1) Fred Brown

Before there even was a “downtown” to shoot from, there was “Downtown” Freddie Brown. Long before the term became synonymous with three-point shots, it was an ethos for the NBA All-Star (and a nickname reportedly bestowed on him by an eager Sonics fan). Brown would utilize long range bombs to negate his height disadvantage (as a 6’3″ shooting guard), often shooting the ball just a few steps beyond half court before any larger defenders would even pay him mind. By the time the NBA instituted the three-point line, Brown was 31 years old and losing his touch, but he still managed to lead the league in three-point percentage in ’79-’80, at 44.3%.

2) Pete Maravich

His 44.5 points per game in ’69-’70 will likely stand forever as the single season NCAA record but imagine if some of those shots were three-pointers? With a deadly accurate long range shot to match his dizzying play making skills, Maravich arguably would have averaged 50+ per game that season if the three-point line existed. The same logic applies to his NBA career, where the existence of a three-point line likely would have meant multiple scoring titles for Maravich, in addition the one he actually won in ’76-’77. We got a slight glimpse of it in ’79-’80, his final NBA season, when Maravich shot 10-of-15 from three-point range, good for 66.6%.

3) Jon McGlocklin

With the threat of his high-arcing “rainbow shot” freeing up post space for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, McGlocklin was a crucial and unsung hero of the Bucks’ 1971 title run. Though a large portion of his attempts came from outside, McGlocklin was deadly accurate. In fact, he was technically more efficient than Abdul-Jabbar in those 1971 playoffs, shooting 53.6% from the field (compared to 51.5% for Kareem). An All-Star in 1969, McGlocklin’s career was never the same after that ’70-’71 season due to various injuries, and a three-point line would have undoubtedly extended his effectiveness.

4) Rick Barry

At 35 years old, with his playing time ebbing and flowing and his Rockets team struggling offensively, Barry decided to go for broke late in the ’79-’80 season. He started hoisting three-pointers at a rate previously unimagined. Still in its infancy, the three-pointer was considered more of a fascination than a weapon at that point, with most coaches, including Houston’s Del Harris, discouraging players from utilizing it. But the ever stubborn Barry took matters into his own hands. In an early February win over the Nets, he became the first player to hit seven three-point field goals in an NBA game, doing so on just 10 attempts. Three days later, Barry broke his own record, hitting eight threes in a Rockets win over the Jazz. Barry retired at season’s end and his record stood for an entire decade, finally getting broken by Dale Ellis in 1990.

5) Phil Chenier

One of the best all-around players in the NBA in his prime, Chenier was an expert ball handler and elite defender, and made three All-Star teams before a back injury waylaid his career. But Chenier’s biggest legacy was his seemingly perfect jump shot mechanics, which he honed later than most, having concentrated more on baseball in his youth. He holds the Wizards’ single game non-overtime scoring record, with 53 in a game in a 1972 win over the Blazers, in which he shot 22-of-31 (71.0%) from the field. By the time the three-point line was instituted, Chenier was a shell of his former self due to a major back injury suffered during the ’77-’78 season. In his two seasons in the three-point era before retiring, he made 6-of-15 from long range, good for a respectable 40%.

6) Bill Sharman

Today’s elite three-point shooters owe a debt of gratitude to Sharman in two ways. Not only was the eight-time Celtics All-Star an innovator in long range shooting in the NBA’s early days, he was also a key proponent of adding the three-point line to the ABA. Sharman had first encountered the three-pointer while coaching in the short-lived American Basketball League (ABL), and fought to get it included in the ABA in his capacity as a consultant. Called the “best shooter of all time” by his Celtics coach Red Auerbach, Sharman tended to stick to mid-range jumpers but his range was undeniable. Case in point: Hitting what may have been the first full-court shot in NBA history in the 1957 All-Star Game (to be fair, it was accidental, as he was trying to pass it up the court to Bob Cousy and it went in the basket instead).

7) Lou Hudson

Long before the “Splash Brothers,” the back court of “Sweet” Lew Hudson and “Pistol” Pete Maravich were the preeminent long range bombing duo. Over their four seasons together in Atlanta, Hudson and Maravich averaged 26.0 and 24.3 points per game, respectively, with both doing most of their offense work from long distance. Hudson was especially efficient despite relying on his jumper, finishing in the top 10 in the league in field goal percentage four times, including as high as third in ’69-’70 at 53.1%. Hudson, who retired in 1979, right on the eve of the three-point line being introduced, would have thrived in more modern eras, with his jump shot so smooth that it’s what earned him the “Sweet” nickname.

