Three point attempts in the NBA are down from last year’s historic high, marking just the second season-over-season decline in the last 15 years. Three point percentage is also down1 to its lowest level in four years. If that holds, it would be the first time since 1997 that both these metrics fall.
Part of this regression is due to team strategy; the league has realized it may have pivoted a touch too far away from the easier to make two-point field goals. Throughout the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, the average three point shot was worth more than the average two; that was the insight (that 3 > 2) that has shaped the league more than any other strategic change in the last decade.
But during the 2021-2022 season, after years of worser and worser three-point shooters being told by the analytics to fire away anyway, the value of an attempt from three fell below that of a two. Teams quickly adjusted to a more balanced shot diet so that today, the average value of a two-point shot and a three-point shot are about the same.2
Of course that’s just on average; a Steph Curry three is still an incredibly valuable shot3 and he continues firing away to the tune of nearly 12 threes per game. That said, we are seeing some other prolific three point shooters pare back their attempts from deep.
Anthony Edwards led the league with 811 threes a season ago, averaging 10 per game. That was the most any player not named James Harden or Steph Curry has ever taken in a single season. This year he’s taking two fewer per game, setting him on pace for nearly 100 fewer by the end of the season.
Victor Wembanyama is another good example: last season he took nine shots per game from 22+ feet. Thankfully, this season he and the Spurs coaching staff realized it’s easier for a 7’4” giant to take shots closer to the basket. He’s cut his threes in half, and is now taking 60% of his shots within 16 feet of the basket.
Then we have the players who haven’t taken a single three this season.
Jayson Tatum finished fourth in total three point attempts a season ago, before tearing his ACL in the playoffs and missing the season to date. His teammate, Jaylen Brown, has taken the lead in Boston, but he is much more of a midrange maestro. He’s taking five more shots per game, but nearly all of them are two pointers, where he now leads the league with 16.5 two-point attempts per game.
Malik Beasley was third with 766 threes attempted last year. This year he has also taken, checks notes, 0.
Still, many players are putting up incredible, in some cases record-setting, three point numbers in 2025-26. From Aaron Gordon’s opening night 50-piece (10 made threes) to Anthony Edwards recent 50-piece (9 made threes), we have been treated to incredible shooting performances.
I’ve been tracking them in my weekly Hot Shots segment on Substack and Instagram. Each week I highlight the players with the most made threes over their last three or four games, and update the overall three-point percentage leaderboard. Here’s who’s currently at the top, and how they got there:4
These marksmen are not all created equal though. Bobby Portis is a Power-Forward / Center who is a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate, but hasn’t historically been known for his shooting. Cam Spencer is a former two-way guy who exploded onto the scene this year with his lax-bro brother. Luke Kennard is the typical “stand in the corner and shoot threes” guy. Jamal Murray is a veteran shot creator and the only Nuggets starter left standing.
So let’s go a bit deeper on the top three guys, with one chart each that helps explain their standing atop the three-point percentage leaderboard.
Bobby Portis: Volume + Efficiency At Last
As mentioned, Bobby Portis does not have a reputation as a three-point shooter. To wit, 90% of his three point attempts have been “open”5 this season. Defenders have chosen to let him shoot, but to his credit, Portis is making them pay. His efficiency on threes is up 11 percentage points over last year, on 0.5 more attempts per game.
This improvement didn’t come out of nowhere however. Portis has shot a higher percentage before and has taken more attempts before. It’s just that this is the first time he’s done both in the same year.
The Bucks lost a lot of their three point shooting when they dumped Damian Lillard in the offseason. Ryan Rollins and Myles Turner have helped pick up some of the slack, but the biggest impact has come from Bobby Portis.
Tari Eason: Taking Just Enough
Tari Eason is second in the NBA in three point percentage, but by this time next week he may not be on the list at all.
To qualify for the NBA’s official leaderboard, players need to make 82 threes by the end of the year, one for every game on the team’s schedule. That’s why Aaron Gordon, who made 44% of his threes last year, wasn’t technically on the list. That may be Tari Eason this year.
