"Right there with Curry": Isiah Thomas names Kevin Durant the NBA's best pure shooter

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"Right there with Curry": Isiah Thomas names Kevin Durant the NBA's best pure shooter

Bruno Feliks · Basketball Network

Fri, May 22, 2026 ·

4 min read

Isiah puts KD alongside Steph

However, in the eyes of Isiah Thomas , perimeter shooting isn't strictly defined by what you do from beyond the arc. True shooting encompasses the midrange, the turnaround fadeaways, free throws, and every spot on the floor, a philosophy that forces him to put Kevin Durant directly into Curry's rarefied air.

" Kevin Durant . I would say Kevin Durant is right there with Curry in terms of being the best shooter. The numbers say he is. And then what you just, you know, articulated, uh, confirms it. But the numbers say that, you know, I mean, when we talk about Curry and shooting, right, um, I, I look at Reggie Miller. I look at, you know, Larry Bird, you know, Ray Allen. Those guys were great shooters," Thomas said on "The Dan Patrick Show".

"I think what Curry has done is he's extended the range and acceptability of where we allow people to shoot from and also, Dan, where we allow people to miss from. More so miss from than make. It used to be a time if you shot from that distance and you missed, you would get cut. You were, you were out of the league. What Curry has done is made shooting from that range and us accepting people missing from that range. Um, you know, that's where he's changed the perception of the game," he added.

KD's pull-up middy is arguably the most lethal weapon in basketball history

The Houston Rockets forward has never actually won a 3-Point Contest. In fact, when he competed in the event, he managed to knock down just five shots. Furthermore, despite having compiled 19 illustrious NBA campaigns, he sits at only 10th on the all-time 3-pointers made list with 2,377.

We say "only" 10th because, given his sheer volume and incredible longevity, you would intuitively expect a shooter of his caliber to be firmly entrenched in the top five. But KD's game has always been infinitely more dynamic than just relying on the deep ball.

Boasting a spectacular 39.2 percent career average from 3-point land on 6.4 attempts per game, he is undeniably elite from distance. While that average dips slightly to 35.5 percent in the postseason, he converts at an absurd 44.8 percent clip on 6.4 attempts when under the brightest lights of the NBA Finals.

Yet, anyone familiar with the two-time NBA champion's legendary career knows that his absolute bread and butter is the midrange pull-up, where he is arguably the most lethal weapon in basketball history. For a player maintaining a career scoring average of 27.1 points per game, staying this efficient over such a prolonged era is nothing short of majestic.

KD is one of the absolute greatest pure shooters

Unlike many specialized, catch-and-shoot marksmen throughout league history, Durant has always operated as the focal point of his team's offense. This reality means he is constantly battling the opposition's absolute best lockdown defenders, making his shooting efficiency even more impressive.

The newest generation of fans often defines "shooters" strictly as high-volume machines operating behind the 23-foot-9 line. That shift is logical considering many younger viewers weren't even born when Michael Jordan and other icons were virtually unguardable from the elbow area.

That vintage, complete approach to shot-making is an art form we cannot afford to lose. History is what shaped the NBA into the massive, global juggernaut it is today, and on that journey, Durant has firmly left an indelible mark as one of the absolute greatest pure shooters to ever step foot on a basketball court.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.