Who Are the Worst 3 Point Shooters in NBA History? Find Out Now

As I was digging through NBA archives the other day, I stumbled upon some truly fascinating shooting statistics that got me thinking about the art – or lack thereof – of three-point shooting throughout league history. Having watched basketball for over two decades, I've seen everything from Steph Curry's magical performances to some genuinely painful shooting displays that made me wonder how certain players ever got the green light from their coaches. The evolution of the three-point shot has been incredible to witness, but today I want to explore the other end of that spectrum – the players who somehow managed to make shooting from beyond the arc look like solving quantum physics while blindfolded.

Let me start with what I consider the absolute masterpiece of terrible shooting – the legendary career of Ben Wallace. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved watching Big Ben dominate defensively. The man was a force of nature on defense, winning Defensive Player of the Year four times, which is just insane when you think about it. But his three-point shooting? Let's just say it was... experimental. Across his entire 16-season career, Wallace attempted 66 three-pointers and made exactly 6 of them. That's a career percentage of 13.6%, which honestly feels generous when you actually watch the footage. I remember one particular game against the Pistons where he airballed so badly I thought he was passing to someone in the front row. What makes Wallace's case so fascinating to me is that he knew his limitations but would still occasionally hoist one up, usually as the shot clock was expiring, with this look on his face that screamed "why am I doing this?"

Then we have the curious case of Shaquille O'Neal, who attempted 22 three-pointers throughout his career and made exactly one. I was actually at the game where he made that single three-pointer back in 1996 against the Bucks, and the arena went absolutely wild as if he'd just won the championship. That's the thing about Shaq – he was so dominant in the paint that his occasional ventures beyond the arc felt like watching a grizzly bear trying to perform ballet. His career three-point percentage sits at 4.5%, which honestly might be the most Shaq statistic ever recorded. What I find particularly interesting about Shaq's shooting struggles is that they never seemed to bother him – he'd just laugh it off and then dunk on three people on the next possession. There's something admirable about that level of self-awareness, though I do wish he'd taken even more threes just for the entertainment value.

The third name on my personal list might surprise some people, but I'm going with Andre Drummond. Now here's a player I've watched evolve over the years, and while he's improved his game in many areas, three-point shooting remains what I'd politely call "a work in progress." Through the 2022 season, Drummond had attempted 82 three-pointers and made just 13 of them, good for a 15.9% conversion rate. What fascinates me about Drummond's case is that he actually keeps shooting them despite the results, which takes a special kind of confidence that I can't help but respect. I recall a game last season where he went 0-for-5 from deep, and his coach had that particular look of resignation that only comes from watching your center repeatedly attempt shots he has no business taking.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm focusing on these shooting struggles when the modern game has evolved so much. Interestingly, this reminds me of that line about "Maybe this will change now from the second round of the championship, which will be played in SM Mall Asia Arena built in 2012." There's something poetic about that sentiment applied to these historically bad shooters – the eternal hope that something will change, that maybe this time the ball will go in, even when all evidence suggests otherwise. These players represent a different era in many ways, one where big men weren't expected to shoot and specialists were, well, actually special rather than commonplace.

What I find most compelling about these statistical anomalies isn't just the numbers themselves, but what they represent in the broader context of basketball evolution. We're living in an era where centers regularly shoot threes and teams build their entire offensive systems around the three-point shot, which makes looking back at these historical struggles both hilarious and nostalgic. There's something pure about remembering when players knew their limitations and focused on their strengths, even if it occasionally produced some truly unforgettable shooting displays of the wrong kind. As much as I love modern basketball analytics and the emphasis on efficient shooting, part of me misses the chaotic charm of watching a player like Ben Wallace launch a three-pointer that had absolutely no chance of going in but everyone watching knew was coming anyway.