360 No Scope: the shooters model
Who shot the three and the free throw best, against the league he played in? Three pieces, one score, every player since the three-point line arrived.
How the model works
3P% minus the league 3P% that season. Hitting 40% means more in a year the league shot 32% than in a year it shot 36%.
FT% minus the league FT% that season, so the stroke is judged against its own era.
Threes made per 36 minutes, divided by the league’s threes made per 36 minutes. A player making one a game in 1986 was a pioneer; the same player in 2024 is a role player, and this ratio shows it.
Each piece is ranked against every qualifying season since 1979-80, positions pooled, then the three are combined with equal weight.
A season qualifies with at least 100 free throws made and 100 three-point attempts, so very small samples cannot top the list. The three-point line arrived in 1979-80, which is where this starts. League rates come from league-wide per-game averages, rounded to one decimal, so the earliest seasons are the roughest.
Because volume is measured against the league, early pioneers like Larry Bird and Danny Ainge score very high on it. Players are placed in tiers by their whole careers and not only their best season, and no ranking is claimed within each tier.
The tiers
Marksman is still an excellent shooter. 360 No Scope is all-time. Each player is listed once, at his highest tier.
Shooters
- Danny Granger
- Jamal Crawford
- James Harden
- Jason Terry
- Manu Ginóbili
- Scott Skiles
- Allan Houston
- Brent Barry
- Byron Scott
- Chauncey Billups
- Chris Mullin
- Damian Lillard
- Danny Ainge
- Dirk Nowitzki
- Glen Rice
- Hersey Hawkins
- Jerry West
- José Calderón
- Kevin Durant
- Klay Thompson
- Kyle Korver
- Kyrie Irving
- JJ Redick
- Larry Bird
- Mark Price
- Peja Stojaković
- Ray Allen
- Reggie Miller
- Stephen Curry
- Steve Nash
Each player’s best season
The highest-scoring qualifying season for each player on the tier lists. Volume is threes made per 36 minutes compared with the league that year.
| Player | Tier | Season | FT% | 3P% | 3PM/36 | 3PM vs lg | Qual. seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Bird | 360 No Scope | 1985-86 | 89.6% | 42.3% | 0.95 | 7.1x | 8 |
| Mark Price | 360 No Scope | 1992-93 | 94.8% | 41.6% | 1.85 | 4.1x | 8 |
| Stephen Curry | 360 No Scope | 2015-16 | 90.8% | 45.4% | 5.36 | 4.2x | 15 |
| Reggie Miller | 360 No Scope | 1993-94 | 90.8% | 42.1% | 1.68 | 3.4x | 18 |
| Peja Stojaković | 360 No Scope | 2003-04 | 92.7% | 43.3% | 2.65 | 3.4x | 8 |
| Ray Allen | 360 No Scope | 2000-01 | 88.8% | 43.3% | 2.32 | 3.3x | 17 |
| JJ Redick | 360 No Scope | 2014-15 | 90.1% | 43.7% | 2.99 | 2.6x | 10 |
| Steve Nash | 360 No Scope | 2007-08 | 90.6% | 47.0% | 2.32 | 2.4x | 13 |
| Danny Ainge | Sniper | 1986-87 | 89.7% | 44.3% | 1.22 | 5.9x | 8 |
| Byron Scott | Sniper | 1986-87 | 89.2% | 43.6% | 0.86 | 4.1x | 10 |
| Kyle Korver | Sniper | 2014-15 | 89.8% | 49.2% | 3.29 | 2.8x | 5 |
| Chris Mullin | Sniper | 1997-98 | 93.9% | 44.0% | 1.77 | 2.7x | 9 |
| Brent Barry | Sniper | 2006-07 | 88.0% | 44.6% | 2.83 | 3.1x | 7 |
| Klay Thompson | Sniper | 2014-15 | 87.9% | 43.9% | 3.50 | 3.0x | 8 |
| Hersey Hawkins | Sniper | 1989-90 | 88.8% | 42.0% | 1.06 | 3.2x | 12 |
| Chauncey Billups | Sniper | 2005-06 | 89.4% | 43.3% | 2.26 | 2.7x | 13 |
| Glen Rice | Sniper | 1996-97 | 86.7% | 47.0% | 2.22 | 2.5x | 10 |
| Allan Houston | Sniper | 1994-95 | 86.0% | 42.4% | 2.85 | 3.5x | 10 |
| Kyrie Irving | Sniper | 2021-22 | 91.5% | 41.8% | 3.30 | 1.8x | 13 |
| Kevin Durant | Sniper | 2014-15 | 85.4% | 40.3% | 2.52 | 2.2x | 18 |
| Damian Lillard | Sniper | 2019-20 | 88.8% | 40.1% | 3.93 | 2.2x | 13 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | Sniper | 2002-03 | 88.1% | 37.9% | 1.71 | 2.3x | 17 |
| José Calderón | Sniper | 2007-08 | 90.8% | 42.9% | 1.14 | 1.2x | 2 |
| Scott Skiles | Marksman | 1990-91 | 90.2% | 40.8% | 1.23 | 3.6x | 6 |
| Danny Granger | Marksman | 2008-09 | 87.8% | 40.4% | 2.70 | 2.7x | 6 |
| Manu Ginóbili | Marksman | 2006-07 | 86.0% | 39.6% | 2.24 | 2.5x | 13 |
| Jason Terry | Marksman | 2002-03 | 88.7% | 37.1% | 1.87 | 2.5x | 13 |
| James Harden | Marksman | 2011-12 | 84.6% | 39.0% | 2.11 | 2.2x | 17 |
| Jamal Crawford | Marksman | 2009-10 | 85.7% | 38.2% | 2.39 | 2.5x | 16 |
| Jerry West * | Sniper | Honorary, played 1960-74, before the three-point line | |||||
* Jerry West retired before the three-point line existed, so he is placed by hand and does not appear in the chart or season data.
Shooting data from Basketball-Reference, 1979-80 through 2025-26. 2025-26 league rates use the current league averages.
The shooting profiles, plotted
Further out is better on every corner. Choose any listed player and any of his qualifying seasons, up to four at a time, so the seasons you compare do not have to be consecutive.
| Player | Season | Tm | FT% | 3P% | 3PA vs lg |
|---|
3PA vs lg is his three-point attempts per 36 minutes divided by the league’s. Only players on the tier lists appear, and only seasons with 100 free throws made and 100 three-point attempts. Seasons are listed best score first.