Pat Riley- "If I had to choose a player to make a shot to win the game - I'd choose Michael Jordan. If I had to choose a player to make a shot to save my life - I'd choose Larry Bird."
FACTS Here are the seasons when Wilt Chamberlain led the league in shooting percentage and his shooting percentage for each of those seasons: 1959-1960: Shooting Percentage - 46.1% 1960-1961: Shooting Percentage - 50.6% 1961-1962: Shooting Percentage - 50.4% 1962-1963: Shooting Percentage - 52.3% 1963-1964: Shooting Percentage - 52.1% 1964-1965: Shooting Percentage - 54.0% 1965-1966: Shooting Percentage - 54.0% 1966-1967: Shooting Percentage - 68.3% 1971-1972: Shooting Percentage - 57.2%
Consider the eras. For example, Jerry West belongs on the list, even though shooting percentages were lower back then. There is a video of a 70-something West giving a talk to kids surrounding the key on a court. West was in street clothes, and was shooting shots (ranging from layups to several feet away) while chatting with the kids. He makes every single shot. It is on RUclips and it is amazing to watch.
If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game I'd choose Michael Jordan; If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life...I'd take Larry Bird." - Pat Riley
I am 77 years of age and watched a lot of basketball games ABA & NBA. I still think the smoothest shooter with the least effort was the Iceman George Gervin.
Nash is right there too. Nash was also a facilitator so his shooting was secondary. Besides Curry, Nash was a better shooter off his dribble than the rest of this list and shooting off your dribble is way harder than a set shot.
The top 5 players all deserve to be on this list. But imagine Drazen Petrovic not passing away in that tragic car accident, he would be on this list, I think. He was an incredible shooter. Accurate, hard to block because of his quick release, and reliable under pressure.
@@thesportingblog23 Dude. Really? Bird Iceman The Pistols Miller #5 is up for debate. Lucas? West? Dirk? Allen? Havelichk? Maybe even Jordan? Not Steph. Defenses aren't allowed to look hard at him. It would be like a shoot- around for all those other guys.
@@marksheppard6498 You must be about six-years-old. Curry is a fine, fine player. Excellent shooter. So was his father, who was recognized as a really good player. Steph is maybe a better player than his dad to some degree. But all you "oh he's the best ever and I want to kiss him, I want to marry him!" sort of guys know about five years of history. He will go down as "changing the game." What really happened is he's the best shooter who came along at a time the NBA changed the rules for TV that set things up for this style play, and Golden State and Steve Kerr embraced the change. If it wasn't Steph Curry, it would have been someone else who is an excellent shooter, maybe even Klay. Put them in another era, or a different team and coach, and he would be considered a "nice player, almost as good as his dad was..." Because he has a relatively slight-build. That's not knocking him, he has great skills, and fully has taken advantage of being the right age at the right time at the right place. But for anyone who says "he's the greatest of all time" means you have not the slightest appreciation of the history of the game.
@@keithgraham9547 You’re talking out of your ass to a guy that has played the game at the semi level. A guy who has taught and coached the game. A guy who was around to watch the knicks championship years and the Celtics with Dave Cowens at center. Watched Kareem when his name was Lewis. I’ve forgotten more about basketball than you’ll ever know. I’ve seen all the great shooters from Jerry West and Gail Goodrich to Steph and Klay. Stay in your lane and learn some respect,kid!
Pat Riley- "If I had to choose a player to make a shot to win the game - I'd choose Michael Jordan. If I had to choose a player to make a shot to save my life - I'd choose Larry Bird."
i agreed with the list with the exception of Curry in an era where just scratching a player is a fragrant foul Curry had it easy compared to Michael Larry Ray and the rest
You can talk all you want about the other skills, will to win, clutch shooting, etc. and all that stuff, but Steph has taken the singular skill of shooting to another level. It's not debatable
I realize that his career was shortened by the untimely accident that ended his life but I still believe that Drazen Petrovic is the absolute best pure shooter I ever saw play the game. The man was completely amazing; his death just when reaching his peak remains one of greatest, if not the greatest, tragedies in the history of the NBA. Good vid, tho'
id say best mid range to short range is MJ.... the best overall is steph or bird maybe ...im 44yo so i missed guys like jerry west george gervin etc etc ... thats tough but i like the list
I don't know who I would take off the list but no list of mine of great shooters can leave off Glen Rice, Bob McAdoo, and most of all, Pete Maravich. Other great shooters also come to mind, like Chris Mullen.
