Who is the best shooter in NBA history?
Debate the answer with Chad Finn and Boston sports fans at The Sports Q.
Welcome to Boston.com’s Sports Q, our daily conversation, initiated by you and moderated by Chad Finn, about a compelling topic in Boston sports. Here’s how it works: You submit questions to Chad through Twitter, Facebook, email, his Friday chat, and any other outlet you prefer. He’ll pick one each day (except for Saturday) to answer, then we’ll take the discussion to the comments, where the mission is to have a sports conversation with occasional controversy, but without condescension or contrarianism. Chad will stop by the comments section several times per day to navigate. But you drive the conversation.Who is the best shooter in NBA history?
This question comes not via Twitter, Facebook, email or readers’ usual (and encouraged!) routes for reaching out to the Sports Q. Instead it comes from my own sports-addled brain as I sit here watching the 3-point Shootout at NBA All-Star weekend.
For a Celtics fan, any viewing of the 3-Point Shootout under any circumstances automatically leads to a reminiscence about 1986, when Larry Bird, at his justifiably cocky peak, strolled into the locker room before the contest, said, “Which one of you guys is finishing second?,’’ then went out and made sure that … well, everyone else was playing for second. It’s one of the best anecdotes in Larry Legend’s legend.
I think most Celtics fans think of Bird as the greatest shooter ever and probably aren’t interested in hearing arguments on anyone else’s behalf. At the least he is the player you’d want taking the last shot down a point in the final seconds with the fate of mankind at stake, which is a pretty good argument for the greatest shooter ever if you think about it.
But in terms of efficiency and prolificness, it’s tough to make a case for Bird, Jerry West, or anyone else against contemporary ballplayers. Consider: Stephen Curry has made 220 3-pointers this season at a 41 percent rate, the worst percentage of his career by far. Larry’s career high in attempts was 237 in 1987-88, when he shot 41.4 percent, the third-best 3-point percentage of his career. Curry is a 43.9 percent 3-point shooter for his career. Larry? 37.6.
Yes, it’s a different basketball world now. The 3-pointer was a selectively deployed weapon in Bird’s day. Offenses are built around it now. Still, it’s hard to argue that the best shooters then were better than the best shooters now, no matter how much we may personally adore them.
Anyway, here’s how I break it down:
Most effortless shooting release: Either Ray Allen or Dale Ellis.
Most fundamentally perfect form: Klay Thompson.
Most underrated because we think of him as a playmaker first: Steve Nash.
Guy who gets the last shot with the game on the line: Larry. Of course it’s Larry.
Best shooter: It’s Curry. It really has to be doesn’t it? You know where to find me (hint: in the comments) if you disagree.
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