Best pure shooter on every NBA team

"Ice Trae" (Trae Young) gets the benefit of the doubt here because of what we saw him do at Oklahoma last season. So while a guy like Kevin Huerter has a higher shooting percentage and projects to be a nice spot-up shooter, Young gets the nod as the better pure shooter. With other teams' scouting reports built around limiting Young's open shots, the gravity and attention his shooting ability attracts is arguably more important than his shooting percentages because it frees up so much space for his teammates. Young's shooting will be a little sporadic his first couple of seasons, as Atlanta tries to improve the roster around him. But his ability to catch fire and single-handedly win games, like he did in his 35-point, 11-assist game against Cleveland, will always justify the inconsistency. 

For his entire NBA career, Kyrie Irving has been known as a difficult shot-maker. The thing people often don't realize is that Irving is about as consistent as they come shooting regular shots as well. He's flirted with the 50-40-90 club the past two seasons and has career shooting splits of 46-39-87. Outside of Steph Curry and maybe Damian Lillard, Irving is probably the best shooting point guard in the NBA.

Ten games into the season, Joe Harris is shooting a blistering 60 percent from three, and he's making three per game. That's pure insanity!! Harris, who ironically would have been a perfect fit with LeBron James in Cleveland the past three seasons, has blossomed in his three seasons with the Nets into one of the NBA's better three-and-D players in the league. Although his scorching shooting will probably regress toward the mean as the season goes on, his mean is around 40 percent from three-point land. 

"If it weren't for Steph Curry" should be a stat category all unto itself. As in, if it weren't for Steph Curry, Kemba Walker would be leading the NBA in made three-point field goals. Or, if it weren't for Steph Curry, Walker might be the best point guard in the NBA. Walker is doing his best Curry impersonation so far this season, hitting four of 10 three-pointers per game on average and giving opposing coaches nightmares about leaving him open for even a split second. In addition to shooting 40 percent from three, he's shooting an insane 68 percent on long two-point attempts (16-plus feet) this season as well.

Zach LaVine's maturation into a go-to scorer is about the only thing Chicago Bulls fans have going for them right now. While his three-point percentage is a little lower than usual, his scoring efficiency has remained respectable enough to justify his taking an extra five shots per game this season. With his otherworldly athleticism, LaVine's jump shot is damn near impossible for anyone to block, which means that he should continue to be a consistent jump shooter for the next seven to eight years.

In case you are new to this basketball thing, Kyle Korver is the epitome of a pure shooter and is tied for the sixth best career three-point shooting percentage of all time at 43 percent. He's led the NBA in three-point percentage on four separate occasions, getting as efficient as 53.6 percent back in 2009-10. Even at age 37, Korver is still able to bomb away from deep with the best of them, as seen by his shooting in last year's playoffs. 

Despite being 40 years old and out with an injury so far this season, Dirk Nowitzki remains, by far, the best shooter on the Mavericks. As one of only seven players with a 50-40-90 season under his belt, Nowitzki's career shooting splits (47-38-88) are as pure as his beautiful fadeaway. Further, the attention he receives in pick-and-pops still make him a major factor on offense when he's on the court. This is likely his final NBA season, so let's give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he'll still be the best shooter on the team when he returns from his injury.

Even though you probably couldn't fit a sheet of paper under his feet on his Sam Perkins-esque "jump" shot, Nikola Jokic is the best pure shooter on the Nuggets. Jokic's shooting ability (52-38-83 splits) isn't quite as elite as his passing ability. But it is an equally important trait to Denver's offense, as it forces his defender to respect his shot, spreading out the defense and allowing for him to have optimal room to operate or find cutters.

The purest shooter on the Pistons is either Reggie Bullock or Jose Calderon. Five years ago, it would undoubtedly have been Calderon. However, at the tender age of 37, he doesn't really play or shoot enough to gain consideration for this superlative. Therefore, Bullock gets the belt. Bullock is a little banged up right now and his shooting has struggled, but he shot a hair under 45 percent from three last season and is a career 39.5 percent shooter from behind the arc. He's an ideal three-and-D in today's NBA. 

Poor Klay Thompson. Thompson is arguably the second-best shooter in NBA history, but there's no superlative for him in this exercise. That's because he plays with unequivocally the best shooter in NBA history: Steph Curry. Curry is in the midst of one of the best stretches of basketball in his entire career, as he is on pace to start the first ever 50-50-90 club. This is in addition to him already being the only player to ever have a 50-45-90 season (2015-16). Whether it's a spot up three or pull-up from a few steps inside halfcourt, every shot Curry takes seems like it's going in, especially if you're rooting for the other team. 

If there's one play that defines James Harden, it's got to be the step-back three he hit poor Wesley Johnson with last regular season. The play sums up Harden perfectly. He drives on Johnson, stops on a dime with his all-world deceleration, hops into a step-back (and probably travels), drops Johnson, stares him down, licks his lips and buries a three. If you're defining play is a step-back three-pointer, you're probably one hell of a shooter — which Harden is. His raw shooting numbers might be a little less impressive than that of some of the other top shooters, but Harden has to shoot off the dribble and out of isolations almost exclusively, meaning there's a higher degree of difficulty with most of his shots.

