Items16The creator’s order
  1. 1Larry BirdLarry BirdThe NBA added the three-point line in 1979, Bird's rookie year, and he was among the first stars to make it a weapon rather than a novelty, winning the first three three-point contests. As a 6ft 9in forward who shot from deep and from the post, he pulled bigger defenders away from the basket. Teams…0i
  2. 2Oscar SchmidtOscar SchmidtBorn 16 Feb 1958Brazil's Oscar Schmidt, who died in 2026, is one of the highest scorers in basketball history and never played in the NBA. His 46 points in the 1987 Pan American Games final beat the United States on home soil, largely from long range, and he scored freely across five Olympics. International…0i
  3. 3Dražen PetrovićDražen PetrovićBorn 22 Oct 1964Petrović was a European scoring legend at Cibona and Real Madrid before becoming a 22-point scorer for New Jersey, shooting well over 40 per cent from three in his best NBA seasons. He showed the NBA that a European guard could be a primary shooting threat, not a role player. His death in a car…0i
  4. 4Reggie MillerReggie MillerMiller ran defenders through screen after screen for Indiana, and teams had to chase him with their best wing defender for every possession. His eight points in nine seconds at Madison Square Garden in 1995 is the famous clip, but the lasting effect was the off-ball movement: he showed that a…0i
  5. 5Mark PriceMark PriceBorn 15 Feb 1964Price is often credited with popularising the split of the pick-and-roll, dribbling between two defenders when they both stepped up to stop his jumper. A 90 per cent career free-throw shooter and accurate from three for Cleveland in the late 1980s and 1990s, he made hedging on screens dangerous.…0i
  6. 6Ray AllenRay AllenBorn 20 Jul 1975Allen retired as the NBA's career leader in made threes and with one of the purest releases ever recorded. In Boston he was the shooter whose presence spaced the floor for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, and in Miami his corner three in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals saved a title. Defences learned that…0i
  7. 7Dirk NowitzkiDirk NowitzkiBorn 19 Jun 1978A 7-footer with a one-legged fadeaway and three-point range, Nowitzki forced opposing centres and power forwards out to the perimeter, where they were uncomfortable. That stretched the paint for Dallas and helped make the stretch big a standard NBA role. His 2011 title run, beating LeBron James's…0i
  8. 8Peja StojakovićPeja StojakovićBorn 9 Jun 1977The Serbian forward was the shooter in Sacramento's passing offence of the early 2000s, and opponents had to stay attached to him at the arc while Chris Webber and Vlade Divac passed from the high post. He won two three-point contests and later hit big shots for Dallas's 2011 champions. He is a…0i
  9. 9Kyle KorverKyle KorverBorn 17 Mar 1981Korver led the league in three-point percentage several times, including a then-record 53.6 per cent in 2009-10, and in Atlanta's 2015 offence he ran off screens so relentlessly that defences had to keep a man glued to him. He played until his late thirties as a specialist. Every team that now…0i
  10. 10Diana TaurasiDiana TaurasiBorn 11 Jun 1982Taurasi retired in 2025 as the WNBA's all-time leading scorer and its career leader in made threes, after 20 seasons with Phoenix and three titles. Her deep, quick pull-up made defenders pick her up far from the basket, and her shot-making late in games forced teams to send help early. Six Olympic…0i