eddie Jones, Tim Hardaway, Kevin Love, Dale Ellis, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki
Tier Five begins with the lower end of three-point shooters in NBA history, but still, the players who made large contributions with their shooting. Jamal Crawford is known as one of the greatest bench players in NBA history. His three-point shooting fluctuated for most of his career from 2001 thru 2020, but he was consistent. Crawford knocked down his threes at a rate of 34.8% on an average of 4.8 attempts. His best season came in 2010 with Atlanta when he knocked down 38.2% of his shots from deep on 5.4 attempts.
Paul Pierce was another streaky shooter from deep but ended up making 2,143 career threes which rank 11th on the all-time list. Pierce shot over 40.0$ from three in a season three times in his career and twice during All-Star seasons in 2010 and 2002. Pierce led the Celtics to the NB Finals in 2010, having adjusted his game to the new way it was being played. For his career, Pierce shot 36.8% from three on 4.3 attempts.
When we think of Kyle Lowry, his three-point shooting doesn’t exactly jump off the page at us. Lowry was instrumental in winning an NBA championship with the Raptors in 2019 and is widely considered their greatest player in franchise history. For his career, Lowry has shot 36.7% from three on 5.3 attempts. His best season came in 2017 with Toronto when he shot a career-high 41.2% from beyond the arc on 7.8 attempts, the second-most attempts from three in a season for Lowry. He ranks 13th on the NBA’s all-time three-pointers made list with 2,061 threes made.
For most of his career and beyond, Vince Carter was considered to be the game’s greatest in-game dunker. His feats of athleticism were unbelievable during his time and still remain as such today. Carter could also let it fly from three as he ranks seventh all-time with 2,290 three-pointers made in his career. Carter shot 37.1% from three on 4.0 attempts from deep and had four seasons in which he shot at least 40.0% from deep as well.
Joe Johnson is one of the few guys you wouldn’t mind having the ball in his hands for the last shot in a close game. With his ability to deliver in the clutch and as a great isolation player, Johnson also benefited from playing in the three-point era at the back end of his career. Johnson hit 1,978 threes in his career on 37.1% shooting. He had three seasons in which he shot 40.0% from deep, including his career-high 47.8% in 2005 for the Suns on 4.5 attempts.
Steve Nash is one of the greatest playmakers in NBA history. The two-time MVP was also one of the most efficient shooters in NBA history as well with three different seasons of 50/40/90 efficiency. The only knock on Nash is that he didn’t shoot enough considering how accurate he was in doing so. For his career, Nash shot 42.8% from three-point range but only took 3.2 attempts on average from deep. In the four seasons he took more than 4.0 three-point attempts, Nash shot at least 44.0% in all of them.
Another one of the most electric dunkers of his era was Jason Richardson. As a two-time Slam Dunk contest winner, Richardson’s reputation as a dunker is warranted. However, Richardson could also shoot it and was a problem for opponents once he got hot. In the one season he took over 7.0 attempts in his career in 2008 with the Hornets, Richardson shot 40.3% from three. Richardson ranks tied for 32nd all-time in three-pointers made with 1,608 made threes in his career.
Mike Miller is one of the greatest three-point specialists ever. In his days with the Heat in the early 2010s, Miller played a big role off the bench with his timely three-point shooting and his clutch ability while winning two championships in 2012 and 2013. Miller shot over 40.0% from three-point range in 10 different seasons in his career and shot 40.0% for his career on 3.8 attempts on average. He ranked 35th in three-pointers made in NBA history with 1,590 shots made from deep in his career.
We saw Danny Green break out as a true shooter during his younger days with the San Antonio Spurs. Green is a career 39.9% three-point shooter on an average of 4.8 attempts. He shot 40.0% or better seven times in his career and is doing so even in 2022-23 on just 2.5 attempts. Green is a three-time NBA champion with the Spurs, Raptors, and Lakers as well and shoots 38.9% for his career in the playoffs on 4.9 attempts.
Glen Rice was one of the first true three-point marksmen of the 1990s. At his peak with the Heat and Hornets, Rice was among the best in the NBA at knocking down the deep ball as he shot over 40.0% four seasons in a row from 1995 thru 1998. Rice led the NBA in three-point shooting percentage in 1997 when he shot 47.0% from three on 5.6 attempts. For his career, Rice shot 40.0% from three on just 3.9 attempts. Rice retired with 1,559 career three-pointers made, which puts him tied for 38th on an all-time scale.
