It is a new era in the NBA. The emphasis on pace and space in the modern NBA has significantly increased the value of the three-point shot. Once a seldom-used offensive weapon, the three-pointer is now one of the most important aspects of the game. Every successful offense needs elite shooters to help space the floor and provide a threat from the outside. Like any other team in the NBA, the Washington Wizards have had plenty of sharpshooters over the years. Let’s remember who the most accurate ones were.
For such an exercise, we need to establish the criteria first. We are only considering players who have played at least half a season in Washington, meaning at least 41 games in a Wizards uniform. Moreover, to determine who the best shooters were, we need to have a combination of volume and accuracy. In order to do this, a significant enough sample size is needed, so our minimum threshold is 3 three-point attempts per game.
This gives us a total of 34 players in Washington Wizards history. Taking into consideration that the three-point shot was introduced in the 1979-80 season and wasn’t commonly used in the following two decades, it’s not a surprise that a vast majority of these players are recent Wizards.
Out of all the qualified players, we are looking at the ones who have the best three-point field goal percentage. Despite the list having quite a number of players Wizards fans might expect, there are some surprises near the top. Let’s take a look at the most accurate sharpshooters in Washington Wizards history.
No. 8: Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce’s time with the Washington Wizards is usually forgotten around the NBA circles. In their defense, he was 37 years old, way past his prime, and only played one season in Washington. However, Pierce was an excellent contributor on a feisty 46-win team who made the second round of the playoffs.
Pierce’s late-game heroics and clutch playoff performances are probably remembered by the Wizards fans, but his overall performance went slightly under-the-radar. He started in 73 games and had one of his best shooting seasons.
Pierce took 4.2 threes per game and hit 1.6 of them, good for a 38.9% mark. He upped all of these numbers in the playoffs as he made 3.3 threes in 10 games on 52.4% accuracy.
After leaving Washington, Pierce failed to find the same level of success in his next stop as a member of the LA Clippers. It’s unclear whether he could have sustained this level of shooting accuracy if he stayed with the Wizards, but his 38.9% accuracy from downtown in a Wizards uniform is good for the no. 8 spot on this list.
No. 7: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
One of the most confounding transactions in recent Wizards history was the decision to trade Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. After a healthy, consistent, and solid season in Washington, KCP was somehow traded to the Denver Nuggets. Not only was he one of the best 3&D wings in the NBA, he was also one of the deadliest three-point shooters the Wizards ever had.
In the 77 games he played in his lone season with the Wizards, Caldwell-Pope made 39% of his 5.3 attempts per game. He averaged 13.2 points per game that season, demonstrating his ability to do so much more than just shooting threes as well. His free-throw accuracy of 89% that season is another indication of how on-fire he was throughout the 2021-22 season.
Impressively enough, that was the worst shooting season for Caldwell-Pope in the last three seasons. When he was with the Lakers in the 2020-21 season, and with the Nuggets this past season, Caldwell-Pope hit well over 40% of his threes, proving that his accuracy in Washington was by no means a fluke.
Letting go of such an expert marksman should haunt the Wizards for a long time, especially considering their current need for shooting.
No. 6: Corey Kispert
This probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody. Kispert has earned himself a reputation as one of the best shooters in the league ever since he was drafted by the Wizards in 2021. After a slow start in his rookie season, Kispert really found his shooting stroke and became a significant threat from beyond the arc.
After finishing the 2022-23 season with 42.4% accuracy from downtown, Kispert now sits at 39.1% from three for his career. Considering that he played 151 games, and took 4.7 threes per game, that level of accuracy is even more impressive. To fully blossom into an all-time great shooter, he needs to increase his volume. There is no reason why he shouldn’t be taking closer to 8 threes per game.
Kispert’s deadly accuracy from three has opened up his game. He showed plenty of skill inside the arc and around the rim. Due to the Wizards’ underwhelming seasons since Kispert joined the team, he remains one of the more underrated players in the league. This includes his shooting too. Despite ranking in the top 10 in three-point accuracy last season, he is seldom mentioned with the elite shooters in the league.
Hopefully with another similar shooting season next year, he will get the attention he deserves as a marksman.
No. 5: Martell Webster
Despite being a very productive player for the Wizards for over 2 seasons, Martell Webster is mostly forgotten. A solid role player without many weaknesses in his game, Webster’s career was cut short by injuries, not playing in an NBA game after the age of 28. This, combined with the extremely high expectations that comes with being drafted 6th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, Webster may have had an unremarkable NBA career.
However, what he did with a Wizards uniform was certainly not unremarkable, especially as a three-point shooter.
