NBA Great Ray Allen's Choice For Greatest Shooter Ever Might Surprise You
Steph Curry recently passed Ray Allen to become the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers. But it's Steph’s dad, not Steph, whom Allen considers the league’s greatest shooter ever. In fact, Allen considers both Curry’s dad and another NBA Hall of Famer to be a better marksman than himself.
“I wouldn’t put myself in the conversation,” Allen told NBA.com in a wide-ranging interview.
On December 15th, Steph Curry passed Allen on the NBA’s all-time list for three pointers made. Allen was in attendance that night, no doubt watching greatness, but not necessarily the greatest.
"The greatest I’ve ever seen, someone who was amazing, was Dell Curry because of the way he shot so efficiently without moving with the ball. It was like he could throw the ball up there,” said Allen.
But Dell Curry wasn’t the sole sharpshooter to earn Allen’s admiration.
"Reggie (Miller) was the greatest all-around shooter, being able to carry his team. He was an assassin. When you break it down, him being able to get to the free-throw line, great coming off screens, he wasn’t a pick-and-roll player but a guy you had to know where he was every moment of the game,” Allen told NBA.com “Guarding him was hell for me.”
In Allen’s eyes, Dell may be the GOAT, but he is missing one accolade that his son, Allen and Miller can all claim: a spot on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. All three players were named to the team in October, leaving Allen feeling vindicated, even if he is now second on the league’s all-time three-point list.
“I thought making the Hall of Fame was the icing on the cake, and then this came, and it was a further validation of what I’ve done in this game and meant to people who watched me play,” Allen added. “You know you did it for the right reasons, to push the agenda, make the game better, grow young people and their love for the game. To be accepted on the 75th team was an acknowledgment of the impact I had on the game.”
Follow along on Twitter: @OhioAF