The best pure shooter on every NBA team

If you tuned in to any non-Team USA FIBA World Cup games recently, you may have seen the Hawks' top shooter, Bogdan Bogdanović, lighting it up for Serbia, the winner of the silver medal. Bogdanović shot an impressive 40.6 percent from three-point land last season and has been lethal from deep in recent seasons, as seen by his career-best 43.8 percent in 2020-21. 

The Celtics were arguably the best three-point shooting team in the league last season, finishing second in attempts, makes and sixth in percentage. Their best shooter from last year's team was Malcolm Brogdon, but he was traded in the Jrue Holiday deal, leaving guys like Al Horford (44.6 percent from three last year) and Sam Hauser (41.8 percent from three last season). Let's go with Hauser here as his form and ability to shoot on the move are more difficult (thus making his efficiency more impressive) than Big Al's standstill corner threes.

The Nets' two best shooters are two of their newest additions, Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson (45-39-84), the former being the purest shooter of the two. Bridges shot isn't as fundamentally sound as Johnson's, but that's just because his freaky wingspan causes his release point to be a little higher than most players. After increasing his shooting volume from 13.6 FGA in Phoenix to 18.6 FGA in Brooklyn, it'll be interesting to see if Bridges' remains a super-efficient shooter even as a go-to offensive player this season.

The Hornets had a league-worst offensive rating last season, including the second-worst three-point percentage in the NBA, so it's unsurprising that this is a bit of a task trying to figure out which player is the best pure shooter. Ultimately, I landed on LaMelo Ball, who made 37.6 percent of his threes on extremely high volume (10.6 attempts per game). With Miles Bridges returning and Brandon Miller joining the team, he should have more open looks this season, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Ball flirt with 40 percent from deep in 2023-24.

As far as shooting aesthetics go, Zach LaVine's jump shot is among the prettiest in the NBA. His elevation is unmatched, and his form is very smooth. It all translates to him being one of the best three-level go-to scorers in the league. LaVine dropped an easy 24.8 PPG last season in large part because of his efficient shooting (49-38-85). Despite having LaVine, Chicago shot and made the fewest three-pointers in the entire NBA last season and will look to improve in 2023-24.

Speaking of smooth shooting forms, Darius Garland has a beautiful shooting stroke. It's more of a set shot, like Steph Curry, and he gets a ton of backspin and arc on each shot. This past season, he made 41 percent of his three-point shots on six attempts per game. Expect the Cavaliers to shoot more threes this season (they were only 24th in three-point attempts despite having Garland and Donovan Mitchell) after signing Max Strus and Georges Niang.

It was tough to choose between Curry and Kyrie Irving, considering the latter's shots are typically more highly contested. However, Curry's numbers are simply too elite. He's never shot less than 40.5 percent from three-point land in a season where he's appeared in more than two games. I don't necessarily agree, but Seth Curry at least has an argument that he's the best shooter in the Curry family.

Though they didn't attempt a ton of threes last season, the Nuggets typically made them when they did, finishing fourth in the NBA in three-point percentage. Their best shooter is Michael Porter Jr., who is basically a 6-foot-10 Klay Thompson when he's healthy. In his three healthy seasons, MPJ has shot between 41.4 percent and 44.5 percent from three-point land. His height and high release point help him shoot without worrying about defenders blocking or altering his shot. 

The Pistons have two of the best wing shooters on the planet in Bojan Bogdanović and Joe Harris. From a pure shooting standpoint, Harris is the better of the two, leading the NBA in three-point percentage twice (47.4 percent in 2018-19 and 47.5 percent in 2020-21) and shooting 41.9 percent or better from three in six of his nine NBA seasons. Injuries have hampered Harris in recent years, but the Pistons will need him to stay healthy to give their young guards, Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, space to attack the rim.

