One of the greatest phenomenons of the last 20 seasons has been watching the game of basketball evolve into a perimeter-based game in the NBA. I guess it isn’t much of a phenomenon when you watch a guy like Stephen Curry win four NBA championships and two MVP awards with a game that is built off of his shooting and then wonder why so many game plans followed suit. Due to this change in playstyle, the NBA playoffs have become a stage for some of the greatest shooting displays that we have ever seen in the tensest moments and at the most exciting times.
As the NBA playoffs continue to roll on this week, we thought we would take a look at the active NBA players who have made the most three-pointers in their playoff careers. Many of the players you see below will be looking to add to their totals in 2022-23, while a few are stuck at home wishing they could. These players have used their three-point shooting to win NBA championships and become dynasties in the process and are some of the greatest three-point shooters ever.
These are the 10 current NBA players with the most three-pointers in the playoffs.
10. Jae Crowder – 206 Playoff Three-Pointers
Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Playoff Three-Point Shooting Stats: 1.9 3-Pointers Made, 206-612 (33.7%)
Career Playoff Stats: 10.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Jae Crowder’s 11-year NBA journey has been an interesting one as he has spent it with eight different teams and has made nine appearances in the NBA playoffs. Crowder has been a career 33.9% three-point shooter during the playoffs in his career on an average of 5.7 attempts from that range. During the 2020-21 playoffs with the Suns, Crowder had the best three-point shooting display of his career, going for 38.0% shooting on 6.5 attempts from deep.
In 2020 with the Heat, when they advanced to the NBA Finals, Crowder was a big part of the things knocking down 55 threes before they fell to the Lakers in six games. In that previously mentioned 2021 run with the Suns, Crowder hit another 54 three-pointers before being defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks. Now, as a member of the Bucks in 2022-23, Milwaukee hopes that Crowder can find that stroke once again as they look to capture another NBA championship. In Game 1 against the Heat in the 2022-23 first round, Crowder would play just 12 minutes and go 0-4 from three in the Bucks’ loss.
9. Kawhi Leonard – 231 Playoff Three-Pointers
Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
Playoff 3-Point Shooting Stats: 1.7 Three-Pointers Made, 231-577 (40.0%)
Career Playoff Stats: 21.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.7 BPG
Kawhi Leonard has had no shortage of memorable playoff performances during his career, which has led to two NBA championships and two Finals MVP awards with the Spurs and Raptors. Kawhi isn’t typically a three-point shot-chucker on the court, mostly wanting to take his game to the rim and mid-range level. However, Kawhi has been quite accurate from deep during his playoff career, knocking down 39.9% of his 4.2 attempts on average.
During his younger days with the Spurs, Leonard rarely took advantage of shots from beyond the arc. Since 2017 with the Spurs, Leonard has attempted 4.5 or more three-pointers per game in all four of his playoff appearances and shooting 38.3%. Leonard knocked down over 100 threes for the Spurs in 2016 and 2017 and has repeated that performance in every playoff run since 2019. In his first playoff appearance since 2021, Leonard went for an incredible 38 points on 3-5 shooting from three, along with five rebounds and five assists in a victory.
8. Chris Paul – 236 Playoff Three-Pointers
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Playoff Three-Point Shooting Stats: 1.7 3-Pointers Made, 236-628 (37.6%)
Career Playoff Stats: 20.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 8.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG
At this point in his career, there is only one thing on Chris Paul’s mind. Win an NBA championship by any means necessary and regardless of what his numbers may look like. As of now, Paul may be the fourth option on a loaded Suns team that includes Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, but he is still one of the better three-point shooting point guards of all time. Paul has made his fair share of playoff appearances before this and shot 37.5% from three in his playoff career on 4.4 attempts.
Since joining the Suns in 2020-21, Paul has made the NBA playoffs each season and shot 42.1% from three during those games. He is taking fewer shots from three and focusing more on his mid-range game and playmaking in order to maximize Phoenix’s chances at a championship. In Game 1 against the Clippers to kick off their 2022-23 playoff run, Paul finished with seven points on 1-3 from three-point range in a loss.
7. Paul George – 258 Playoff Three-Pointers
Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Playoff Three-Point Shooting Stats: 2.4 3-Pointers Made, 258-734 (35.1%)
Career Playoff Stats: 21.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Paul George is another player on this list looking to earn his first NBA championship and one we would really like to see do so at some point. George has made a total of 11 playoff appearances with the Pacers, Thunder, and Clippers in his career and is shooting 35.1% from beyond the arc on 6.8 attempts. George did his most efficient work from three in Indiana, where he shot 36.6% in six playoff appearances and has shot just 33.5% from three in the playoffs since joining the Clippers in 2020.
George will begin the playoffs in 2022-23 trying to work his way back from a leg injury that cost him the final nine games of the season. The Clippers will look to hold off the powerful attack of the Suns long enough to get their best offensive shot creator back. When he does return, the Clippers hope to be getting the 37.1% three-point shooter in the regular season that George was rather than the 33.0% three-point shooter he has been for them in the playoffs in 2020 and 2021.
6. Danny Green – 314 Playoff Three-Pointers
Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Playoff Three-Point Shooting Stats: 1.9 3-Pointers Made, 314-807 (38.9%)
Career Playoff Stats: 8.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG
Danny Green was put on a basketball court to do one thing and that is shoot the basketball. Green has had some legendary performances from beyond the arc in his day, especially in his younger years with the Spurs from 2011 thru 2018. Green was a part of their 2014 NBA championship shooting over 41.0% from three. He would also go on to win two more NBA championships with the Raptors and Lakers in 2019 and 2020 as a three-point specialist shooting slightly less efficiently at 30.0 to 34.0%.
