Stephen Curry joins list of NBA’s greatest shooters
The shooting prowess of Golden State’s Stephen Curry is well known.
He leads the league in scoring, guided the Warriors to an NBA title last season and is one of the best ball-handlers in league history.
But it’s his shot selections and accuracy that are the talk of the league and has put him in the conversation of the league’s all-time great shooters.
Here’s a look at staff writer Dwain Price’s top five shooters in NBA history, in no particular order:
Stephen Curry
Curry’s range and ball-handling skills are off the charts. His quickness, passing and shooting accuracy are mind-boggling. He averages more than 30 points a game and has 330 3-pointers this season. Nobody shoots the ball better. Nobody.
Reggie Miller
The longtime Indiana Pacer dominated 3-point-shooting talk until Curry came along. Miller, who played from 1987-2005, was one of the best at running defenders into screens, and then floating out and hitting an open jumper. He had an arrogance about him that wore on defenders. He made 2,560 3-pointers in his career.
Larry Bird
Larry Legend is legendary for walking into the dressing room before the 3-point shooting contest at All-Star weekend and asking who was going to finish second. During 13 years with the Boston Celtics (1979-92), Bird backed up his boldness with clutch, dead-eye shooting. He had a 49.6 career shooting percentage from the field.
Jerry West
You don’t get your silhouette on the official NBA logo unless you’ve got game. And West had game. The 14-time All-Star with the Lakers (1960-74) scored 25,192 career points, but didn’t have more because there was no 3-point shot during his playing days.
Ray Allen
Allen is the league’s all-time career leader in 3-point field goals made with 2,973. The 18-year veteran was also a great free-throw shooter (89 percent). LeBron James would have one less world title if not for a clutch late 3-pointer Allen hit in Game 6 of Miami’s 2013 championship series against San Antonio. That shot tied the game and the Heat won it in overtime and Game 7.
This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Stephen Curry joins list of NBA’s greatest shooters."