Who else? Of course, the greatest shooter in NBA history is the best pure shooter on his team. Despite having opponents' complete attention at all times, Curry's shooting is as good as ever. Earlier in his career, opponents weren't used to the pace with which the Warriors played, the amount Curry moved without the ball, and the distance from where Curry would shoot and make threes. Nowadays, he always has defenders draped on him and barely gets an inch of space or a second even to square his shoulders. It doesn't matter. He still shot 42.7 percent from three last season.

Fred VanVleet isn't the knockdown shooter some of the guys on this list are, but that's not all that surprising, considering Houston was dead last in three-point percentage as a team in 2022-23 at 32.7 percent. Though he shot a career-worst 34.2 percent from three last season, FVV has shot above 37 percent from deep in five of his seven NBA seasons. The Rockets hope FVV, Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, and Jabari Smith Jr. can improve their average or below-average shooting.

Did you know that Buddy Hield — not Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, or James Harden — led the NBA in made three-pointers the past five seasons? Buddy has 1,381 made threes, 120 more than second-place (Curry). Hield shot a blistering 42.5 percent from three last season on 8.5 attempts per game (3.6 makes per game) and should see plenty of open looks with Tyrese Haliburton running the show in Indiana.

The Clippers were a very good three-point shooting team last year, finishing third in the NBA in three-point percentage. The battle for the most pure shooter is closer than you probably think between Kawhi Leonard and Paul George (44-38-85), but Kawhi is more consistent year to year and much better inside the arc with his lethal mid-range pull-up. Leonard's shot isn't as smooth as some of the other guys on this list, but his hard wrist flip generates a ton of backspin and tickles the twine about as well as any shot in the league.

After finishing in the bottom fourth of the NBA in three-point attempts, makes, and percentage last season, the Lakers finally have themselves a couple of decent shooters in Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, D'Angelo Russell, and possibly Max Christie. For now, the primary laser is Reaves, who made 39.8 percent from three in the regular season and 44.3 percent in the playoffs on a much higher volume than the regular season (5.5 per game versus 3.4 per game). 

Memphis was a pretty average three-point shooting team last year, and that's one of the reasons they traded for Luke Kennard at the deadline. Kennard is arguably the best shooter in the entire NBA. He has twice led the NBA in three-point shooting percentage, including a career-best of 49.4 percent last season. He's never shot below 39.4 percent from three in his career. 

The Heat were dreadful from deep last season — 27th in the league in accuracy — and Duncan Robinson's season-long cold slump was one of the reasons for it, as he was actually well below a league-average three-point shooter last season, shooting a meager 32.8 percent from distance. Fortunately, like all of the Heat, Robinson lit it up in the postseason, increasing that shooting accuracy to 44.2 percent. The Heat will hope that Robinson reverts to his usual 40 percent shooting in 2023-24.

The Bucks finished fourth in three-point attempts and makes last season and 10th in percentage. Before the Damian Lillard deal, they had a couple of fine shooters in Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, and Malik Beasley. Middleton's shot over 40 percent from deep in five separate seasons, but let's be serious, Lillard is en ELITE shooter. Lillard is a 37.2 percent career shooter from deep despite being the go-to guy and attempting over eight threes a night. I'd expect his percentage to be in over 40 percent this season playing with Giannis and Middleton.

There's not much room for debate on this one. Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the best shooters in basketball. He's made 40 percent or more of his threes in four of his eight years as a pro and shot over 50 percent from the field in five of those eight seasons. I know KAT has said some bonkers stuff on podcasts this offseason, but he has a legitimate claim as being the sweetest shooting big man in NBA history.

Despite being in the middle of the pack as a team from three-point land, the Pelicans have a bunch of excellent shooters, with Trey Murphy III, CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, and Jordan Hawkins. Murphy is the most automatic of them all, though. And it's a shame that he recently tore his meniscus and will miss part of the season because Murphy was poised to make a leap to being an elite role player.

