Ray Allen is the best 3-point shooter of all time, and he has the stats to prove it. Allen is the all-time leader in 3-point field goals made with 2,973 at a percentage of 40% over his career. He also ranks first in 3-pointers per game played (1.852) and 3-pointers per 36 minutes (5.056). His numbers are even more impressive when you consider that he played during the era before social media when there was less attention paid to athletes' personal lives.
Another amazing fact about Allen is that he never won an NBA championship. However, that could change this year after recently signing with the Boston Celtics. If he plays well enough, he might be able to help them win their first title in 18 years since 1996 when he was still in high school. In addition, Allen will be going up against some big names on the Celtics roster such as Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Damian Lillard who have all been praised for their shooting skills.
When it comes to current players, nobody can touch Ray Allen's record. Today's top shooters include Stephen Curry, Kyle Korver, and Danny Green who all rank among the top 10 all-time.
Ray Allen, the NBA's all-time leading 3-point shooter, is next in line for Curry. Allen made 2,973 3-pointers in his Hall of Fame career, more than 400 more than Curry.
The award might as well go to someone else now, though. In his first season with the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry is on track to break the record held by Allen since 2001. If he hits at least one three-pointer per game this season, he'll be averaging more than three per game. He's made over 100 already this year, so it wouldn't surprise me if he broke the record soon.
Curry is also breaking some other records this season: most triple shots made in a single game (14), most consecutive games with a triple shot (seven straight), and most 3-pointers made in a quarter (nine). He has eight triples already this year, which is two more than any other player.
Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics broke Reggie Miller's all-time three-pointer mark last night. Allen has attempted 2,562 three-point attempts in his career. He's slightly under 90 percent from the free throw line in his career... but only because he's shot over 99 percent twice.
Allen is one of just eight players to make at least 250 three-pointers in their NBA careers and none other than him is considered by many to be the best shooter in basketball history. The others are Kevin Durant, Kyle Korver, Danny Green, Andre Ingram, Matt Bonner, and Shandon Anderson.
He is the only player in NBA history to score 100 or more points in a game without making a single field goal attempt (he did so in 2008). And he is the only player in NBA history to shoot 50 percent from behind the arc for an entire season (2004-05).
Allen won't win any awards for being the best defender in NBA history either. He has only two seasons with at least 200 defensive rebounds and they both came in 2005-06 when he played for the Miami Heat. That year, he had 21.1 rebounds per game.
However, what he does possess is accuracy from downtown.
Ray Allen's career 3-point scoring leaders in the National Basketball Association
| Rank | Name | Total 3-point field goals made |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ray Allen* | 2,973 |
| 2 | Stephen Curry^ | 2,832 |
| 3 | Reggie Miller* | 2,560 |
| 4 | Kyle Korver† | 2,450 |
Ray Allen is, in my opinion, the greatest three-point shooter of all time. Ray Allen holds the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in both regular and postseason competition. He was both precise and productive. His career percentage of 46% from behind the arc is the highest of any player who has taken at least 500 attempts.
Allen got off to a fast start in his NBA career, making 51 percent of his shots during his first season (1995-96). However, he had one of the more tumultuous careers for an early starter - he was traded six times and played in only 82 games over eight seasons.
Still, Allen managed to make at least 40 percent of his attempts in seven of those years and finished with a career average of 45 percent from downtown. He also ranks second all time with 1,923 points scored from beyond the arc.
The next best three-point shooters of all time are Kevin Durant and Reggie Miller. Both players were extremely accurate from long range, with Durant hitting 39 percent of his triples and Miller's career mark of 42 percent ranking him third all time.
Durant and Allen were both top-five performers among small forwards every year they were in the league, with the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder star averaging 26 points on 44 percent shooting from deep.
Curry congratulated Allen on his career in a tweet on Tuesday. Allen made 2,973 3-pointers in regular-season games, not including the one that became his most memorable. The record will be hard to beat.
“I don't know if there's anyone who could ever break it,” Curry said. “Heck, no one's even come close. He was amazing at what he did on the court but also off the court; just being a great person and a humble guy. I'm happy for him that he got to end his career on his own terms.”
Allen's agent, Jeff Schwartz, told ESPN's Andy Katz that his client wanted to quit basketball after last season. However, Schwartz added, "He loved playing ball and would have continued had things worked out differently."
In October 2016, it was reported that Allen had leukemia. At the time, it was believed that he would miss the entire 2017-18 season as he fought the disease. In January 2018, it was announced that he had completed chemotherapy and was in complete remission.
When asked about potentially ending his career on a high note, Allen said: "That would have been nice... Hopefully I'll get another chance."
In doing so, he surpassed the 2,800 career 3-pointer record with his sixth of the game. Stephen Curry joined Ray Allen (2,973) as the only players in NBA history to hit 2,800 career three-pointers with his sixth tonight (6-of-10). The Golden State Warriors have now won nine in a row and lead the Pacific Division by 1/2 game over the Los Angeles Clippers. Curry is having an incredible season: 28.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 9.0 apg.
Curry's teammate Kevin Durant also had an excellent night, scoring 38 points to lead the Warriors to their ninth win in a row. He became the first player in NBA history to score 50 or more points in four consecutive games before Sunday's finale against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Durant went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and had five rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes. He has now scored at least 30 points in each game this season. Curry is averaging 28.5 ppg this year, which is second only to James Harden (30.0) this season. He has also made at least one 3-point shot in every game this year.
Cleveland's LeBron James had one of his worst performances of the season, scoring just 14 points on 5-for-14 shooting from the field. He also had six turnovers.
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