Nicolas Batum is probably one of the least expected members of Tier Five but let us lay out the facts. Batum is tied with Rice for 38th on the all-time three-pointers made list and has shot 36.4% from deep for his career. He has had three 40.0% seasons or better from beyond the arc including back-to-back seasons as recently as 2021 and 2022 with the Clippers. As he continues to go on with his career for the next few seasons, Batum is set to crack the Top 30 if he keeps shooting at this rate.
Eddie Jones ranks right at the number 40 spot on the all-time three-pointers made list with 1,546. Jones shot over 40.0% from three in his career only one time but was very consistent otherwise. He shot 37.3% from three for his career on an average of 4.3 attempts per game. His best shooting seasons came as a member of the Miami Heat when he shot 38.1% from three over the span of six seasons.
Tim Hardaway’s Killer crossover is one of the greatest signature moves in NBA history. Hardaway is another player we don’t ever think of when it comes to the game’s greatest shooters. Hardaway was actually one of the more willing shooters from the 90s, as he averaged 5.0 attempts from three for his career and knocked them down at 35.5%. Hardaway connected on 1,542 three-pointers in his career which puts him at 41st all-time. Not too bad for a point guard from the 1990s.
For the last 15 years, Kevin Love has transformed into one of the better stretch power forwards in the game. As he got older and more refined, Love became a decent shooter from three-point range and began shooting 36.0% or better. Love has shot over 40.0% from three in a season twice in his career and 37.1% overall on an average of 4.8 attempts. Love is pretty much at the tail end of his playing career so the 42nd spot where he ranks now in three-pointers made is likely where he will end his career.
Dale Ellis was the first player in NBA history to ever reach 1,000 three-pointers made for his career. He shot 40.0% in an era where the coaches would bench you for taking too many outside shots, just as he told us in our interview earlier this year. Ellis knocked down the 28th-most three-pointers in NBA history with 1,719 on 40.3% shooting. He led the NBA in 1998 with a shooting percentage of 46.4% from deep and shot 40.0% 11 different times from three in his career.
Kobe Bryant can usually be referred to as a high-volume, low-efficiency scorer from three-point range but hitting 1,827 of them in a career will certainly get you on this list. Bryant never shot 40.0% from three and his career-high came in 2003 when he shot 38.2% on 4.0 attempts. In his career, Bryant only attempted more than 5.0 three-pointers seven times in 20 seasons so he wasn’t chucking the ball up as often as many assume. Bryant ended his career with a 32.9% three-point percentage making him the only player here with a career three-point percentage lower than 33.0%.
Dirk Nowitzki revolutionized the power forward position with his ability to knock down the long ball. Nowitzki is the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made by a 7-footer, and he shot 38.0% from three for his career. He ranks 16th all-time in three-pointers made with 1,982 shots made. Nowitzki should be known as the greatest shooting big man that ever lived as he rewrote the history books for 20 years on his way to becoming a Top 10 scorer in NBA history.
The final member of Tier Five will be Carmelo Anthony. During his earlier days, Anthony was a serious three-level threat and an all-time great scorer. As his career progressed, he turned to the three-point line for the spots where he would take most of his shots. Anthony ranks 27th on the all-time three-pointers made list with 1,731 threes made and shoots 35.5% from deep for his career. Can he get a contract that will allow him to move into the Top 25?
Tier 4
Jason Terry, J.R. Smith, Kevin Durant, Chauncey Billups, Wesley Matthews, Rashard Lewis, Larry Bird, Kyrie Irving, CJ McCollum, Bradley Beal, Eric Gordon
Tier Four is where we begin to get into the shooters with a little bit more volume to their three-point shooting than Tier Five. Jason Terry ranks eighth all-time with 2,292 three-pointers made in his career where he shot 38.0% on 4.3 attempts. At his peak, Terry was a 37.0% to a 40.0% shooter from three on anywhere from 5.0 to 6.0 attempts. Terry helped the Dallas Mavericks win an NBA championship in 2011 by shooting 44.2% from three on their playoff run to capture the title.
J.R. Smith aka “The Henny God” is infamous for his blunder during Game One of the 2018 NBA Finals. Smith could light up the scoreboard any way he seemed fit as well with a vast dunk package that he displayed quite often. Smith ranks 19th in three-pointers made in his career, as he shot 37.3% from deep for his career. Smith averaged 5.3 attempts from three for his career as he shot over 40.0% twice on sufficient volume to warrant his placement here.
Kevin Durant is one of the game’s greatest scorers and will definitely be at the top of our mid-range shooters’ list. Durant Durant ranks 20th all-time in three-pointers made, knocking down 1,843 of them at a 38.4% clip. He has shot over 40.0% from three in a season five times and has gone 50/40/90 once in his career. Durant’s name will be much further up this pyramid as time goes on, but for now, he sits on Tier Four.