The Knicks were average in shooting from inside and outside the arc last season, yet they had the third-best offensive rating in the NBA. The catalyst behind that excellent offense was Jalen Brunson, who was a highly efficient shooter (49-42-83). In his first season with the Knicks, Brunson showed he could be an All-Star-caliber lead guard on a second-round playoff team. He'll look to take his game to the next level this season.

Isaiah Joe is probably the least-known shooter on this list, but trust me, he can bomb away with the best of them. Last season was the first year he really had the green light, and he took full advantage of it, launching 5.4 three-point attempts per game while shooting 40.9 percent. He'll be an important rotation piece for a young Thunder team with playmakers everywhere.

The Magic were one of the worst shooting teams last season, so they brought in Joe Ingles this offseason (on a bit of an eye-opening contract) to help address that shortcoming. Ingles isn't the defender or playmaker he was with the Jazz a few years back, but the man can still shoot the rock. Ingles was an especially efficient shooter last season, nailing 40.9 percent of his three balls.

The 76ers were the NBA's best-shooting team from three-point land last season, shooting a ridiculous 38.7 percent from deep. And Tyrese Maxey was the best amongst the regulars, nailing 43.4 percent of his treys on 6.2 attempts per game. Maxey has made significant strides in each of his first three seasons, so last season's excellent shooting (48-43-85) on much higher volume than previous seasons was a great indicator that Maxey could be an elite offensive player and, eventually, one of the go-to guys on a contender. 

Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are great shooters, but Kevin Durant is a walking basketball god — a 7-footer who can move and handle like a guard and shoot like Dirk Nowitzki. Durant is the player that probably comes to mind immediately when the topic of the NBA's best scorers comes to mind. Durant had a 50-40-90 year last year and a 55-40-90 season, shooting 56 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from three, and 91.9 percent from the line. 

With the departure of Damian Lillard, the best shooter on the Blazers is now the newly acquired Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon is one of the best pure shooters in the NBA, as seen by his blistering shooting splits last year (48-44-87). His three-point shooting percentage last season was his third above 40 percent in his seven-year career, so expect it to keep raining in Portland.

In addition to having the NBA's highest offensive rating last season, the Kings finished in the top third of the league in three-point attempts, makes, and percentage. Thus, picking a top shooter is a difficult task. Kevin Huerter and (49-40-73 on 6.8 three-point attempts per game) Keegan Murray (45-41-77 on 6.3 three-point attempts per game) were both excellent, but Kevin Huerter gets the nod here because he's done it for longer. 

Though he's always struggled to stay on the court defensively, Doug McDermott has always been an excellent shooter, as seen by his career shooting splits. Last season was no different; he shot 41.3 percent from three while averaging 10.2 PPG. He's shot over 40 percent from deep in six of his nine NBA seasons. He'll provide great spacing for Victor Wembanyama this season.

Gary Trent Jr. has built a nice little career for himself, considering he was a second-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. And he's done it by becoming an efficient volume three-point shooter, launching at least 6.8 per game in each of the past three seasons while making between 36.9 and 38.5 percent of them. Trent Jr. gets this honor over Otto Porter Jr. (48-40-80) because he's launching between six and eight three-pointers per game, typically more than double the amount Porter puts up.

Lauri Markkanen was one of the few players who was a good shooter as a role player but has become a great shooter after becoming the go-to guy in Utah. Last season, he shot a blistering 50-39-88 while averaging 25.6 PPG and winning Most Improved Player on the surprisingly competitive Jazz. At 7 feet tall, Markkanen's shot is essentially impossible to block, making almost every shot an "open" shot.

Corey Kispert projects to be somewhere on the Doug McDermott-Kyle Korver spectrum as a wing shooter in the NBA. Like both, he'll always be a good floor spacer and threat to go off from three-point land, as seen by his great shooting splits last season (50-42-85). However, if he wants to develop into a legitimate impact player like Korver was for much of his career, he'll have to become an adequate wing defender like Korver forced himself to become.