BOGUS!!! Any best-shooter list with no mention of Elgin Baylor, Pete Maravich, Jerry West or Rick Barry is simply not serious. The NBA is almost 80 years old but your picks are all recent. What, you don't think those old guys could shoot the ball? Check out West's playoff records that STILL stand!
Shooting was standardized back in the 80's-90's. Before then you had all sorts of shooting mechanics, but Buzz Braman brought the world a standard form and practice.
So let me get this straight, if the basketball leaves your hand or fingers and goes thru the basket then you have scored. So why isn't Kareem Abdul Jabbar the greatest shooter of alltime? His field goal precintage is better than any these players, but yet all of his accomplishments are all ways over looked. Plus no one ever duplicated his sky hook.
You switched your numbers. Petrovic shot over .500 from the field and .400 on three-pointers, but his career was too short for him to be on a list like this.
The only player ahead of bird to win a championship as the best player on the team is Curry. It is a lot easier to score as a second or third option. I love Ray but he never was a #1 and Reggie never won it.
Yup, with everything-everything at stake, it's Rob Horry..Beyond that, I'd go with a different line-up. These are players who had total game, often carried their whole team, who refused to lose - in no particular order Wilt, Kareem, Kobe, King James, and French Lick's one and only. If free throws count, then hands down it's Shaq. No, no, just kidding, I'd go with Rick Barry..
Let jordan be the best shooter,assist,rebound all around player as other claim let him be the goat,or acow maybe ,nobody is interested anyway as long they hold the record for most point ,rebound,assist ,block ect,most no of rings thus Mike has any of these?Just asking
Having a top 5 for greatest shooter is kind of pointless. There have been thousands of great players in the league that has existed closing on 100 years. Even if you break it down into a more exact category like percentage or pure shooter or best shooter that creates their own shot, there are still just too many choices. All of these shooters are great for the list, and could have arguments for being the best, and reasons for not being number one. Even a top 10 wouldn't scratch the surface. You can't put them in order, really, because they are all such different players with different styles and different statistics. It's impossible to tell who is truly "better" than the other. You can add Michael, who was one of the deadliest midrange shooters of all time. You can add Kerr, who was a VOLUME three-point shooter who's career percentage is 1.5% (THAT IS A HUGE MARGIN) above Hubert Davis, the next highest player's career percentage. Or Steve Nash, who was statistically a better shooter than Steph Curry (as is Steph's own brother, Seth). And you can't forget Pete Maravich, who averaged 44.2 ppg in college WITHOUT a 3-pt line (and that record still stands). Yes, that was college, but he entered the NBA and was still one of the best shooters to ever play. Mark Price was deadly, as was Jeff Hornacek, Tim Legler, and countless other pure shooters. And what about straight up shooting percentage? Kareem, Deandre Jordan, Tyson Chandler, Shaq.... their shooting percentages are through the roof, if distance from the basket isn't important. If you want to put together a good video, make the subject more specific or the number of players higher. And it will still be subjective opinion, with hundreds of players from before the year 2000 being completely forgotten.
Let's not forget Big Shot Bob - Robert Horry. He takes the cake when it comes to game winning shots with championships on the line.
Doesn't anyone remember Downtown Fred Brown of the Sonics? He should be on the list.
Ooooh yes. Downtown Fred. Best shooter of the 70s. Runner up, Rick Barry.
I do. Here’s another blast from past the incredible slick watts.
I know Steph got the record, but in a do or die situation, I'll give it to Bird every time. Dude's got ice in his veins.
thesporting.blog/blog/what-made-larry-bird-so-good-history-of-an-nba-great
Pat Riley- "If I had to choose a player to make a shot to win the game - I'd choose Michael Jordan. If I had to choose a player to make a shot to save my life - I'd choose Larry Bird."
Amen!
Best quote ever!
💯💯💯💯. Never said better by anyone else
"If i had to choose a player to save the multiverse, it would be Steph Curry" - The gods of basketball.
They put Larry #5 Whaaaaaaat the h#*$%%&*$%*
Still Stephen Curry the greatest @ best NBA shooter alive.
Why is Jerry west never mentioned anymore ?
