Stephen Curry, of course, would top anyone’s list when talking about the best shooters in the NBA. But who else? There are too many to choose from. Even Klay Thompson, who also has a strong claim to a top spot, had a hard time picking players to round off his top five. In fact, he did not complete his list.
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Curry was No. 1 for Thompson, and for obvious reasons. The Dallas Mavericks star’s “Splash Bro” has changed the game with his relentless shooting from the perimeter. Curry holds the record for the most three-pointers in NBA history and is a well-rounded scorer on top of that, efficient both in the mid-range and at the rim.
Thompson was quick to name Steph but had to think long and hard before choosing the next four. There are a lot of stars out there who are great shooters, but eventually, Thompson decided to name another former teammate as his next pick.
“Gotta go KD cuz he’s, I mean, he’s still a great shooter. One of the greatest scorers ever,” Thompson said in a podcast with Lakers legend Michael Cooper, before adding himself to the list as his third pick. Both Klay and KD are strong candidates, of course.
At the Warriors between 2016 and 2019, the two of them, along with Curry, struck fear into the hearts of rivals with their shooting. In the 2017-18 season, when they won their second consecutive championship together, KD and Klay shot 49% from the field, while Curry shot 51%.
All three are still active in the NBA today, so they could very well be three of the five best shooters in the league. But who is next? Thompson picked Devin Booker, someone with whom he’s had on-court squabbles in the past.
“I like Devin Booker’s game a lot. I think he’s a great shooter. I gotta put Book up there,” justified Thompson.
Booker is a different type of scorer than Klay or Curry. He has a career three-point percentage of 36%, but it’s the mid-range where he’s deadly. Many have even compared his play style to Kobe Bryant’s, which should automatically put him up there as one of the best.
As for player number five in Thompson’s list, that’s where the confusion really began. He couldn’t choose between Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic, and Kyrie Irving — all incredible scorers with very different playing styles.
“Luka’s up there. I mean, I’ve seen Luka do some stuff where it’s like, not a lot of guys can step back from 30 feet [and] score all three levels,” Klay said.
After Cooper reminded him of Lillard, the former Warriors guard added, “Dame is great, Dame is up there. Even Kyrie, Kyrie can really shoot.”
It seemed Cooper eventually gave up trying to get the fifth name out of Thompson, but the 35-year-old can hardly be blamed. There are simply too many players in the league to choose from, and even the likes of Trae Young — another prolific scorer — didn’t come up in the discussion.
Perhaps spot number five is best left open to anyone with a legitimate claim.
