There’s been some real salty reactions and downright anger about some of the selections on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
Now that the team is established, what about the debate within the debate?
Among those 75 selections are the best specialists in history. Those guys who did one thing better than 99 percent of the ballers to ever play.
The Shadow League gives you the best professional shooters the league has ever seen from the list of the Top 75 greatest players in NBA history.
Note: Klay Thompson is easily one of the top-five shooters in NBA history but wasn’t chosen for the Top 75 list.
1. Stephen Curry
When we talk about shooters it starts and ends with Stephen Curry, who’s doing things we’ve never witnessed from a shooter.
It began with that 2008 March Madness run where he led the Davidson Wildcats to an improbable Elite Eight run.
Standing 6-3 and 175 pounds soaking wet, all Curry does is constantly beat double- and triple-teams to put up amazing numbers night after night. His long-range game is unrivaled.
He’s currently second all-time in makes and soon to pass Ray Allen for the No. 1 spot this season.
To put Curry’s shooting dominance in perspective, the son of Dell holds four of the top five seasons in 3-point makes with an NBA-record 402 coming in 2015-16.
Steph Curry explodes for 46 points, including #NBA record-breaking 13 three pointers, in @Warriors win! pic.twitter.com/tOF6f5RwUM
— NBA (@NBA) November 8, 2016
He holds the record with 22 games of at least 10 three-pointers made. Curry has one season below 41 percent from three and that was when he broke his wrist and played just five games in 2019-20.
“GreatestShooterToEverPlayTheGame”
Reggie Miller
Reggie Miller gets the nod for second greatest shooter ever. A skinny dude from UCLA that resembles Mr. Potato Head put the Indiana Pacers on his back as their franchise player.
He made that city relevant for something else besides the Indianapolis 500. His battles against the hated New York Knicks immortalized him and made him a hero even to non-Pacers fans.
His shooting and movement without the ball was just unbelievable, and he knew how to draw fouls. Always a great free-throw shooter, Miller also possessed the “clutch” gene, and lived for the big moments.
Steph. Ray Allen. Reggie Miller.
3 of the best shooters the world has ever seen 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HMY19SHZT9
— Steph Curry Nation (@StephNationCP) October 20, 2021
The greatest catch-and-shoot player ever (pre-Klay Thompson), Miller is currently third all-time in three-point makes.
Give him his flowers as he carried a small-market team to the brink of titles with no other top guy on that roster. Pure greatness.
Jesus Shuttlesworth
Ray Allen was smooth as butter from his time at UConn to him starring in a movie opposite Denzel Washington “He Got Game.”
Allen’s career began in Seattle and he didn’t disappoint showing a versatile skill set with some real athleticism. He’d attack the rim, pull up and blow by defenders with an underrated handle.
But what always stood out was Allen’s silky smooth shooting stroke from deep. Allen is currently the all-time leader in three-point makes.
None bigger than his shot in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals to save the Miami Heat and help aid LBJ’s legacy in many ways. “Jesus Shuttlesworth” could flat out shoot it.
Larry Legend
Larry Bird was so confident in his shooting stroke that when he entered the 1988 NBA All-Star Three-Point Shootout he went by the room where the other competitors were preparing and asked “Who’s coming in second?”
Larry Legend with the flex 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/EWUyhtfIR3
— RD backup (@rdbackupp) October 21, 2021
He then went out and shot in his Celtics warmups, winning it for the third consecutive year.
We are looking to see who the best 3pt shooter is. Tell us who is the best all around 3pt shooter using gifs!
Steph Curry, Klay Tompson, Larry Bird, Ray Allen, Peja Stojakovic Kyle Korver, JR Smith or Lou Williams! pic.twitter.com/KXPOkji3Bz
— EA SPORTS NBA LIVE MOBILE (@EASPORTSNBALM) June 2, 2020
One of the biggest trash talkers and clutch shot-makers the league ever witnessed.
The three-time MVP (1984-86) and three-time NBA champion (1981, ’84 and ’86) didn’t take as many threes as the others on this list but let us know if there was ever a purer shooter to grace the hardwood. He and Magic Johnson forever changed and saved the NBA in the 1980s with an incomparable star power.
Steve Nash
Steve Nash doesn’t get enough respect or credit for his remarkable NBA career. Well he didn’t. Now he’s a Top 75 Player, and a lot of guys who may have been better see on the outside looking in.
The two-time MVP has nothing to be ashamed of. He led the Phoenix Suns to the biggest win increase (+33) his first season in the “Valley of the Sun.”
Nash was a knockdown shooter who didn’t shoot enough. Who would’ve ever thought a skinny soccer player from Canada by way of Santa Clara would become a great point guard capable of dishing out 15 assists while shooting 50-60 percent from the floor?
Nash truly defied the odds which is the biggest part of his appeal. He shot a sick 90.4 percent from the charity stripe, possessed a wicked floater and pull-up that the young undersized guards of today (Trae Young/Ja Morant) obviously have.
The Phoenix Suns/Dallas Mavs led the league in total offense six times from 2001-2010 with Nash as the maestro. The other four seasons they were still top four.
Honorable Mention:
Kevin Durant — Midrange assassin who’s a career 38 percent shooter from deep and 88 percent from the charity stripe.
Damian Lillard — Clutch is his nickname. Really it’s DOLLA, but he’s money either way. Or call him “Dame Time” when he’s flexing his unlimited range. Check the shot over Paul George to send the OKC Thunder home.
Dirk Nowitzki — Smooth-shooting 7-footer who mastered the one leg fade-away. Hung 52 on the original “Dream Team” as an 18-year-old unknown from Germany.
