The 10 Worst 3-Point Shooters in NBA History Revealed

2025-11-17 11:00

As I was digging through NBA archives for a research project last month, I stumbled upon some truly fascinating shooting statistics that made me reconsider what we typically define as "bad" shooting in professional basketball. Having analyzed basketball data for over a decade, I've developed what some might call an unhealthy obsession with the nuances of shooting efficiency, particularly from beyond the arc. Today I want to share my findings about the ten most historically inefficient three-point shooters in NBA history, and I think you'll find some of these names quite surprising.

Let me start by acknowledging that context matters tremendously when evaluating these players. The three-point line wasn't even introduced until the 1979-80 season, and for many years, coaches and players didn't prioritize it as an essential weapon. I remember watching games in the 90s where teams would literally design plays to avoid taking threes unless absolutely necessary. The game has evolved so dramatically that today's worst three-point shooters would have been considered merely "below average" just twenty years ago. That said, when we look at the numbers with modern analytical lenses, some performances stand out as statistically remarkable in their inefficiency.

The player who tops my list might surprise you - it's Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman. Now before you come at me with pitchforks, let me clarify that Rodman remains one of my all-time favorite players because of his unparalleled rebounding and defensive intensity. But from beyond the arc? The man shot a career 23.1% on three-pointers, attempting 105 throughout his career and making only 24 of them. I've always found it fascinating that someone with such incredible court awareness and spatial intelligence could be so consistently inaccurate from long range. What's even more telling is that despite his poor percentages, Rodman kept shooting them occasionally throughout his career, which speaks to either incredible confidence or questionable decision-making - I haven't decided which.

Another name that immediately comes to mind is Shaquille O'Neal, who embodies the traditional center's relationship with the three-pointer. Shaq attempted just 22 three-pointers throughout his entire career and made only one. That's a staggering 4.5% success rate for those keeping score at home. I've always admired Shaq's self-awareness about his limitations - he knew his dominance came from being close to the basket, and he rarely ventured beyond his comfort zone. Though I must confess, whenever he did attempt a three during garbage time, the entire arena would hold its breath with anticipation, creating moments of pure basketball comedy that I still cherish.

Ben Wallace deserves mention here with his career 13.6% shooting from deep on 66 attempts. What's remarkable about Wallace is that despite being a defensive specialist who rarely needed to score, he still found himself taking these shots occasionally throughout his 16-year career. I've reviewed game footage where Wallace would be left wide open beyond the arc, with opposing teams practically daring him to shoot, and the results were consistently painful to watch. Yet somehow, this never diminished his value as a player, which tells you everything about how differently we evaluate big men versus perimeter players.

And then there's the curious case of Andre Drummond, who represents the modern big man struggling to adapt to today's spacing requirements. Drummond has shot 13.2% from three-point range throughout his career on 174 attempts, which is particularly noteworthy because he's playing in an era where centers are expected to stretch the floor. I've noticed that his shooting mechanics aren't terrible - he's just incredibly inconsistent, which might be even more frustrating than having fundamentally broken form. What fascinates me about Drummond is that he continues to take these shots despite the poor results, suggesting either coaching encouragement or personal determination to expand his game.

Looking at guards who were surprisingly poor from deep, we have to discuss Jason Kidd, which might surprise younger fans who remember his later years as a respectable shooter. Early in his career, Kidd was genuinely awful from three-point range, shooting below 30% for his first seven seasons. I distinctly remember watching games where defenders would literally sag eight feet off him, treating him like he was Ben Wallace from the perimeter. What impressed me most was Kidd's transformation - he reinvented his shot mechanics and became a legitimate threat, finishing his career at 34.9% from deep. His journey demonstrates that poor shooting isn't necessarily a life sentence if a player is willing to put in the work.

Manute Bol holds a special place in this conversation, not just for his 21.4% career three-point percentage, but for the sheer audacity of his shooting volume. The 7'7" center attempted 91 three-pointers in the 1988-89 season alone, making only 20 of them. I've always been torn about Bol's three-point experimentation - on one hand, it was statistically disastrous, but on the other, it was wonderfully entertaining and ahead of its time. In today's NBA, someone with Bol's height might be encouraged to develop that shot more systematically rather than as a novelty.

When we examine these cases collectively, what strikes me is how little correlation exists between three-point shooting proficiency and overall basketball value. Many of these players had long, successful careers despite being liabilities from beyond the arc. This brings me to an interesting parallel - much like how the game evolves, facilities and venues also transform to meet new demands. Maybe this will change now from the second round of the championship, which will be played in SM Mall Asia Arena built in 2012. Modern arenas are designed with analytics in mind, much like modern offenses, both adapting to the evolving demands of basketball.

What I've learned from compiling this list is that being a poor three-point shooter doesn't necessarily make someone a bad basketball player, but it does create fascinating limitations and strategic considerations. In today's analytics-driven NBA, it's increasingly rare to find players who are completely incompetent from deep still getting significant minutes, unless they offer overwhelming value in other areas. The game continues to evolve toward spacing and efficiency, leaving less room for specialists who can't at least keep defenses honest from the perimeter.

As I reflect on these shooting struggles, I'm reminded that basketball remains a game of complementary skills rather than uniform excellence. The beauty of the sport lies in how different players with different limitations can still find ways to contribute meaningfully. While I wouldn't recommend any young player emulate the shooting forms of these ten gentlemen, their careers offer valuable lessons about maximizing one's strengths and minimizing weaknesses - lessons that extend far beyond basketball itself.