You would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't believe Steph Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history.
Portland Trail Blazers sharpshooter Damian Lillard is not one of those people.
After passing the 18,000-point career milestone in Portland's 107-95 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday, Lillard discussed where he stands among the greatest shooters in NBA history. (h/t NBA.com's Casey Holdhal)
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“I always see stuff on social media where they talk about the greatest shooters of all time and they always act like it’s just crazy for people to mention me,” Lillard said. “I think for how many threes I’ve made, for how consistent I make them, the level of difficulty that I shoot threes with over years and years and years, I just think it’s kind of crazy people don’t mention me in those discussions."
Lillard believes he's the "clear-cut" second-best shooter behind Steph Curry.
“Obviously I think Steph is the greatest ever, but I think after him, I don’t see why I’m not clear-cut in that discussion, not just by makes, but how I shoot it, how I make tough ones all the time, how easy I shoot the ball," Lillard added. "I’m looking forward to keep climbing that list so once I get up there in that top two, top three, I’m curious to see what people will say about me as a shooter at that point.”
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Curry, who passed Ray Allen for first on the NBA's all-time 3-point list last season, likely will retire with an almost unbeatable record.
Lillard currently ranks eighth on the all-time list with 2,223 made 3-pointers, five spots behind Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden (2,631), two spots ahead of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James (2,189) and five spots ahead of fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson (2,006) as active players in the top 15.
However, Lillard's career 3-point shooting percentage of 37.3 percent ranks 187th all-time, 175 spots behind Curry's 42.7 percent.
