The Drubbing

Much discussion has been devoted to the greatest NBA shooters. But we’re going to settle it once and for all, and we’re going so far as to crown the greatest shooter in the NBA and the game of basketball.

It's a thing of beauty that sweet, sweet stroke

Criteria

To be considered for the title of the Greatest Shooter in the History of Basketball there are a few accomplishments you need to have under your belt. First of all, you need to be a current or former NBA player. To be the best, you always have to compete against the best competition. And there’s no doubt the best competition is in The Association. The best shooter ever also has to be able to hit a variety of shots. The three-point shot is key, but the player in question also needs to be automatic from the free-throw line, and have a deadly mid-range shooting game as well. They need to be able to spot-up to knock down shots, as well as make shots off the dribble. The need to be able to hit big shots. Careers are often defined by a few made or missed shots in major games, especially in the post-season.

Finalists

To make the short list of contenders for the title of All-Time Best Shooter some stringent qualifications have to be met, ensuring that it is in fact, a short list. So here’s who gets consideration.

Ray Allen – Allen is perhaps the most pure shooter ever. He has a shooting stroke that a piece of art and is a pleasure to see in action. The elevation on his jump-shot combined with his quick release means he can get his shot off if he gets any breathing room at all. His tireless work ethic and meticulous, obsessive training and practice regimen have turned him into the shooting machine that he is.

There's really no "jump" in my jumpshot, shhhhhhhh

Larry Bird – Perhaps no one else talked as much smack and backed it up as Larry Bird. He could hit any shot, at any time, anywhere on the court. It didn’t matter if it was a three-point competition or a fadeaway from the corner with time running out, there may be no word better describes Bird shooting ability than “clutch.” He always got his shot off, and it was rarely off the mark.

Kobe Bryant – Kobe will go down as one of the greatest winners, competitors, scorers, and shooters in NBA history. At times he’s undefendable, and when he’s on, even fouling him can’t stop him at times. He hits shots that one one else can hit and the frequency that he hits high-level difficulty shots are unmatched. His greatest quality is his level of clutch. He always wants, and almost always makes the biggest shots, on the biggest stages at the biggest times in the game.

Kyle Korver – Like Allen, Korver has a technically pure and methodical stroke. Korver has proven himself to have the mental toughness that all the great shooters have. Knowing that no matter how many shots they’ve missed throughout the game, when the game is on the line, they’ll get their shot and they’ll knock it down. And Korver does just that, night in and night out.

Pistol Pete Maravich – Maravich’s talent was only surpassed by his work ethic. He was drilled into becoming the picture of greatness that he was by his father. And it paid off as Maravich still remains the NCAA’s leading scorer with 3,667 points, averaging 44.2 points per game, all without the benefit of the three-point line. Maravich’s prowess was put on full display when he put up an average of over 23 points per game in his rookie campaign and was later traded for eight players. In only ten seasons Maravich amassed 15,948 points, putting him 16th on the all time list. For anyone who questioned Maravich’s actual shooting ability, it’s been said that Maravich made an average of 13 shots each game from what is now considered to be three-point territory. Meaning that Maravich would’ve averaged a whopping 57 points per game. Maravich was the ultimate efficiency shooter.

Spike Lee and the Knicks still have nightmares about Reggie Miller knocking down jumpers against them

Reggie Miller – Despite his awkward and unorthodox shot, Reggie Miller was undoubtedly one of the most clutch shooters of NBA history. His career field goal percentage of 47.1 and 88.8 freethrow percent rank him among the greats, but his 39.5% from behind the arc exemplifies his questionable shot selection and high degree of difficulty his shots were known for. Of all of the shots he’s taken in his 18 year career and five all-star games, Miller will surely be remembered for the daggers he buried in the playoffs and especially against Spike Lee and the New York Knicks.

Drazen Petrovic – Drazen was a highly touted Croatian player that paved the way for scores of future European players to make their mark on the game. Drazen was a great scorer, and an even better shooter. His career averages of 50.6% from the field, 43.7% from behind the line and 84.1% from the stripe exemplify how deadly accurate a shooter he was, but couldn’t fully describe his intensity and enthusiasm for the game. He may have gone down as one of the greatest of all time, but his life was cut short in a car crash at the age of 28.

Glenn Rice – Rice was a knock-down shooter through and through. He started hitting big shots while he was at Michigan and didn’t stop until he retired in 2004. With Glenn it never mattered what team he was on, at what point in his 15-year career, how long he’d played that night or how many shots he’d missed earlier in the game. You could not give him any room or he’d make you pay. Rice finished his career ranked 4th in NBA history with 1,559 three-point field goals made.

Steve Smith – Along with Glenn Rice, Steve Smith was one of the taller players to be considered elite shooters at 6′-8″. But that didn’t stop Smith from being one of only three NBA players to hit seven three-point shots in a quarter. And one of only three NBA players to go eight-for-eight from downtown in a single game. In his 14-year career, Smith could always be counted on to hit big shots when it counted.

Ever wonder if the shorts could have been longer, if the socks were shorter?

Jerry West – The image-sake of the NBA, Jerry West was much more than just a short pair of shorts and a perfect part in his hair. West was an accurate shooter at 47.4% from the field and 81.4% from the line, but he was also a prolific scorer. Even though he played before the advent of the three-point line, West managed to become only the third player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points in his 14-year career. Most impressive about this feat was the fact that West was by far the smallest of the three at 6′-5″, playing in a game that was dominated like the other 25,000-point scorer, Wilt Chamberlain. His shooting ability and dependability when the Lakers needed a big basket made it easy to understand how he got his nickname, “Mr. Clutch”.

Winner

Taking all of the criteria into question, and comparing these contestants head-to-head, the Mark Jackson Knock-Down Shooter Award for the Greatest Shooter in the History of Basketball goes to…

Ray Allen.

All of the players that were up for consideration are worthy of the title, but there can only be one that holds it. Ray Allen has the best shooting stroke ever. And he can get his shot off at any time. It doesn’t matter if it’s at the stripe, a long-range bomb, or a mid-range pull-up as he drives to the hoop, he can knock down any shot with deadly accuracy.

Jesus Shuttlesworth, throw it down!

A career 21-point per game scorer and 8-time all-star in his 12 seasons. Shooting 45% from the field, 40% from behind the arc and over 89% from the stripe. Accuracy has never been a question for him. He’s also been a durable player, having played less than 50 games only twice in his career. And unlike some of the other players on the list, he’s a complete player averaging 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. But this isn’t an all-around competition. It’s a shootout. And that is where Ray Allen is at his best.

While Kobe may go down as the greatest scorer of all-time, he doesn’t measure up to Ray-Ray because he takes so many bad shots. He hits many of them, but a great shooter has discipline that Kobe lacks.

Like Kobe, Bird also took many shots with a greater degree of difficulty. He lacked the quick-release and height on his jumpshot that Jesus Shuttlesworth has. That lead him to take tougher shots, but also perfect his deadly fadeaway shot, which got him on this list but won’t earn him the top spot.

That goes to Ray Allen. Jesus!