The best three-point shooters in NBA history – ranked

The three-point line was introduced into the NBA in the 1979-80 season. Its use gradually became more important until the 2010s, when its importance exploded. Nowadays, it's the most crucial shot in basketball, and these are the stars who revolutionized the way the game is played. All statistics per Fox Sports and StatMuse.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Peja Stojakovic was one of the first players to establish himself as a successful three-point shooter. Thanks to his deep shooting, he led the Sacramento Kings to the 2002 Western Conference Finals.

The 6ft10 forward made 1,760 three-point field goals in his career, ranking fourth all-time when he retired in 2011. It now ranks 32nd. The three-time All-Star won the three-point shooting contest twice and finished fourth in MVP voting in 2004 after leading the league in three-pointers made.

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Current LA Lakers head coach JJ Redick was never one of the main guys on his team, but his incredible three-point shooting ability made him a valuable asset during his career. His 1,950 three-pointers made were the 15th most at the time of his retirement in 2021.

Redick's sharp shooting abilities got better with age. In his final seven seasons in the NBA, Redick averaged lower than 40% from beyond the arc in just two of those seasons. He was only a full-time starter in four of his 15 seasons in the NBA. He never won a championship.

All-Star Kyle Korver calved out a successful career in the NBA through his consistent and pure three-point shooting stroke. Korver ranks eighth all-time in three-point field goals made and tenth all-time in three-point field goal percentage.

Korver is the only player to lead the NBA in three-point shooting percentage four times and has the NBA single-season record for three-point field goal accuracy (53.6% in 2009-10). He was the NBA's three-point field goals leader in 2005.

Dirk Nowitzki is the most incredible shooting big man in NBA history. The German made 1,982 three-pointers in his 20-year NBA career, the most of any power forward/center in NBA history. His incredible ability from beyond the arc helped him score 31,560, sixth all-time.

In his MVP year in 2007, he made 42% of his three-pointers, becoming the fifth player to join the 50-40-90 club. In his 2011 championship run, he made 46% of his three-pointers, making him practically unguardable for LeBron James and the Miami Heat that year.

Damian Lillard earned the nickname 'Dame Time' for some of his crucial three-point shots in the NBA regular season and playoffs, most notably his three-pointers against the Houston Rockets in 2014 and the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019, eliminating them both from the playoffs.

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The current Milwaukee Bucks star won the three-point shooting contest in 2023 and 2024 and is fourth on the all-time three-pointers scoring list, over 200 behind Ray Allen. He made at least 36% from three in eight of his first nine seasons.

Reggie Miller spent his entire NBA career with the Indiana Pacers. In the 1990s, he established himself as a box-office perimeter scorer, nearly stopping Michael Jordan from winning his sixth and final NBA Championship in 1998.

Miller used the three-point shot to his advantage in the 1990s, when in-paint defending was much more prominent in players' minds. He led the league in three-pointers made twice and was the all-time leading three-point maker when he retired in 2005, hitting 2560.

James Harden used his deadly step back and limitless range from three to become one of the NBA's most incredible scorers during the 2010s. The LA Clippers guard led the league in three-pointers made in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

In each of the three years he led the league in three-pointers made, Harden didn't average below 30 points and was the NBA's leading scorer. In 2018-19, Harden averaged 36.1 PPG. He has only shot below 35% from beyond the arc in three of his first 15 seasons.

Klay Thompson is the most excellent catch-and-shoot three-point sniper in NBA history. He once scored 60 points in 2016 off 11 dribbles and made eight of 14 three-point shots.

Thompson and his former teammate from the Golden State Warriors formed the 'Splash Bros,' a duo that transformed the three-point shot and changed the game completely. He holds the single-game NBA record for 3-pointers made, hitting 14 3-pointers on 24 attempts in a game in 2018. He is fifth all-time in three-point scoring.

NBA Hall of Famer Ray Allen made some of the biggest three-point shots in NBA history, none more so than his three-pointer to level the game for the Miami Heat in game six of the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

Allen finished in the top ten in three-pointers made in a season 11 times in his career. He was a career 40% shooter from beyond the arc and contributed to winning on each of the four teams he played for.

Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry is the most excellent shooter in NBA history, and the second half of the 'Splash Bros.' He surpassed Ray Allen as the all-time three-point leader in 2021 at Madison Square Garden and has since taken the record to unworldly territory, closing in on 4,000 three-pointers made.

Curry has revolutionized the three-point shot, using it as an unstoppable weapon to help him win four NBA championships, two MVP awards, and one Finals MVP. He led the league in three-point makes in five consecutive seasons (2012-2017) and topped it three times after that.

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