Original pull up jump shot shooter
FACTS
Here are the seasons when Wilt Chamberlain led the league in shooting percentage and his shooting percentage for each of those seasons:
1959-1960: Shooting Percentage - 46.1%
1960-1961: Shooting Percentage - 50.6%
1961-1962: Shooting Percentage - 50.4%
1962-1963: Shooting Percentage - 52.3%
1963-1964: Shooting Percentage - 52.1%
1964-1965: Shooting Percentage - 54.0%
1965-1966: Shooting Percentage - 54.0%
1966-1967: Shooting Percentage - 68.3%
1971-1972: Shooting Percentage - 57.2%
Consider the eras. For example, Jerry West belongs on the list, even though shooting percentages were lower back then. There is a video of a 70-something West giving a talk to kids surrounding the key on a court. West was in street clothes, and was shooting shots (ranging from layups to several feet away) while chatting with the kids. He makes every single shot. It is on RUclips and it is amazing to watch.
1 second to play and your team is down by 2.
The ball goes to either Larry Bird or Reggie Miller.
I would choose Larry Bird for more reasons than one. The game was brutal in his time.
All of them are top shooters, but i'll give it to Bird. No doubt...
If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game I'd choose Michael Jordan; If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life...I'd take Larry Bird." - Pat Riley
I am 77 years of age and watched a lot of basketball games ABA & NBA.
I still think the smoothest shooter with the least effort was the Iceman George Gervin.
THANK you! You said it. I always felt ice was a top 3 shooter. Til Curry, my picks are Mark Price, Walter Davis and Ice.
He was "one of a kind". Had 100 ways of releasing the ball.
Yep. The Iceman made it look so easy that you wondered why they paid him.
I FOLLOWED GEORGE ICEMAN GERVIN SINCE ICE WAS PLAYING FOR THE VIRGINIA SQUIRES FEBRUARY 1973 ICE IS THE GREATEST
Yes Sir!
Stephen curry's shooting the basketball is making history at present and still counting....
Before Steph Curry came along, I would have said Rick Barry.
Bird is the greatest shooter.
#CLUTCH 🏀
Nash is right there too. Nash was also a facilitator so his shooting was secondary. Besides Curry, Nash was a better shooter off his dribble than the rest of this list and shooting off your dribble is way harder than a set shot.
The top 5 players all deserve to be on this list. But imagine Drazen Petrovic not passing away in that tragic car accident, he would be on this list, I think. He was an incredible shooter. Accurate, hard to block because of his quick release, and reliable under pressure.
Just remembered old Bill Sharman and Rolando Blackman
Curry, Dame, Kerr, Bird, Reggie Miller is my top 5
Bird be involved in almost every one of these lists!
@@thesportingblog23 Dude. Really?
Bird
Iceman
The Pistols
Miller
#5 is up for debate. Lucas? West? Dirk? Allen? Havelichk? Maybe even Jordan?
Not Steph. Defenses aren't allowed to look hard at him. It would be like a shoot- around for all those other guys.
Bird is not on the list if you google the stats.
Curry is NOT one of the greatest…he is the GREATEST!
@@marksheppard6498 You must be about six-years-old. Curry is a fine, fine player. Excellent shooter. So was his father, who was recognized as a really good player. Steph is maybe a better player than his dad to some degree.
But all you "oh he's the best ever and I want to kiss him, I want to marry him!" sort of guys know about five years of history.
He will go down as "changing the game." What really happened is he's the best shooter who came along at a time the NBA changed the rules for TV that set things up for this style play, and Golden State and Steve Kerr embraced the change.
If it wasn't Steph Curry, it would have been someone else who is an excellent shooter, maybe even Klay.
Put them in another era, or a different team and coach, and he would be considered a "nice player, almost as good as his dad was..." Because he has a relatively slight-build.
That's not knocking him, he has great skills, and fully has taken advantage of being the right age at the right time at the right place. But for anyone who says "he's the greatest of all time" means you have not the slightest appreciation of the history of the game.
@@keithgraham9547
You’re talking out of your ass to a guy that has played the game at the semi level. A guy who has taught and coached the game. A guy who was around to watch the knicks championship years and the Celtics with Dave Cowens at center.
Watched Kareem when his name was Lewis.
I’ve forgotten more about basketball than you’ll ever know.
I’ve seen all the great shooters from Jerry West and Gail Goodrich to Steph and Klay. Stay in your lane and learn some respect,kid!
Peja and Ray and Miller - can you imagine if they played in this era?
you wants points? you can give the ball to many of them and they will get the points. you want to win you give it to Larry Bird.
😂 😂 If you want great options don't look for sarah
@@BabuAart21Academy Or Sara 😂
Pat Riley- "If I had to choose a player to make a shot to win the game - I'd choose Michael Jordan. If I had to choose a player to make a shot to save my life - I'd choose Larry Bird."
@@KarlBAndersen Heck of a quote there.