Webster came into his own with the Washington Wizards and had the best two seasons of his career, starting in 75 out of 186 games. In that span, he hit 39.7% of his threes on 4 attempts per game. He was especially lethal from the corners, acting as a floor-spacer in John Wall-Marcin Gortat pick & rolls, and a solid shooting threat next to the Wall & Beal backcourt.
Combined with his size, athleticism, and solid defense, Webster was a complete package and remains an underrated player in Wizards history.
No. 4: Davis Bertans
Davis Bertans is perhaps one of the most predictable names on this list. One of the most confident three-point shooters in recent Wizards history, Bertans got shots up with no regard. In the 2019-20 season, Bertans took 8.7 threes in only 29 minutes per game. Even more impressively, he made 42.4% on a very tough diet of threes.
This incredible shooting performance earned him a contract that the Wizards fans don’t remember so fondly. Following this breakout season where he averaged over 15 points per game, and proving himself as one of the best stretch power forwards in the game, Bertans got a 5-year, $80 million contract from the Wizards.
Unfortunately for Washington, that was the high watermark in Bertans’ career. After that lucrative contract, Bertans failed to keep up the same level of shooting before getting traded to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2021-22 season.
However, the Latvian Laser remains as one of the best shooters in Washington Wizards history, standing at 39.8% accuracy on over 7 attempts per game. That combination of volume and accuracy are difficult to find, especially from a 6’10 power forward. His size, length, and high release made his shot impossible to guard.
No.3: Otto Porter Jr.
Porter Jr. is the longest-tenured Wizard and the one who has taken and made the most threes out of anyone on this list. There is plenty of value in that simple fact.
Porter Jr. played in 384 games in a Wizards uniform and took 1222 threes in total. So, having a 39.9% accuracy on this many three-pointers is quite the feat. These six seasons as a member of the Washington Wizards were also his best seasons in the NBA.
After signing a maximum contract extension with the Wizards in July 2017, Porter Jr. was never the same. He struggled with injuries and failed to stay on the floor. In his lone healthy season in the last 5 years, he helped the Golden State Warriors win the title in 2022. Outside of that, he unfortunately failed to meet the expectations that came with being the no. 3 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.
That isn’t to say that Porter Jr. wasn’t a wonderful role player. He had good size, played hard on both ends of the floor, and could really shoot. In back-to-back seasons of 2016-17 and 2017-18, Porter Jr. made 43.4% and 44.1% of his threes, respectively. Those are all-time great numbers.
He may be remembered as a bad contract or a missed draft pick by Wizards fans, but Porter Jr’s shooting ability should not be forgotten.
No. 2: Scott Skiles
The heady floor-general is usually remembered as a member of the Orlando Magic, and as the current record holder of most assists in a game with a staggering 30. Scott Skiles was an excellent passer and a table-setter, even though he is rarely mentioned as an all-time great point guard. The main reason for that is the fact that he played on awful teams the most of his career. This includes the 1994-95 Washington Bullets.
After acquiring Skiles in the 1994 offseason, the Bullets wanted him to be the leader of their young team that included Juwan Howard and Chris Webber. Despite all three having excellent individual seasons, the team was a complete mess. Being one of the worst defenses in the league, the Bullets had a 21-61 record.
However, Skiles cemented his place on this list thanks to his performance on that team. In 62 games, he made 96 of 228 threes, good for an impressive 42.1% accuracy, easily one of the best marks in the league.
Skiles was a consistent 40% shooter from behind the three-point line. His shooting prowess was overshadowed by his passing ability, but he was the mold of a modern point guard. He single-handedly represents the 90s era Bullets on this list.
No. 1: Mike Miller
Just like the previous name on this list, Mike Miller is another long-term NBA player who is more remembered for his contributions to other teams. A two-time NBA champion, Rookie of the Year, and a Sixth Man of the Year, Miller had a decorated NBA career. He is remembered for his dead-eye three-point accuracy on the Miami Heat championship teams, but his best shooting season actually came as a member of the Washington Wizards.
In the beginning of the 2009-10 season, Mike Miller was traded to the Wizards, alongside Randy Foye from the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the chaotic and disappointing season for Washington, Miller was one of the bright stars of the season. The 29-year-old swingman made a whopping 48% of his threes, ranking second in the entire league.
This shooting performance drew the attention of the Miami Heat, who signed him next offseason. Miller continued his elite shooting in Miami, regularly hitting over 40% from downtown. He finished his 17-year career with an overall three-point percentage of 40.7, yet he never came close to his season with the Wizards.
His time in Washington may not be Miller is remembered for, but his 48% accuracy from behind the three-point line may not be beaten for a long time. Until then, he remains as the most accurate sharpshooter in Wizards history.
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