Mr. Big Shot Chauncey Billups also comes in on Tier Four for his three-point shooting career. Billups also knocked down over 1,800 threes in his career and ranks 22nd in NBA history. Billups was an efficient shooter from beyond the arc for most of his career and shot 38.7% on 4.5 attempts on average. He shot over 40.0% five times in his career and each time was on more than 4.4 attempts. Billups gets respect as a former NBA champion and Finals MVP, but maybe it’s time to start respecting him as a shooter too.
One of the more surprising names on this list will be Wesley Matthews. The career journeyman has played for seven teams in 14 years but is also one of only 23 players in NBA history to hit more than 1,800 three-pointers. For his career, Matthews shoots 37.6% on 5.1 attempts making him one of the more accurate members of Tier Four. Matthews was averaging 6.6 attempts at his shooting peak and knocking down 38.0% of them from three as a 14.3 PPG scorer.
The real fans of the NBA during the 2000s and 2010s remember how smooth of a shooting stroke Rashard Lewis had when he was in the NBA. With a super high release point on his jumper, it just felt and looked different when he would catch on fire. Lewis ranks 25th all-time in three-pointers made as a career 38.6% three-point shooter. He helped the Magic become one of the game’s best teams in the late 2000s and won an NBA championship with the Heat at the end of his career in 2013.
This one is music to JJ Redick’s ears. Larry Bird was a phenomenal player and one of the game’s absolute legends without any doubt. The facts are that he didn’t take enough threes to warrant a higher spot on this tier list. Bird only attempted 1.9 three-pointers per game for his career and only shot more than 3.0 attempts per game in three of his 13 seasons. Bird was a career 37.6% shooter and undoubtedly will be much higher on our mid-range list, but strictly talking three-pointers, he sits in Tier Four.
Yes, Kyrie Irving is a great shooter and one of the most efficient ones to ever play the game. Kyrie ranks just 45th in all-time three-pointers made, but the rate at which he does it is what is incredible. He is a career 39.1% shooter from beyond the arc and has attempted 5.9 shots from there per game. Irving had four seasons in the late 2010s in which he shot at least 6.6 threes per game and connected on 40.0% of them. He had a 50/40/90 season as recently as 2021 with the Nets and has staked his right to be considered a great shooter on an all-time scale.
The next three players on this tier are all active players still adding to their totals and percentages. CJ McCollum is one of those players as a career 39.4% three-point shooter on 6.0 attempts. He has knocked down over 1,500 three-pointers in his 10 years in the NBA and will only continue to add to that before his career is over. Over the last three seasons with Portland and New Orleans, McCollum is shooting 38.9% from three on 7.9 attempts per game.
Bradley Beal will most likely crack the Top 20 in three-pointers’ made sometime in the next two seasons. He sits at exactly 1,800 three made at this point in his career and climbing. Beal is a career 37.2% three-point shooter in his 11 seasons with the Wizards on 5.9 attempts. He has had three seasons with at least 40.0% shooting from three and has never attempted less than 4.0 three per game in a season. The sheer volume of which he shoots and his efficiency warrants a spot with the rest of the group in Tier Four.
The final member of Tier Four is a veteran guard and former Sixth Man of the Year Eric Gordon. He ranks 21st all-time in career three-pointers made and is a 36.9% career shooter from three. Gordon has been in the NBA for 15 seasons with three different teams and has gone on runs as a shooter that have rarely been duplicated. Gordon can light it up from deep as he did in the middle of his career from 2013 thru 2021. Over this time, Gordon shot 37.0% from three on 7.3 attempts which is good enough for his spot in Tier Four among the game’s greatest shooters.
Tier 3
Kyle Korver, James Harden, Peja Stojakovic, Buddy Hield, JJ Redick, Paul George
Tier Three is when we really start to unravel the greatest shooters in NBA history. Kyle Korver is certainly one of those names, as he made a lengthy and solid career out of this specialty. Korver led the NBA four times in three-point percentage during his career including the 2010 season when he shot 53.6%. On 4.6 attempts in his career, Korver shot 42.9% overall from three-point range, albeit on lower attempts, but a high percentage nonetheless.
At the height of his career, James Harden was one of the most talented scorers we have ever seen. Harden won three straight scoring titles and an MVP with the Rockets in the late 2010s, and his offensive output, including three-pointers, was unheard of. Harden is third on the NBA’s all-time three-pointers made list and is one of only four players ever with at least 2,500 threes made. He is a career 36.3% shooter from deep on 7.6 attempts. His best season is currently underway efficiency-wise, as he is shooting 39.4% from three in 2022-23 on 7.3 attempts.
