Of course he is. What a stupid question. That would be the likely consensus from pundits and basketball fans alike. There is no denying that Curry has revolutionized the game with his long–distance marksmanship and ability to hit seemingly impossible shots. This was on full display during the 2024 Olympic Games when his iconic shooting performance led Team USA to a victory over France in the gold medal game. But back to the question at hand, for as great as Curry is, is he really the best shooter in NBA history? Perhaps not. I would argue that another, 2-time MVP, Canadian-native Steve Nash, has a strong case to be considered the best.
The gold standard for shooting excellence is the 50/40/90 metric – an overall field goal percentage of 50% or greater, a 3-point percentage that is 40% or greater and a free throw percentage of 90% or more. Only 9 players in NBA history have surpassed this metric for a single season: Nash, Curry, Larry Bird, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Malcolm Brogdon, and Kyrie Irving. Brogdon is somewhat of an outlier but the others represent NBA shooting royalty. But here’s where Nash starts to separate himself from Curry and the rest of the pack. He accomplished this feat 4 times and fell one made free throw short in the 2006-07 season or he would have been a 50/40/90 shooter for 5 consecutive years. Bird and Durant have done it twice each, no other player more than once.
Next let’s look at how many seasons Nash and Curry have met each of the individual 50/40/90 shooting targets as well as their career-bests in each area.
Nash has the clear advantage, he exceeded the individual metrics 29 times to Curry’s 24 and his career bests are superior to Curry’s in each category.
While no player in NBA history has achieved the 50/40/90 metric for their entire career, entering this season, there were just 5 players who had exceeded 2 of the 3 shooting targets – Nash, Curry, Drazen Petrovic, Mark Price, and Karl-Anthony Towns (perhaps he was right when he proclaimed himself the best shooting big man ever). The most difficult measure to achieve is a 90% free throw percentage – only three players in league history have done it: Curry, Nash and Price. Fifty players have career 3-point percentages of 40% or greater and more than one hundred fifty players have field goal percentages of 50% or better, not surprisingly most of these are big men.
So let’s look at the career statistics for Nash and Curry (regular season and postseason) in each of the 3 key shooting categories.
Again, based on these stats, it is pretty evident that Nash has the edge over Curry. He exceeds him in 2 of the 3 categories for the regular season and all 3 in the postseason.
While Steph is clearly a generational talent and a phenomenal shooter, even Dell and Seth would have to agree the stats give the edge to Nash and after all, if we are truly in the analytics era of basketball, the numbers win out right? Steph is still an active player, of course, so it’s possible that he could surpass Nash’s shooting statistics and claim the crown as the best shooter in NBA history. For now, he has to be satisfied with being the best shooter from the U.S.
About the Author
As Hoop Habits’ media contributor, Roger Johnson brings decades of basketball expertise to his articles. Having served as a marketing executive at Wells Fargo & Company and a content writer for Ultimate Hoops, Roger’s true passion has always been basketball. With experience as a collegiate player at Moorhead State University, coach, and parent of successful players, Roger offers unique insights into the game. His dedication shows through his Minnesota Timberwolves season tickets, University of Minnesota basketball support, and attendance at over 3,000 basketball games throughout his lifetime.