After Stephen Curry crossed Ray Allen as the best 3-point shooter of all time, James Harden crosses former Heat man to become the best in an unlikely category.
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Barely anybody under 50 remember anything clearly of the NBA without 3s. Given the importance of the three in today’s NBA, it is somewhat surprising to learn that the shot hardly took the NBA by storm since its introduction in 1979.
One would think there would be a gradual acceptance of the concept as NBA teams adapted to the brave new world. But in fact, some of the early numbers were somewhat laughable.
After five full seasons with the rule, there were nine NBA teams in the 1984-85 season that took fewer 3-point shots than they did in that first year. What were they afraid of, you ask?
Their coaches’ wrath might be one of the reasons. Obviously, the league was destined to move away from the rigorous play at the rim and tightly contested mid-range shots to a rather more rewarding shot.
But it still does hurt when you miss a 3-point shot and nobody knows it better than James Harden, who just crossed Ray Allen on a wrong all-time list.
James Harden crosses Ray Allen for the most three-point misses in NBA history
Ray Allen is now officially the 2nd on both top 3-point scorers of all-time and the list of most 3-pointers missed by a player. James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets has crossed him on the unlikely list, just a few days after Stephen Curry crossed him as the best shooter from downtown.
James Harden now has the most three-point misses in NBA history.
4,457 — James Harden
4,456 — Ray Allen
4,158 — Jamal Crawford pic.twitter.com/Auy2p9aDQc— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 16, 2022
That’s no knock on Harden’s career as an individual, who shoots just over 36% from the distance and sits 4th on the top 3-point scorers of all-time. It’s just that the other two we are talking about are far better (both have 40 or above conversion rate) and more accurate than James.
Harden might end up well above Ray Allen by the time he decides to hang up his sneakers, but the former MVP is very less likely to end up as a better shooter than Allen.
Former Miami Heat and Boston Celtics sharpshooter made 40% of his attempts throughout his 18 year NBA career, making some of the most clutch shots in the Playoffs as well.
While Harden’s misses in his time with Rockets and the battles against the Warriors will remain quite more famous than his made 3s thus far.