20 great but forgotten shooters from the Jordan Era

Glen Rice isn't "forgotten about" per se, unless you're a Hall of Fame voter, but we'll include him on this list until that call comes for him. Rice had picture-perfect mechanics, a high release, and zero wasted motion in his jump shot. In 1996-97 he led the NBA in three-point percentage at 47 percent and turned every Hornets half-court set into a shooting gallery. He'd probably have been used in a prime Klay Thompson-type role in today's era.

Crazy to think that one of the greatest coaches of all time was also one of the greatest shooters of all time. Steve Kerr has the best three-point percent of all-time: 45.4 percent from downtown. Everything about the shot was efficient—the stance, the dip, the release height. And he always came through when it mattered the most, like in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals.

Dale Ellis was one of the league’s first volume three-point assassins. In 1988-89 he averaged 27.5 PPG while shooting an insane 47.8% from three, long before people realized just how much spacing mattered. During his four-year prime with the Seattle Supersonics, he averaged 25.6 PPG with 51-41-80 shooting splits, made an All-NBA Team and won a Most Improved Player award. One of the more underrated careers from the Jordan Era. 

Dell Curry would be on this list even if he hadn't created the greatest shooter of all time. He was the prototype “bench flamethrower” who gave coaches permission to hunt instant-offense threes. He finished his career above 40 percent from deep, peaking at 47.6 percent one season, and was routinely in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation, even winning in 1993-94.

Rex Chapman could go completely nuclear when he was feeling it. That was never more apparent than when he set a then-NBA playoff record with nine threes in Game 1 vs. Seattle in the first round of the 1997 playoffs. For the series, he made over four three-pointers a game, and hit a famous falling-out-of-bounds miracle in Game 4 that lives forever on highlight reels. 

Dana Barros had one of the greatest single-season heaters ever in 1994-95, where he averaged 20.6 PPG and 7.5 APG while shooting a ridiculous 46.4 percent from three. While he could never replicate that one-year explosion from a production standpoint, he remained one of the game's best shooters (46-41-86 shooting splits for his career), especially off-the-dribble - something that would have made him a lot of money today.

As his career progressed, Danny Ainge quietly became a prototype for modern combo guards. He hit 37.8 percent from three for his career, including 44.3 percent in 1986-87. His release was lightning quick and fearless. And he was never afraid to mix it up with any and every opponent.

There was a two-season stretch where ESPN's top NBA commentator shot 52.2 percent from three point land. Fifty-two percent!!! Can you imagine the kind of driving lanes a superstar in today's game would have with that kind of sniper one-pass away!?! Tim Legler had great pre-shot footwork, balance, and release timing—it was like watching a metronome shoot. Talk about a guy who was born a little too early.

Hubert Davis was a dead-eye from long range, shooting 44.1 percent from three for his entire career - only second to Steve Kerr in terms of three-point accuracy for an entire career. The odd thing about Davis was that he rarely shot threes - only 2.4 attempts per game for his entire career despite the ridiculous accuracy. He'd have been an awesome off-guard in today's NBA with his size and range.

Jeff Malone was a mid-range savant whose jumper looked like a tutorial. While he rarely shot three-pointers - never attempting more than 0.9 per game - the 6-foot-4 shooting guard quietly stacked buckets throughout the 80s. He had six different seasons over 20 points per game with the Bullets and Jazz, peaking in 1989-90 with 24.3 PPG, and shot an impressive 87.1 percent from the line for his entire career. 

During the early part of his career, Tracy Murray was an end-of-the-rotation player on very good teams like the Trail Blazers and Rockets. When he was finally given regular minutes with the Raptors in 1995-96, he was an efficient wing shooter, averaging 16.2 PPG with 45-42-83 shooting splits. Though the rest of his game left a little to be desired, his shooting form and touch were superb and would have translated nicely to today's game. 

Son of the great, Rick Barry, Jon Barry grinded his way into a 14-year NBA career through reliable play and floor spacing. He was a career 39.2 percent shooter from three-point land, and had six seasons where he made 40 percent or more from distance. His ability to spread the court out for primary ball-handlers would have made him a lot of money in today's game, and his three-point volume would have likely been much higher than the two to three attempts he took per game during his career.

Craig Hodges was a movement shooter before “movement shooter” was a label. He famously won three straight Three-Point Contests (1990–92), and his off-ball navigation fit perfectly next to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. He shot an even 40 percent from three for his entire career before his NBA career mysteriously ended at age 31, which he believes was more a result of his outspoken beliefs than his skill level.

“The Rifleman” wasn’t a nickname; it was a scouting report. Chuck Person was one of the top floor spacers and volume three-point shooters of the 1990s. In 1995-96, he hit 190 threes at a 41 percent clip with the Spurs, and finished with 1,220 career makes from deep. 

The other Person was pure butter, even compared to his sweet-shooting older brother. Wesley led the league in threes made per game (2.3) and total in 1997-98 (192) - talk about a different game! He ranks 16th all-time in best career three-point percentage at 41.8 percent.

Dennis Scott was a very fine role player during the Jordan Era, but probably would have been a little more of a household name had the Magic not collapsed during the 1995 NBA Finals and lost to an underdog Rockets team. If the Magic had won that series, there's a decent chance they wouldn't have played chicken with Shaquille O'Neal in his contract negotiations, and he would have remained in Orlando during his prime, competing for more titles and making elite shooters like Scott, who set a record in 1995-96 with 267 threes in a single season, more well-known. 

Through the first five seasons of his career, Hersey Hawkins was a certified bucket, averaging 19 PPG. He was also an excellent shooter with career shooting splits of 46-39-87. Unfortunately for him, like many talented two-guards from that era, the memory of his game is often swallowed up by the all-encompassing shadow of Michael Jordan.

Vinny Del Negro was another great shooter who turned into an NBA head coach. Though he was more of a mid-range shooter - an efficient 47.5 percent field goal shooter for his career - he was certainly capable of being a good three-pointer shooter at higher volume, like when he nailed 40.7 percent of his threes on 2.2 attempts per game in 1994-95.

Anthony Peeler had a pure lefty stroke and big-time confidence. He led the entire NBA in three-point shooting in 2003-04 at 48.2 percent with the Kings. Despite having the opposing team worried about his range, he still managed to shoot over 39 percent from distance for seven of his 13 seasons.

Though he is best known for the “Trent Tucker Rule,” he also shot 40.8 percent from three for his 11-year career. In his best season from deep, 1982-83, he nailed 46.7 percent of his threes. Perhaps more impressively, his worst season from three-point land, 1983-84, was still 37.5 percent. Tucker's quick release made him a perfect complement to the post-heavy offenses that dominated the early parts of the Jordan Era.