In today’s NBA, there’s little question as to which states are currently home to the league’s best shooters. We have Georgia, where the Hawks’ Kyle Korver and his historic, record-setting 50/50/90 pace reside. And there’s California, where NBA three-point shooting champion Steph Curry and hoopwhispering running mate Kyle Thompson have put any doubts regarding their status as The L’s all-time best shooting backcourt into a small tinder box, lit said box, then thrown its quivering ashes into the Pacific Ocean.
But which states can lay claim to being the first home to the best three-point shooters throughout all of NBA/ABA history? That’s to say, on the whole, what states have produced the most accurate (and most errant) bombers in each league?
On the surface, California—native state for the likes of Korver, Thompson, Reggie Miller and Tracy Murray—would seem like a top contender here. But Cali has also produced long-range bricklayers like Russell Westbrook and Antoine Wright, who drag down the overall three-point percentage produced by all its native NBA players. So, California actually ranks No. 12.
The most sharpshooting states are mostly in the rural north, where there’s not much else to do but spend endless hours arcing away in an empty gym, perfecting the game’s bedrock skill. It also helps if you’re, like, your state’s only NBA player.
First thing’s first: New Hampshire? No. 1?
Yes. It’s true. The Granite State rocks this metric on the burly, flamethrowin’ shoulders of Matt Bonner, forward for the defending champion San Antonio Spurs and the third-most likely team to win the 2015 West Conference crown. To this day the Red Rocket is the one and only NBA player NH has ever produced. Some say this is cheating. But the fact Concord isn’t a blacktop mecca isn’t New Hampshire’s fault.
We get into multiple NBA native son territory with most other states. It should be noted some of the game’s great shooters moved a lot in childhood. Steve Kerr, for instance, was born in Lebanon. So although he high schooled in California, he doesn’t help boost that state’s numbers. And because Trajan Langdon just had to be born in California before moving to Alaska early on, Alaska drops a couple of spots. Likewise, Steph Curry’s Akron birth and Charlotte upbringing means North Carolina’s loss, but Ohio’s gain.
With that out of the way, let’s proceed. Below are the two most accurate three-point shooters born in each state. Keep in mind:
– Only players with a career minimum of 200 three-point field goals made are included.
– Top two players ranked by who has the higher percentage, to a tenth of a percentage point (not shown)
– All info, current through February 17, 2015, is from basketball-reference.com and Evin Demirel’s sports blog.
Alabama
Wesley Person 42% (1150 of 2754)
Chuck Person 36% (1220 of 3370)
Alaska
Mario Chalmers 36% (628 of 1723)
(No qualifying No. 2 player. No other Alaskan-born player at all, really.)
Arizona
Sean Elliott 38% (589 of 1572)
Jerryd Bayless 35% (300 of 845)
Arkansas
Mike Conley 38% (630 of 1677)
Derek Fisher 37% (1248 of 3341)
California
Jason Kapono 43% (457 of 1054)
Kyle Korver 43% (1669 of 3857)
Colorado
Chauncey Billups 39% (1830 of 4725)
Darrick Martin 34% (350 of 1030)
Connecticut