Victor Oladipo might be the go-to scorer. Doug McDermott might be the most recognizable shooter. But the best pure shooter on the Pacers is Bojan Bogdanovic. Last time most people saw Bogdanovic, he was admirably battling LeBron James on both ends of the court in Round One of the 2018 Eastern Conference Playoffs. After shooting 40 percent from three last year, the versatile wing is shooting over 49 percent through 11 games this season.

With shooting splits almost identical to Tobias Harris, Danilo Gallinari gets the nod for best pure shooter because he's been doing it for longer and is slightly better than Harris at shooting threes and free throws. Gallinari has also been hot early this season, shooting 46 percent from deep and 98 percent from the line. If the 30-year old Italian can keep up this hot start, the Clippers might end up being that dark horse playoff team they hoped to be entering the season.

This one is like trying to choose a Kardashian-Jenner family member to be your kid's role model: There's a lot of baggage with whichever choice you go with. The best shooter on the roster is probably rookie Svi Mykhailiuk, but he's barely played. The guy you want taking a shot late in a game is LeBron James, but he's a career 34 percent three-point shooter. Brandon Ingram was up around 39 percent from three last year but has been terrible this season. Josh Hart wins by default for having decent form and some consistency from beyond the arc this season by hitting 42 percent of his threes after hitting 40 percent last season.

Garrett Temple sneaks into this spot ahead of Mike Conley because his shot has improved over the past couple of years, whereas Conley's shot, likely due to injury, has decayed a bit. Since Temple began actually shooting threes (i.e., taking three or more a game), his percentages have risen from 35 percent to 37 percent to 39 percent to 44 percent so far this season. He's also shooting 48 percent from the field and 81 percent from the line this year. On a team with little-to-no shooting, the Grizzlies will need Temple to keep knocking down shots like this to compete for a playoff spot.

Despite being in only his fourth NBA season, Josh Richardson gets the slight edge over Goran Dragic because his three-point and free-throw percentages are higher for his career, and he seems to be improving with each season. Right now, Richardson is at 40 percent from behind the arc and 90 percent from the free-throw line. While you would assume Dragic has had to shoulder a greater offensive burden as the point guard, Richardson actually has a higher usage rate on offense this season and has played more minutes as well. Thus, it's safe to give Richardson the best pure shooter title on the Heat at this point.

Now here's a player who is unquestionably the best pure shooter on his team. Khris Middleton is shooting a blazing 49 percent from three on nearly eight three-point attempts per game. I should note that he's in a contract year and finally playing for a quality coach, but he's a career 40 percent shooter from distance, so this doesn't appear to be too much of an aberration either. Next time the Bucks are on TV, once you get over how incredible Giannis Antetokounmpo looks, take a second and watch how efficient and impressive of a player Middleton is. That way, when he lands a max contract this summer, you won't be in complete shock.

With everyone ragging on Karl-Anthony Towns and whatever the hell is going on in Minnesota, I almost gave Anthony Tolliver the best pure shooter belt for the T'Wolves. But then I did a little research and realized that, while Tolliver might have "won" the battle of the first 10 games of this season, KAT is winning the war. In fact, it's an absolute massacre when you compare their stats and take into account the fact that KAT is doing it while attempting three times as many shots as Tolliver per game. For his career, Tolliver's splits are 42-38-77.  KAT's are 54-39-84!! KAT is going through a rough patch right now, but it's important to not lose sight of the big picture here — which is, KAT is an incredible offensive player and shooter at 22 years old (he will be 23 later this month) and should flirt with multiple 50-40-90 seasons during his career. Tolliver is just a solid shooting stretch forward. 

Nikola Mirotic emerges as the leader in the clubhouse over the likes of E'Twaun Moore, Ian Clark and Jrue Holiday for two reasons. First of all, anyone who attempts seven three-pointers per game must be a hell of a shooter for his coaches and teammates to continue to give him the ball. Second, his True Shooting percentage (measuring shooting efficiency) for his career is a couple of clicks higher than that of the rest of the group. Mirotic also has the propensity to catch fire like he did in the first two games this season when he hit 11 of 17 threes.

Knicks fans should count their blessings that I didn't pick Tim Hardaway Jr. for this superlative and give him even more irrational confidence than he already has. Kristaps Porzingis is the clear choice for the young Knicks because of the Dirk Nowitzki-like potential he's flashed in his first three seasons as an NBA player. Before going down with a knee injury last season, he was shooting 40 percent from behind the arc...as a 7-foot-3 center. In addition to the staggering optics of seeing the young Latvian big man bombing threes like a guard, Porzingis' efficiency from deep opens up so much for his teammates. Speaking of which, hopefully those "teammates" include another sweet-shooting 7-footer in 2019 named Kevin Durant. What a spectacle that would be. 

