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6 Best 3-Point Shooters in NBA History by Percentage

By Alexander Wildes

Steph Curry is widely regarded as the best shooter ever, and converts from 3 at a 43.5% clip.
Steph Curry is widely regarded as the best shooter ever, and converts from 3 at a 43.5% clip. / Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

Plenty of NBA games nowadays feel like 3-point shootouts, as just about every team has learned to rain it down from beyond the arc early and often. However, even with everyone from guards to centers launching from deep these days, it's worth noting the elite few who have elevated themselves head and shoulders above the rest in terms of 3-point efficiency. With that in mind, here are the six greatest long-distance shooters in NBA history based on regular season 3-point percentage.

6. Jason Kapono

Jason Kapono was an excellent sniper, with approximately 36% of his career shots coming from beyond the arc before the league started its current shooting frenzy. Kapono won two 3-Point Contests as a member of the Raptors. Kapono is sixth in all-time 3-point percentage, shooting just under 43.4% over the course of his nine-year career.

5. Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry may not have the best 3-point rate, but there is no doubt he is the best shooter ever.
Stephen Curry may not have the best 3-point rate, but there is no doubt he is the best shooter ever. / Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Steph Curry's 3-point shooting is unbelievable. He takes off balance, fading and deep threes constantly (about 48% of his shots are threes) and still has the fifth-best 3-point percentage of all time. If his shots were fed too him like Kapono's rather than based so frequently on pull-ups, Curry's long-range conversion rate would lilkely be even higher than the 43.5% rate he fires at now.

4. Dražen Petrović

While Petrovic's life was cut short, his shooting ability will always be remembered.
While Petrovic's life was cut short, his shooting ability will always be remembered. / Focus On Sport/Getty Images

Drazen Petrovic only played four seasons in the NBA before his life was tragically cut short by a car accident. However, Petrovic was so historically good from downtown that he still has the fourth-highest 3-point percentage of all time. At just over 43.7%, Petrovic was practically automatic from downtown.

3. Seth Curry

Seth Curry just edged out his brother by a few tenths of a percent.
Seth Curry just edged out his brother by a few tenths of a percent. / Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

Seth Curry was perhaps a late bloomer in the NBA, but he's carved out a nice role for himself with the Mavs as a guard who can straight-up shoot the basketball, as over 50% of his career attempts from the field come from beyond the arc. Curry has a leg up on his brother, as he's third all-time with a 3-point percentage of just under 43.8.

2. Hubert Davis

Hubert Davis took over a third of his shots from downtown over the course of his career.
Hubert Davis took over a third of his shots from downtown over the course of his career. /

Hubert Davis is not to be underestimated on this list. He was not shy from deep, firing over a third of his career attempts from beyond the arc, connecting on them at the second-best rate in NBA history: 44.1%. That's hard to fathom.

1. Steve Kerr

Steve Kerr's role was to stand around the 3-point line and just shoot.
Steve Kerr's role was to stand around the 3-point line and just shoot. / Focus On Sport/Getty Images

Steve Kerr was known as a shooter throughout his career, and that reputation has withstood the test of time. Even though players are now taking far more contested, deeper and tougher 3's, Kerr is still known as one of the best of all time. Furthermore, he connected on a mind-numbing 45.4% of his 1.8 attempts from deep a game, a number which has not been matched since and very well may never be matched.