Now, Peja Stojakovic is definitely one of the first names people think of when they think of the greatest shooters ever. I would know, I have done plenty of polls on it. Peja only knocked down 1,760 threes in his career but again, played in a different era than most here today. Stojakovic was a career 40.1% shooter from three and attempted 5.5 shots from there per game. There were eight times when Peja shot for at least 40.0% in a season and attempted at least six threes. For his volume, efficiency, and sweet stroke from beyond the arc, Stojakovic is definitely Tier Three when it comes to shooters.
Out of all the players who debuted in the NBA after Stephen Curry began his reign as the best, Buddy Hield has been roaring up the charts quicker than anybody else. Hield has hit 1,655 three-pointers in just seven seasons as a pro with the Pelicans, Kings, and Pacers. He is shooting 40.2% for his career thus far on 7.8 attempts and has shot over 40.0% for a season twice. In his 2021 season, Hield attempted over 10.0 threes per game and knocked down nearly 40.0% of them. He is a true threat to take Curry’s crown when his career is all said and done.
Please share this with JJ Redick. All Jokes aside, Redick ranks very high on our list once again due to volume and efficiency. Redick knocked down 1,950 three-pointers in his career at a rate of 41.5%. His movement without the ball as a catch-and-shoot player was remarkable to watch, as was his quick release off the dribble. In 2016, Redick led the NBA with a 47.5% shooting percentage from three on 5.6 attempts. Redick is surely one of the NBA’s greatest shooters from three in its long and illustrious history.
The final member of Tier Three is a current player who has really adapted his game to his era and has become a fantastic shooter. Paul George is a career 38.2% shooter from three-point range and has attempted 6.6 shots per game for his career. George has been a 40.0% three-point shooter as recently as 2020 and 2021, when he hit the mark on over 7.0 attempts in each season. On an All-time scale, George has connected on 1,990 threes which places him 14th in NBA history.
Tier 2
Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard
The next five players from here on out are the elite of the elite. Ray Allen helped the NBA’s three-point record until it was broken by the man who sits alone in Tier One in 2022. Allen is known as a talented shooter, no doubt, but it wasn’t always like that. When he began to take 7.0 or 8.0 threes per game is when he really became an efficient shooter. He shot 40.0% for his career from three on 5.7 attempts and, at his peak, was shooting over 40.0% on 8.0 attempts. Besides, he knocked down one of the most iconic three-pointers ever in Game Six of the 2013 NBA Finals.
Reggie Miller was just as iconic for his three-point shooting as anyone else has been, aside from maybe Curry. Whether he was killing the Knicks every time he stepped foot on the court against them or forcing Michael Jordan’s Bulls to the brink of elimination, Miller could always be counted on to knock down a big three at any point in time. Miller ranks fourth on the NBA’s all-time three-pointers made list and shot 39.5% from three for his career.
Klay Thompson’s spot on this list is just as warranted as his teammate above him. As far as big performances go, Klay Thompson is right up there with anybody when it comes to pure shooting. Thompson has delivered time after time, like his 37 points through three quarters on almost no dribbles or his countless big-time playoff performances. Thompson has shot at least 40.0% from three every season of his career aside from the 2022 season, a year in which he was coming off two years of absence due to injury.
The final member of Tier Two is a true high-volume-high efficiency shooter and has had his fair share of iconic moments from beyond the arc as well. Whether sending the Rockets home or waving goodbye to the Thunder, Lillard has always had a flair for the dramatic. For his career, Lillard is a 37.3% three-point shooter on an incredible 8.3 attempts. Although he has never been a 40.0% shooter from three, there is no denying his place among the game’s greatest shooters.
Tier 1
Stephen Curry
As I have been alluding to for the past 4,000 words, there is no one in NBA history like Stephen Curry shooting the ball from three-point land. He has re-defined the way the game is played with his all-time incredible volume of shots on ridiculous efficiency. It is something we will never see again from the greatest point guard of the 2010s. Teams have barely had an answer for it which has led to two MVPs, four NBA championships, and a Finals MVP award. In 14 seasons, Curry has only had two in which he did not reach the 40.0% mark from three. Since 2015, his first MVP and championship season, Curry has attempted 10.7 three-pointers on average and connected 42.3% of the time. It is truly outstanding and God-level stuff when you break it down. There has never been and maybe never will be another three-point shooter like Stephen Curry in NBA history.
Source: fadeawayworld
