Four Former Pelicans Standouts Mentioned Among Best Shooters In NBA History
· Yahoo Sports
The New Orleans Pelicans have one of the best shooters in the league right now, but are overall one of the worst shooting teams. They have had some good shooters in their history, though.
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Bleacher Report recently went through who they believed to be the 99 best shooters in NBA history, trying to account for era context and other factors than just who can hit the most three pointers in a row.
There were four former Pelicans/Hornets players included in the list. Current president of basketball operations Joe Dumars was actually included at the No. 83 overall spot. He isn't a high-volume shooter, but he was a great shooter at a time when it was much less common.
If it was just pure skill, Trey Murphy might have been included in this list, but he was not. He should very well at least be in the conversation once his career ends. Here are the four players who did end up making it:
No. 69 - Steve Smith
Smith came to New Orleans towards the end of his career. It was one of the only years where he truly just came off the bench. HE was still a sniper with a lower volume by the time he was with the Hornets.
The guard shot 40.2% from three on 1.5 attempts per game during his one season in New Orleans. He shot 35.8% on 3.4 attempts for his career.
No. 46 - CJ McCollum
McCollum is one of the best shooters in the history of his franchise. Probably the second-best. Murphy surpassed him for the lead last year, but McCollum sits in second place with 692. It's impressive that he was able to make his mark in just three and a half seasons.
The 34-year-old shot 39.8% from three on a whopping 7.8 attempts per game during his time with the team. This was his best shooting stop. With 2,180 career makes, though, he has certainly earned his place on this list.
No. 39 - Buddy Hield
Hield would have gone on to become the best shooter in New Orleans history, but he got traded after just 57 games with the team. He had a good start, but was just finding his footing in the league. An interesting what-if to consider had this trade not gone down, but it's hard to fault the Pelicans for trying with DeMarcus Cousins.
No. 15 - JJ Redick
The now-Los Angeles Lakers head coach had a year-and-a-half-long stint with the Pelicans right before the end of his career. It was the twilight years of his career, but his first season with the team was really impressive at 45.3% on 6.6 attempts per game.