Scott Burrell 37% (339 of 909)
Ryan Gomes 35% (334 of 956)
Delaware
Stephen Graham 31% (53 of 172)
Joey Graham 30% (54 of 180)
DC
Tim Legler 43% (260 of 603)
Roger Mason 38% (595 of 1549)
Florida
James Jones 40% (668 of 1676)
Mitch Richmond 39% (1326 of 3417)
Georgia
Dale Ellis 40% (1719 of 4266)
Jodie Meeks 37% (599 of 1616)
Hawaii
Cedric Ceballos 31% (235 of 760)
(No qualifying No. 2 player)
Idaho
Luke Ridnour 35% (576 of 1644)
Illinois
Steve Novak 43% (564 of 1301)
Anthony Parker 40% (596 of 1474)
Indiana
Courtney Lee 39% (1825 of 4033)
Scott Skiles 38% (524 of 1381)
Iowa
Matt Bullard 38% (599 of 1561)
Kirk Hinrich 38% (1134 of 3023)
(Harrison Barnes shares No. 2 spot in percentage, but has fewer makes)
Kansas
Maurice Evans 36% (426 of 1172)
Earl Watson 32% (502 of 1555)
Kentucky
Allan Houston 40% (1305 of 3247)
Darel Carrier 38% (398 of 1055)
Louisiana
Eldridge Recasner 41% (239 of 584)
Rashard Lewis 39% (1787 of 4625)
Maine
N/A
(Jeff Turner, with 73 makes on 34%, is only Maine-born NBA player)
Maryland
Dennis Scott 40% (2962 of 7111)
Danny Ferry 39% (677 of 1724)
Massachusetts
Dana Barros 41% (1090 of 2652)
Vinny Del Negro 36% (243 of 677)
Michigan
BJ Armstrong 43% (436 of 1026)
Glen Rice 40% (1559 of 3896)
Minnesota
Brad Lohaus 36% (392 of 1086)
Devean George 34% (427 of 1246)
Mississippi
Mo Williams 38% (998 of 2611)
Lindsey Hunter 36% (1075 of 2984)
Missouri
Bradley Beal 41% (304 of 751)
Brandon Rush 40% (411 of 1018)
Montana
N/A
(Adam Morrison, with 124 makes on 33% shooting, is closest)
Nebraska
Fred Hoiberg 40% (373 of 941)
Nevada
Pat Garrity 40% (631 of 1587)
CJ Watson 38% (400 of 1045)
New Hampshire
Matt Bonner 41% (773 of 1870)
New Jersey
Troy Murphy 39% (613 of 1578)
Mike Bibby 38% (1577 of 3999)
New Mexico
N/A
(Andre Roberson, with 16 makes on 23% shooting, is closest)
New York
Danny Green 42% (550 of 1326)
Brent Barry 41% (1395 of 3442)
North Carolina
Hubert Davis 44% (725 of 1651)
Anthony Morrow 42% (611 of 1450)
North Dakota
N/A
Ohio
Stephen Curry 43% (1066 of 2462)
Eric Piatkowski 40% (2044 of 4711)
Oklahoma
Mark Price 40% (976 of 2428)
Brent Price 39% (363 of 938)
Oregon
Kyle Singler 38% (240 of 633)
Danny Ainge 38% (1002 of 2651)
Pennsylvania
Wayne Ellington 39% (322 of 834)
Matt Carroll 38% (344 of 896)
Rhode Island
N/A
(Joe Hassett, who made 194 on 34% shooting, comes closest)
South Carolina
Michael Dickerson 40% (288 of 712)
(Dickerson will likely be soon surpassed by Milwaukee Buck Khris Middleton)
Pete Chilcutt 38% (188 of 494)
South Dakota
Mike Miller 41% (1558 of 3821)
Jon Sundvold 39% (226 of 576)
Tennessee
JJ Redick 40% (789 of 1990)
Shawne Williams 35% (271 of 786)
Texas
Daniel Gibson 41% (578 of 1419)
Wesley Matthews 40% (887 of 2221)
Utah
Byron Scott 37% (775 of 2093)
Tom Chambers 31% (227 of 740)
Virginia
Dell Curry 40% (1235 of 3098)
Cory Alexander 35% (507 of 1508)
Washington
John Stockton 38% (845 of 2203)
Martell Webster 38% (785 of 2045)
West Virginia
OJ Mayo 38% (778 of 2059)
Jason Williams 36% (957 of 2673)
Wisconsin
Terry Porter 39% (1297 of 336)
Caron Butler 36% (706 of 2052)
OK, enough of the nerdilization. Forget the metrics for sec. In your opinion, who’s the best pure shooter, the most talented shooter, the one with the sweetest stroke—that your state has ever produced?