Looks like Sara is has a higher Bball IQ then any of you. Larry Bird was special and clutch.
i agreed with the list with the exception of Curry in an era where just scratching a player is a fragrant foul Curry had it easy compared to Michael Larry Ray and the rest
Ain't that the truth for all pro sports? May as well make em all no contact.
The Pistol Pete Maravich
Yes! Any top 5 of the best shooters to ever play in the nba that doesn’t mention Pistol Pete loses credibility.
Id seen them all since the 70s up to now ,nobody is at par w him until now,im a Lakers fan,this greatest shooter is Larry Bird of Boston Celtic
thesporting.blog/blog/what-made-larry-bird-so-good-history-of-an-nba-great
Good video
You can talk all you want about the other skills, will to win, clutch shooting, etc. and all that stuff, but Steph has taken the singular skill of shooting to another level. It's not debatable
Truth.
But the physicality of 90s NBA was different level too.
Larry Bird is the best shooter I've ever seen. Larry could score from anywhere, with either hand -- and he did this while winning 3 NBA championships.
And he didn't have to jump ship ti wi n 3 championships. Was even in the cards when he played.
we shouldn't forget the great late Drazen Petrovic. The guy was maybe the best shooter ever alongside Steph, Ray, Reggie and Larry.
Chris Mullin?
Good call on Peja. Definetely.
I realize that his career was shortened by the untimely accident that ended his life but I still believe that Drazen Petrovic is the absolute best pure shooter I ever saw play the game. The man was completely amazing; his death just when reaching his peak remains one of greatest, if not the greatest, tragedies in the history of the NBA. Good vid, tho'
Thanks! Totally agree on Drazen. The guy that wrote the article was an ex pro from Croatia so has even stronger feelings about DP 🙏
id say best mid range to short range is MJ.... the best overall is steph or bird maybe ...im 44yo so i missed guys like jerry west george gervin etc etc ... thats tough but i like the list
I don't know who I would take off the list but no list of mine of great shooters can leave off Glen Rice, Bob McAdoo, and most of all, Pete Maravich. Other great shooters also come to mind, like Chris Mullen.
Mullen should have been here 👍
THIS WAS INTERESTING...............
BOGUS!!! Any best-shooter list with no mention of Elgin Baylor, Pete Maravich, Jerry West or Rick Barry is simply not serious. The NBA is almost 80 years old but your picks are all recent. What, you don't think those old guys could shoot the ball? Check out West's playoff records that STILL stand!
Bill and Ted return!
Difficult list to make. I'd consider Pete Maravich and Drazen Petrovic......And of players who never played in the NBA: Oscar Schmidt.
making this list with out drazen petrovic is a joke
You left out Klay Thompson.
We left out a lot of players but not sure how we can fit them all into 5!
Ray’s technique is what coaches tell you not to do dude is just that good
Shooting was standardized back in the 80's-90's. Before then you had all sorts of shooting mechanics, but Buzz Braman brought the world a standard form and practice.
Bird belongs #2 on this list, but it’s lacking so many others it’s not worth quibbling about.
So let me get this straight, if the basketball leaves your hand or fingers and goes thru the basket then you have scored. So why isn't Kareem Abdul Jabbar the greatest shooter of alltime? His field goal precintage is better than any these players, but yet all of his accomplishments are all ways over looked. Plus no one ever duplicated his sky hook.
Leaving Rick Barry off this list really tells your age
Wrote the book on mid range
Rick is very close, if not there.
Anyone who shot free throws underhand is disqualified
@@jimmoore8951 hit ‘em though
Curry before Curry Mahmoud abdul'rauf is the best
Downtown Freddie Brown from the Sonics. Glen Rice was a sniper. Chris Mullen. Dennis Scott
Allen's inability to hit the Pacific Ocean during the last few games of the 2009 NBA Finals one of the main reasons the Celtics lost.
Pistol Pete and Mr. Clutch.
I agree 👍
Steph Curry is the BEST SHOOTER of all time! He shoots like a magician. 🇵🇭🤩😍
Jimmy Mariano
WHO THE HELL PUT LARRY BIRD NUMBER 5????????????
thesporting.blog/blog/what-made-larry-bird-so-good-history-of-an-nba-great
Klay Thompson
All yours are OK I add Jerry Lucas, Rick Barry
How about Ted St. Martin who never played in the NBA?
Bird at 5........ video was waste of time
thesporting.blog/blog/what-made-larry-bird-so-good-history-of-an-nba-great
Downtown Freddie Brown.
