Basketball has changed. You've seen it. You've heard the commentators screaming about "gravity" and "spacing" until your ears bleed. But when we talk about the highest 3 point in nba history, we’re usually stepping into a minefield of misunderstood stats and nostalgia. People love to argue. Is it the guy who made the most? Or the guy who never missed?
Honestly, the answer depends on which door you walk through. If you want the sheer, overwhelming volume that broke the league, you’re looking at Stephen Curry. If you’re a purist who cares about surgical precision, names like Steve Kerr or Hubert Davis pop up. It's a weird divide.
The King of Volume: Stephen Curry’s Unreachable Peak
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. As of early 2026, Stephen Curry has effectively ended the debate for total makes. He's sitting at 4,201 career three-pointers. That isn't just a record; it’s a geographical distance. To put that in perspective, the man in second place, James Harden, is nearly a thousand makes behind him at 3,293.
Curry is currently closing in on 10,000 career attempts. Think about that for a second. Ten thousand times, he’s launched a ball from 24 feet out or further. Most players would be benched for half that many tries if they weren't hitting at his clip. He’s the only player to ever cross the 4,000 mark, and at his current pace, he might push it to 5,000 before he finally hangs up the Under Armours.
- Stephen Curry: 4,201 makes (and counting)
- James Harden: 3,293 makes
- Ray Allen: 2,973 makes
- Damian Lillard: 2,804 makes
- Klay Thompson: 2,803 makes
It’s almost funny seeing Klay and Dame neck-and-neck for that fourth spot. They’re basically fighting for the bronze in a race where the gold medalist finished twenty minutes ago.
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Why Percentage Tells a Different Story
Most fans assume the best shooter must have the highest percentage. Logic, right? Well, not exactly. The leaderboard for the highest 3 point in nba history by percentage is filled with specialists rather than superstars.
Steve Kerr still holds the crown. He finished his career at 45.4%. That is a terrifying number. But Kerr was a "gravity" beneficiary. He played next to Michael Jordan. When the defense collapsed on MJ, Kerr was standing there, wide open, waiting to ruin someone’s night. He wasn't taking 30-foot step-backs with two guys in his jersey.
Compare that to Luke Kennard, who is currently the active leader at roughly 43.7%. Or Seth Curry, Steph’s "other" brother, who actually boasts a higher career percentage than Steph (43.3% vs Steph’s 42.2%).
Does that mean Seth is better?
Kinda. In a vacuum, maybe. But Steph takes ten a game. Seth takes four. The difficulty of the shot matters more than the box score admits. You’ve got guys like Dražen Petrović, whose career was tragically cut short, sitting at 43.7%. These guys were snipers, but they weren't the engines of an entire offense.
The Single Game Explosion
Then there’s the "one night only" madness. The record for the most threes in a single game is still held by Klay Thompson. 14 triples. October 29, 2018, against the Bulls.
He did it in 26 minutes.
That’s the part that usually gets lost. He didn’t even play the fourth quarter. If Steve Kerr hadn't pulled him, Klay might have hit 20. It was one of those nights where the rim looked like the size of a hula hoop.
- Klay Thompson: 14 (2018)
- Damian Lillard: 13 (2023)
- Stephen Curry: 13 (2016)
- Zach LaVine: 13 (2019)
We’re seeing more of this lately. Just this past December, Julian Champagnie of the Spurs randomly dropped 11 in a game. Even role players are putting up numbers that would have been league-leading thirty years ago.
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The "Era" Problem
You can't talk about the highest 3 point in nba history without acknowledging how much the game has shifted. In 1979, when the line was introduced, teams averaged 2.8 attempts per game. Total. For the whole team.
Now? Most teams take nearly 40.
If you dropped Reggie Miller into 2026, he’d probably average 12 attempts a game and retire with 5,000 makes. Larry Bird, who most people think was a volume shooter, only averaged 1.9 attempts for his career. He shot 37.6%. By today's standards, he'd be considered a "decent" floor spacer. In the 80s, he was a wizard.
The context matters. Ray Allen’s 2,973 makes felt unbreakable when he retired. It took him 1,300 games to get there. Curry passed him in 789 games. That’s not just skill—that’s a complete shift in how basketball is played.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think the "highest" refers only to the count. But the true peak of the three-pointer is about efficiency versus volume.
If you shoot 40% on 10 attempts, you are significantly more valuable than a guy shooting 45% on 2 attempts. Why? Because you force the defense to guard you at half-court. You create space for everyone else. This is the "Curry Effect." His percentage is "only" 14th all-time, but his impact is #1 because he does it while being the primary focus of every defensive scheme in the world.
What’s Next for the Record?
Luka Dončić is the name to watch. He’s already in the top 60 for all-time makes and he’s still in his mid-20s. He’s taking almost 9 threes a game. If he plays another 12 seasons at this volume, he’s the only human being with a realistic shot at catching Curry’s total.
But even then, it's a stretch.
To catch Curry, Luka would need to play until he’s 40 and never lose his touch. Most guys lose their legs by 35. Shooting comes from the legs.
If you want to track these stats yourself, stop looking at "Greatest of All Time" lists. They’re subjective. Look at the 3PAr (3-Point Attempt Rate) on Basketball-Reference. It shows you what percentage of a player's shots come from deep. That's where you see the real evolution.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts:
- Watch the Attempt Rate: Don't just look at makes. Look at how many attempts a player takes per 100 possessions. This is the truest measure of a "volume" threat.
- Contextualize Percentages: If a player is shooting over 40% on more than 8 attempts per game, they are in the elite 1% of NBA history.
- Monitor the Young Guard: Keep an eye on Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton. Their early-career trajectory suggests they will shatter the "total makes" list of legends like Reggie Miller and Paul Pierce within the next five to six years.
The 3-point line was once a gimmick. Now it's the heartbeat of the league. Whether it's Curry's total makes or Kerr's surgical percentage, the bar for the highest 3 point in nba history just keeps moving higher.