When discussing who the best shooter in NBA history is, the common answer has become Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry. In previous eras, that answer used to be Reggie Miller, and to Ray Allen, that still appears to be case.
When asked who he thinks he is the greatest shooter in NBA history, Ray Allen made it clear that it’s Reggie Miller, not Steph Curry — stating that Miller was the ‘standard-bearer.’
“Yes, Reggie [is the GOAT] because of the way he set the game up, the way he played the game,” Allen told CBS Sports. “Obviously, I incorporated a lot of who he is into how I played. He was the standard-bearer. Without him, we don’t have a formula for moving forward. So that’s how I view it because it allowed me to do the things that I was capable of doing.”
Ray Allen expressed his belief that Steph Curry’s style of shooting should be classified more in a different category. He used Klay Thompson’s primarily off-ball style coming off screens and moving without the ball as an example of where he personally fits.
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“I think it comes with categories when you talk about shooters,” Allen told CBS Sports. “[Steph Curry] is in a category of his own, the way he plays the game. When I think about shooters, someone like Klay Thompson comes to mind. He’s more in the realm of how I shot, how Reggie shot — coming off screens, moving without the ball. Steph is more on the ball, the point guard shooter. So it’s a different approach to the game.”
The rationale used by Ray Allen does make sense given how there certainly are different styles of shooters. Klay Thompson gets his shots in a different style than someone like Damian Lillard. However, overall, it’s tough to deny Steph Curry the title of greatest shooter of all-time.
Steph Curry is probably the greatest perimeter shot creator of all-time and Ray Allen appears to agree with that notion. Perhaps analyzing under the perspective of ‘greatest off-screen shooter of all-time’ would be simplest when discussing players like Reggie Miller and Klay Thompson?