Klay Thompson should be on there. It is because he is overshadowed by Curry. But Klay is definitely in the conversation
We need a Top 10 shooters. Klay Thompson, Dale Ellis, Steve Kerr, Pete Maravich and Jerry West would make this list
for 2 points i would take MJ and for 3 points i would take kobe or bird cause they both could shoot over any defense
Bird!!
Last shot life on the line it's "LARRY BIRD"
thesporting.blog/blog/what-made-larry-bird-so-good-history-of-an-nba-great
“ I want iguodala” -some random guy
That's a longer list from way back in the day.
To win a game, I’d take Ray.
Ray allen
Pistol Pete was the best
Only one player has a +.400fg% & +.500fg3% for their career,Drazen Petrovic,.506fg% & .437fg3%.
You switched your numbers. Petrovic shot over .500 from the field and .400 on three-pointers, but his career was too short for him to be on a list like this.
Apologies
MJ all day.
This list gives way too much weightage to 3 pointers....if u say pure shooting efficiency it's Jordan and Durant
The only player ahead of bird to win a championship as the best player on the team is Curry. It is a lot easier to score as a second or third option. I love Ray but he never was a #1 and Reggie never won it.
*Hey Google* How tall is 206cm?!
2 meters+/6 ft+
@@whatsinwatchout4816 lol I’m 197 cm n 6’5
6'9"
The narrator says Reggie Miller is 3, but there is a 4 next to his name.
Know something about the sport before writing the script. It sounds like it was written by someone new to the game.
Or you could write one for us? Like anyone can, and we can make a video with it.
I choose Kendrick Perkins
am i crazy because i only see four shooters here.
This vloger is lakers fan 😁
Yup, with everything-everything at stake, it's Rob Horry..Beyond that, I'd go with a different line-up. These are players who had total game, often carried their whole team, who refused to lose - in no particular order Wilt, Kareem, Kobe, King James, and French Lick's one and only. If free throws count, then hands down it's Shaq. No, no, just kidding, I'd go with Rick Barry..
Luka Doncic and Klay Thompson will be honor next?!
#30 Curry.
If you have someone who scored both of his points by dunks you don't have a shooter
Rey Allen is of d best.
where Michael be at?.............
The player was save last NBA championship of miami heat no other than ray allen....
I'm passing on crappy AI readers
There's only 4 players listed.
Would include Klay in top 5
Steve Kerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
1 curry
2 thompson
Bird
stupidly underrated bro
"During one *_match_* "; turned it off
Rick Barry
Where is pistol Pete
Steve Kerr
Not close to top 5.
@@keithgraham9547 i like guys who can get their shoot as well as convert. Kerr, Kyle korver, Craig Hodges, not so much.
Even Kerr admits he’s not in Steph & Klay’s class. He was shooting wide open 3s compared to them
Drazen Petrovic
Let jordan be the best shooter,assist,rebound all around player as other claim let him be the goat,or acow maybe ,nobody is interested anyway as long they hold the record for most point ,rebound,assist ,block ect,most no of rings thus Mike has any of these?Just asking
Pete Maravich is the GOAT.
Having a top 5 for greatest shooter is kind of pointless. There have been thousands of great players in the league that has existed closing on 100 years. Even if you break it down into a more exact category like percentage or pure shooter or best shooter that creates their own shot, there are still just too many choices. All of these shooters are great for the list, and could have arguments for being the best, and reasons for not being number one. Even a top 10 wouldn't scratch the surface. You can't put them in order, really, because they are all such different players with different styles and different statistics. It's impossible to tell who is truly "better" than the other. You can add Michael, who was one of the deadliest midrange shooters of all time. You can add Kerr, who was a VOLUME three-point shooter who's career percentage is 1.5% (THAT IS A HUGE MARGIN) above Hubert Davis, the next highest player's career percentage. Or Steve Nash, who was statistically a better shooter than Steph Curry (as is Steph's own brother, Seth). And you can't forget Pete Maravich, who averaged 44.2 ppg in college WITHOUT a 3-pt line (and that record still stands). Yes, that was college, but he entered the NBA and was still one of the best shooters to ever play. Mark Price was deadly, as was Jeff Hornacek, Tim Legler, and countless other pure shooters. And what about straight up shooting percentage? Kareem, Deandre Jordan, Tyson Chandler, Shaq.... their shooting percentages are through the roof, if distance from the basket isn't important. If you want to put together a good video, make the subject more specific or the number of players higher. And it will still be subjective opinion, with hundreds of players from before the year 2000 being completely forgotten.
Steph,,,,
Dražen Petrovič No 1...!!!!!
😂
A lot of shouts for this
I Bird only won 2 titles