The Rockets’ Forward came out hot, connecting on 26 of his 49 (53%) three-point attempts through the team’s first 10 games of the season. Then he got injured. Eason missed the team’s next 14 games, which put him at 26 threes in 24 games, just above the minimum qualification threshold. He cooled off as well, only making 11 more threes in the team’s next 10 games before spraining his ankle again, and again dropping precariously close to the limit.
He’s back playing now, but we’ll see if he can keep his toe above the line6 over the remaining 30-odd games.
Cam Spencer: All-Time Heater
Cam Spencer, on the other hand, started slow. He made just two threes in his first nine games. It wasn’t until game number 17 - late November - that Spencer got the hot hand, and then it got really hot.
From that point, he posted 10 straight games of 15 or more points per game on 80% or higher true shooting percentage. Only Nikola Jokić has had a streak like that this year,7 and few players have ever done it in the history of the league. This from a player who was on a two-way contract six months ago.
Overall, Spencer’s 65% true shooting on the season ranks 11th in the league. That’s great, but actually hides the impressiveness of what Spencer, a 6’3” shooting guard is doing. True Shooting accounts for twos, threes, and free throws in a single metric, and generally favors Centers who take more, high-percentage shots close to the basket.8 Among Guards, Spencer is third, only trailing the (uncontested) MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Austin Reaves.
In addition to the 47% three point shooting, Spencer is making 93% of his free throws and 48% of all his field goals. If he can get that field goal percentage up a bit by the end of the season, this could be one of the more random 50-40-90 seasons ever.
Jamal Murray: The Best Shooter in the League?
“Wait”, you say. “Jamal Murray barely cracks the top-10 in three-point percentage. How can he be the best shooter in the league?” Well, the overall percentage hides how good of a shooter he has been for the Nuggets this season.9
For starters, he’s the only one of this group to have made over 100 threes. He’s sitting on 138, seventh in the league, making him the only player in the top ten in both three point volume and percentage.
What’s even more impressive though, is the difficulty. Typically, the guys with the best percentages are three-point specialists; someone else on the team initiates the offense, draws in the defense, then kicks it out to the specialist who’s been standing in the corner waiting for the pass. Not Jamal Murray. He is a shot creator on the level of Steph Curry and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Defenders target him,10 hang all over him, and he just steps back, fades away, and makes tough buckets while looking incredibly cool.
His numbers this season would argue he’s an even better shooter than Curry or Shai. Make the shot harder any way you want, and Murray is up to the challenge.
Above the Break: Most of the other guys on the list get their threes from the corners, where the shot is closer to the basket. Only 8% of Murray’s three-point attempts are from the corners. In fact, he has more three point makes from beyond 25 feet (a foot behind the arc) than anyone else on this list has total.
Pull Ups: Most of the other guys on the list get their threes assisted, catch-and-shoot style, which are generally easier to make. Murray is fifth in the entire NBA in pull up threes. Plus he makes way more of his attempts than the other high volume pull up guys; of the top 25 in pull up threes, only three shoot better than 40%: Shai and Curry both barely clear it at 41%; Jamal Murray is shooting 45%.
Close Defender: Most of the other guys on the list get their threes wide open. It doesn’t matter if Jamal Murray is open. He’s shooting a ridiculous 52% when defenders are within four feet of him. That’s the highest percentage in the league for anyone with more than 10 attempts.
He’s even a perfect two for two, leading the league, on back-court heaves! Apologies this turned into a bit of a Jamal propaganda piece, but I’m not the only one making his case for “Rain Maker" of the year. Put him on the All-Star team!
-0.01% is technically down!
This is solely based on field goal percentages, and doesn’t account for the impact of shot selection on drawing fouls, getting offense rebounds, establishing transition defense, etc.
Actually, even Steph has equalized his two and three-point shots. At 39% on threes and 59% on twos, both shots are worth the same 1.17 points.
All data as of January 22 2026.
Closest defender 4+ feet away.
Both the qualification line and the three-point line. Pun intended.
Update: John Collins just did it. John Collins of all people ruining my comparison. Good for John Collins.
Mark Williams has a 70% true shooting percentage. He’s taken a total of eight shots outside the paint all year.
To be clear, Steph Curry is still the undisputed best three-point shooter ever, but Jamal Murray has a serious case for number two this season.
Especially with Nikola Jokić sidelined with his knee injury for the past month.
Great read!