Green is technically not rostered for a playoff team at this point in time, and no one really knows if he is actually active either. Green played in just 11 games this season for the Cavaliers and Grizzlies and was listed as a DNP-coach’s decision for seven of the Cavaliers’ final nine games. Green could see some action in a blowout situation but if Game 1 showed us anything, do not expect to see him on the court again in 2022-23.
5. Kevin Durant – 347 Playoff Three-Pointers
Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Playoff Three-Point Shooting Stats: 2.2 3-Pointers Made, 347-973 (35.7%)
Career Playoff Stats: 29.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.2 BPG
The excitement as one of the game’s greatest playoff performers gets set for his first playoff run with his new team is unmatched energy. Kevin Durant has been one of the game’s most exciting scorers for quite some time now and is coming off an extremely efficient season where he averaged over 29.0 PPG on 55/40/90 splits. Durant is a career 35.6% shooter from three in the playoffs for his career on 6.2 attempts.
In Durant’s two Finals MVP and championship runs with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, he shot 37.9% from three over those two years. Over his last two appearances with the Nets, he is shooting slightly less efficiently at 38.8% which includes a horrendous 33.3% in 2022. Durant has been turning to his mid-range game this season to get his shooting going and it has worked perfectly so look for that to be his go-to as always. In Game 1 against the Clippers in 2022-23, Durant finished with 27 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists on 3-7 from three-point range in a loss.
4. James Harden – 376 Playoff Three-Pointers
Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Playoff Three-Point Shooting Stats: 2.5 3-Pointers Made, 376-1,115 (33.7%)
Career Playoff Stats: 22.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 6.2 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG
As we move up our list, we come to one of the greatest scorers ever with three scoring titles as well as the most points scored over the course of the 2010s, James Harden. Over the years, James Harden has been up and down in his game from three during the playoffs shooting 33.7% for his career on 7.4 attempts. Harden has no issues letting the ball fly from that range and has the talent to create his own attempt in order to do so, he just has to do it on a more efficient level.
For the 2022-23 season, James Harden led the NBA in assists while shooting 38.5% from three, his highest three-point shooting percentage since 2012 with the Thunder. In Game 1 of the 2022-23 playoffs against the Nets, Harden picked up where he left off with 23 points and 13 assists on 7-13 shooting from three-point range. Harden looks to help the 76ers, and teammate Joel Embiid who could be the MVP, over the hump past the second round of the playoffs. If he keeps shooting like this from three, they just might get there.
3. LeBron James – 435 Playoff Three-Pointers
Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Playoff Three-Point Shooting Stats: 1.6 3-Pointers Made, 435-1,291 (33.7%)
Career Playoff Stats: 28.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.9 BPG
Considering LeBron James ranks in the top 5 of pretty much every playoff category, his placement at second on this list is no shock to us. James is of course one of the greatest players to ever play the game with four NBA championships, four Finals MVPs, and 10 Finals appearances in his career. For the playoffs, LeBron is just a 33.7% career shooter from three but has stepped it up a bit as time goes on.
Over the last two playoff appearances with the Lakers in 2020 and 2021, James has been much better than his career average, shooting over 37.0% each time. In 2021, even though they lost in the first round, James shot 37.5% from three on eight attempts from the field. LeBron looks to be just as or even more efficient than that in his opening-round series against the Grizzlies. James started things off in Game 1 with 21 points on 3-8 shooting from three in a win for the Lakers on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies.
2. Klay Thompson – 456 Playoff Three-Pointers
Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Playoff Three-Point Shooting Stats: 3.1 3-Pointers Made, 456-1,115 (40.9%)
Career Playoff Stats: 19.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.6 BPG
The next two players on our list are two of the greatest three-point shooters of all time and sit on a different tier when compared to their peers. Klay Thompson has won four NBA championships in his career with the Warriors and is a career 40.9% three-point shooter in the NBA playoffs. Thompson has made a career out of needing minimal spacing and working off the ball to make space for his incredible shooting displays in clutch moments and big-time games.
Klay had a bit of a revival in 2022-23 averaging 21.9 PPG on 41.2% shooting from three during the regular season. As the Warriors find themselves in a dogfight to defend their championship in 2022, Thompson will be needed to make that a reality. In Game 1, Klay shot just average going for 21 points on 5-14 shooting from three as the Warriors fell to the Kings. He will need to be much better moving forward in order to avoid the upset.
1. Stephen Curry – 567 Playoff Three-Pointers
Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Playoff Three-Point Shooting Stats: 4.2 3-Pointers Made, 567-1,414 (40.1%)
Career Playoff Stats: 26.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Oh, look, another Stephen Curry shooting record that is unlikely to fall in our lifetime. Stephen Curry has spent the last decade becoming one of the greatest point guards in NBA history and the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history. He has won two MVP awards as well as four NBA championships and a Finals MVP award by having an unlimited range and unconscious mindset when shooting the ball. He is a career 40.1% shooter in the NBA playoffs for the Warriors and has never shot below 37.5%.
If the Warriors need anybody to be themselves during these playoffs in 2022-23 and get the unlimited green light, it is Stephe Curry. The man lives for the big moment and proved it once again in a thrilling Game 1 loss to the Kings in 2022-23. Curry went for 30 points in the 136-133 loss while shooting 55.0% from the field overall and 6-14 from three. If there is anything on the planet that I would be scared to face after a Game 1 loss, it is the three-point shooting display we may see from Stephen Curry in Game 2 this week.
Source: fadeawayworld