“By the time the three-point line was instituted in the NBA, West was five years retired, taking over as Lakers general manager, and could only day dream about how much that extra point could have helped him over the years.”

8) Chet Walker

When the 76ers needed a clutch shot during their 1967 title run, they didn’t turn to their reigning MVP Wilt Chamberlain. Instead, it was typically Walker with the ball in hands, utilizing his reliable jumper and confounding head fakes to get the job done. Underrated in his time, Walker’s career assessment has been boosted in recent years by the prevalence of advanced stats, as he often finished amongst the league leaders in PER, win shares, and offensive rating. His athleticism played a big part in that success but so did Walker’s reliable jumper and vast repertoire of ball fakes, head feints, and lean-ins, making him a prototypical version of modern superstars James Harden or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

9) Jerry Lucas

Did any player pre-date their divined era more so than Lucas? At 6’8″ with a deadly long range jumper, he could have been an elite stretch four at power forward. But that concept didn’t really take hold in the NBA until Dirk Nowitzki revolutionized it in the ’00s. Not that Lucas lacks in accolades or reverence. The seven-time All-Star was the undisputed premier power forward of his time. He could dominate in the paint with his exceptional footwork and athleticism but Lucas was also a terrific long range shooter. Setting aside the commitment issues and selfish play that partially defined his career, Lucas would have NBA general managers salivating over his skill set if he joined the league today.

10) Chris Ford

On the night that Larry Bird made his NBA debut, Ford also provided a little bit of Celtics history. He is generally credited as the first player ever to make an NBA three-pointer, doing so in the first quarter of a Boston opening night victory over the Rockets. Ford went on to finish third in the NBA in ’79-’80 in three-point field goals and second in three-point percentage. The ability to maximize his value as an outside shooter was a long time coming for the man nicknamed the “Mad Bomber,” who was entering his eighth season in the NBA and would last just two more years before retiring. For the record, there was one other three-pointer made during that Celtics-Rockets game and it was courtesy of another player on this list, Houston’s Rick Barry.

11) Brian Winters

For anyone too young to have watched him play, you may be surprised that Winters is the player Michael Jordan stated when asked to name the greatest pure shooter he’d ever seen. But it’s no shock to anyone who witnessed the Bucks All-Star in his prime. Winters put the “shooting” in shooting guard with near perfect form, including from lengthy distance. He put it to good use for Milwaukee, who acquired him from the Lakers as part of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trade, averaging 19.3 points per game over his first four seasons with the Bucks. Winters did get to hoist up some three-pointers in the back half of his career and though he was past his prime, finished in the top 10 in the league in three-point field goals three times and in three-point percentage twice.

12) Jerry West

One of the most famous long distance shots in NBA history came long before the three-pointer even existed. It was courtesy of West in game three of the NBA Finals. With the Lakers trailing by two and only three seconds left in the fourth quarter, West took an inbounds pass and launched a high arching shot from about 60 feet that somehow went in. In a perfect microcosm of West’s career, the lack of a three-point line meant that his incredible buzzer beater only tied the game and his Lakers subsequently lost in overtime and eventually in the series. By the time the three-point line was instituted in the NBA, West was five years retired, taking over as Lakers general manager, and could only day dream about how much that extra point could have helped him over the years.

13) Joe Fulks

Forget three-pointers. In Fulks’ era, most players couldn’t even conceptualize a jump shot. The two-handed set shot was still the norm when Fulks returned home from a Marines tour of duty in World War II and signed with the Philadelphia Warriors of the fledging BAA. With his innovative jump shot, honed in his Kentucky childhood by shooting rocks at a tobacco can nailed to a shed, Fulks was easily the biggest star of the NBA’s first two seasons. He won the league’s first two scoring titles, led the Warriors to the 1947 title, and would have won multiple MVP and Finals MVP awards if they existed at the time. When Fulks dropped 37 points in game one of the inaugural NBA Finals, the Associated Press labeled it “the greatest shooting exhibition ever seen.” Not only did Fulks retire long before the three-point shot was instituted, he didn’t even live to see it. He was shot and killed in a domestic dispute in 1976, passing away at age 54.

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