Paul George and Alex Abrines have almost identical True Shooting percentages for their careers, and Abrines is shooting a little better than George thus far this season. Then again, we're comparing Paul George to a third-year player who takes a couple of shots per game. I don't think this Paul George choice needs much more justification than that. For his career, PG13 has 43-38-84 shooting splits, and his three-point shooting percentage has hovered around 40 percent for the last few years of his career. He's got one of the smoother jumpers in the league, which should extend his prime even as his athleticism wanes.

In spite of his struggles this season, Evan "Don't Google" Fournier (seriously, don't Google his last name) gets the nod for a couple of reasons. For one, he literally buried a shot at the buzzer to beat the Cavaliers as I was writing this summary. Secondly, and more importantly, there aren't really any good shooters on the Magic. Terrance Ross once made 10 threes in a game, but he's been a horrendous shooter since joining the Magic. Aaron Gordon has had some nice stretches as a shooter as well, but he tends to quickly regress to a below-average shooter. That leaves us with Fournier, a career 38 percent shooter from three and 80 percent shooter from the free-throw line. Yawn. Life's tough if you're a Magic fan.

Anyone who has followed college or professional basketball in the past 20 years knows that JJ Redick is one of the best shooters alive. One thing they might not know, however, is that Redick averaged a career high in scoring last season (17.1) at age 33 and projects to do it again at age 34 if he keeps up this pace (17.9). The 76ers are relying upon Redick more than ever this season as he is attempting nearly nine three pointers per contest, which is two higher than his previous career high.

Although TJ Warren is suddenly shooting and making three-pointers, this superlative is going to the Suns' best player (for now), Devin Booker. Booker gets a James Harden-type bump here as a pure shooter because, like Harden, he is responsible for running the offense and is relied upon to create most of his own shots. So far this season, he has some respectable shooting splits: 47-35-82. With such a pure stroke and the ability to also shoot off-the-dribble, his efficiency should increase as the talent around him, like Deandre Ayton, develops.

This one's a no-brainer. Yes, Seth Curry and Nik Stauskas can also stroke it, but Damian Lillard is a threat to join the 50-40-90 club this season despite having all of the other teams' attention focused on him. Lillard is the closest thing to Steph Curry in the league, both in terms of range and consistency. He doesn't play with the same flare or go on the same heat checks as Steph, but then again, no other player has ever done what Steph does. If Lillard continues playing at this incredibly efficient level (28 points/game on 48-37-94 shooting splits), expect his name to come up in the MVP talks at the end of the year. 

Don't look now, but the Kings are 6-4 and "Oklahoma Buddy Hield" is back. Yes, paired with the much improved De'Aaron Fox, Hield is on an absolute tear to begin this season, averaging 20 points and six rebounds per game on 53-48-83 shooting splits. Interestingly enough, his jump in stats seem to be due to an increase in opportunities rather than an elongated hot streak, as Hield's career shooting splits are more impressive than you'd think (44-42-86). Thus, while the Kings will likely come back down to earth, it appears that Hield's propensity to be an efficient volume scorer is real.

One could make an argument that DeMar DeRozan, despite his three-point deficiencies (22 percent), is actually the Spurs' best pure shooter. And it wouldn't be a terrible argument, considering he's shooting 52 percent from the field and 89 percent from the line this season. However, his teammate Patty Mills is more deserving of the title because of his consistency from three and the line during his career. Over the course of his career, Mills has hit 39 percent of his threes and shot 84 percent from the line. He's up around 46 percent from three this season too. DeRozan may be the go-to guy on the team, but Mills is the guy Coach Popovich is going to draw up a play for down three in the final minutes of a game.

Speaking of the Spurs, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green both brought some San Antonio heat up with them to Toronto this season, as they're hitting 45 and 47 percent, respectively, from three. Leonard's been particularly impressive, as he's picked up right where he left off from two seasons ago in San Antonio. He's averaging 26 points and eight rebounds per game with 50-45-88 shooting splits. The only potential issue with Leonard is his health. (He's already missed four games.) Assuming he suits up for 65-plus games this season, he's clearly the best pure shooter on the Raptors.

After hitting 11 of his first 17 threes this season, Joe Ingles has come back to earth a bit and is shooting 39 percent from distance (while dealing with a separated finger on his non-shooting hand). Ingles is a perfect three-and-D wing in today's NBA. He shot 44 percent from three in each of the previous two seasons, he plays great defense (just ask Paul George), and he can even do a little playmaking on offense (five assists per game in 2017-18). His jump shot (as seen in the picture) is fundamentally sound too, so expect to see his name near the top of the list of three-point shooters for the next few years.

In addition to being the lone bright spot on a miserable team, Bradley Beal is also the Wizards' best pure shooter. With a textbook jump shot and a game comparable to a young Ray Allen, Beal typically shoots in the upper 40s from the field and upper 30s from beyond the arc. It'll be interesting to see if this rising star becomes available in trades if the Wizards' season continues to go south because he'd be a perfect complement to a certain multi-talented superstar out in Los Angeles. If he remains in Washington, hopefully he continues to improve his ball-handling and becomes a more deadly shooter off the dribble, which would make him even more impossible to guard.