Ray Allen is the greatest 3-point shooter of a generation, one of the purest shots the game has ever seen, a Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion.
Sunday night, James Harden passed him for second all-time on the 3-pointers made list in an NBA career.
Harden is one of the great isolation scorers and one-man offenses the NBA has seen, but his passing Allen also needs some historical context. Even though his and Allen’s careers overlapped for a few years, players of Harden’s era have been empowered to take far more 3-pointers per game. For example, Ray Allen never attempted more than 17 3-pointers in a game (twice), Harden had 23 games with 17 or more attempts and 131 with double-digit deep shots (as noted by Celtics’ podcaster John Karalis). Allen is a career 40% shooter from 3, Harden 36.3%.
That does not diminish Harden’s accomplishment, he has now made 2,974 3-pointers and counting. He trails only Stephen Curry (3,782 and counting). This season Harden is being asked to carry a big load for the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard still out and with a win over the Jazz Los Angeles is 7-7 on the season.