Klay Thompson ranking the greatest shooters in NBA history is already good content. Klay Thompson ranking the greatest shooters in NBA history and refusing to put himself on the list is even better.
The four-time champion and one half of the Splash Brothers named Stephen Curry, Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Larry Bird and Dirk Nowitzki as his top five greatest three-point shooters of all time. No ego, no self-promotion, no “actually, I belong there too.” Just Klay being Klay: respectful, old-school, slightly understated and somehow still making the conversation more interesting by leaving himself out of it.
Of course, the list starts where every serious shooting list has to start: Stephen Curry. Thompson called Curry’s combination of volume and efficiency ridiculous, and there is really no counterargument. Curry is not just the all-time leader in made threes. He broke the sport. He turned shots coaches used to hate into shots defenses now fear from the moment he crosses half court. The numbers are cartoonish: 4,248 career regular-season threes and a career mark of 42.2 percent from deep. At that volume, that accuracy should not make sense. With Steph, it somehow became normal.
Ray Allen was Klay’s second choice, and that one is easy to understand. Before Curry took the crown, Allen was the standard. His footwork, conditioning, balance and ability to fly off screens made him the blueprint for the modern movement shooter. And yes, Klay brought up the shot. Game 6, 2013 NBA Finals, corner three, backpedal, bang. One of the most famous shots in league history, and a perfect snapshot of why Allen belongs in any serious conversation.
Then came Reggie Miller, the original villain with a jumper. Klay praised Miller’s fearlessness and called him one of the first players to truly weaponize the three-point line as the foundation of his game. That is the right way to frame Reggie. He did not have today’s spacing, today’s green light or today’s analytics department screaming for more threes. He played in an era where the shot was still treated with suspicion, and he still made it his calling card. He ran defenders into screens, talked the entire time, and made Madison Square Garden feel haunted.
Larry Bird is where the list becomes more about shooting greatness than pure three-point volume. Bird did not take threes like a modern star, because the league did not play that way yet. But he was an elite shot-maker, a two-time 50-40-90 player, and maybe the most confident shooter to ever look bored while destroying someone. Klay also mentioned the 3-Point Contests, including the famous one Bird won in 1988 without even taking off his warm-up jacket. That is not just shooting. That is basketball mythology.
The surprise name, at least for some fans, is Dirk Nowitzki. But Klay’s reasoning is strong. Dirk’s 2011 playoff run remains one of the great shot-making exhibitions by any big man ever. He averaged 27.7 points during that postseason and shot 46.0 percent from three, not 45, which makes Thompson’s point even stronger. Dirk was not a traditional three-point specialist, but his shooting bent defenses in a completely different way. Seven feet tall, one-legged fadeaway, pick-and-pop range, impossible release point. He did not look like the others on the list, which is exactly why he belongs in the conversation.
Klay Thompson ranks his top 5 greatest 3-point shooters of all time
“Steph Curry: Obviously, you got to say Steph. 4,200 makes at a 42% clip is ridiculous, especially with all the volume”
“Ray Allen: He was the all-time leader for so long until Steph took over. But just Ray’s… pic.twitter.com/MVKNYhmAwe
— dank (@cptdankkk) July 6, 2026
The funniest part, though, is Klay leaving himself out. Because statistically, he has a case. He is already fourth on the NBA’s all-time three-point list, ahead of Damian Lillard and Reggie Miller, and he has spent his career as one of the cleanest catch-and-shoot weapons basketball has ever seen. His 37-point quarter, his 14 threes in one game, his Game 6 explosions and his absurd ability to get scorching hot without needing the ball in his hands all belong in the story of modern shooting.
But that is also what makes the list feel very Klay. He did not turn it into a campaign speech. He gave love to Steph, honored the legends before him, gave Dirk his flowers, and quietly stepped aside.
Which, ironically, might be the most Klay Thompson thing possible. Because when a player with 2,899 career threes says, “I’m not going to put myself in there,” the only proper reaction is to smile and say what everyone else is thinking.
That is exactly why he probably belongs there.
