First thought: Oh, this should be simple. You can warm yourself with the ire that will be directed your way if you dare to declare someone the greatest of all time in any field. Successful NBA shooters of the past and present would put an end to that notion quicker than you can make a wide-open three-pointer.

From across the 50+ year history of the NBA, five players (Rick Barry, Kiki Vandeweghe, Chuck “The Rifleman” Person, Dana Barros, and Steve Nash) answered to that statement.

Surely not everyone would live in a bubble because Curry has led the league in three-point attempts and makes for the past three seasons. They couldn’t possibly be swayed by the game’s outcome, which hinged on a reverse off-hand shot that ricocheted high off the backboard before drifting down into the net or a made three-pointer that was launched in the shadow of a defender as time ran out.

Surely someone would point out that defensive rules have changed, that getting off shots is much easier now than it was a few decades ago, and that someone as slight as Curry would have had to spend a year or two in the weight room before he could hope to compete in the NBA against players like Michael Jordan, Derek Harper, and Gary Payton who were free to hand-check with abandon.

Or, someone would say that it’s too soon to call him the greatest player in NBA history, given that he’s only in his sixth year and that his third season was cut short to 26 games due to ankle injuries.

Someone, whether motivated by pride or wisdom, will always claim to have played with or against a player who was better than Curry.

Nope. Vandeweghe and company, and everyone else who believes that no one has ever launched a pebbled leather sphere from more locations and with more mind-numbing consistency and accuracy than Wardell Stephen Curry II, should be outfitted with orange jumpsuits.

In this 1977 photo from Madison Square Garden in New York City, Rick Barry, number 24 for the Golden State Warriors, takes a jumper as his team takes on the New York Knicks.  

If any of the five players were to disagree, it would be former Warriors small forward Barry. He didn’t nominate anyone else or flat-out deny Curry the title of best shooter in mythical history. While he did make some valid points, such as how Kyle Korver of the Atlanta Hawks has led the league in three-point shooting percentage for the past two years and how “there were probably a lot” of players in his era who were better mid-range shooters than Curry, he took the most issue with the title’s absolute nature.

Barry, a 12-time All-Star (4 times in the ABA), led the Warriors to their lone championship in 1975. “You can’t even do it because you can’t compare guys who played before the three-point line was introduced,” he remarked. In his final year of NBA play (1979–80), the league adopted the ABA’s three-point line. The only time period available to you is the present day, he remarked. “I had to practice in order to make that shot.”

Vandeweghe, who debuted in the league that year, did the same thing. He was drafted 11th overall as a small forward, but he shot 0% from deep in his first year and 1% in his second. After another five years, he had the highest three-point percentage in the league (48.1%), making 39 of 81 attempts.

Kiki has a deep and profound appreciation for the history of the game as the son of the late New York Knicks swingman Ernie Vandeweghe, the nephew of the late New York Knicks four-time All-Star Mel Hutchins, and a pupil of the late offensive genius Pete Newell. He listed Jerry West, Steve Nash, Dale Ellis (the long-range shooter for the Denver Nuggets), and Dell Curry Sr. as some of the best shooters he could think of.

Kiki Vandeweghe of the Portland Trailblazers in 1987. She’s at the free-throw line. Stephen Dunn/Allsport, Credit Required

“Nash is the best I’ve played HORSE with,” remarked Vandeweghe. It’s true that “Steph reminds me of Steve in some ways.” Nash, of course, shot at least 50% from the field, 40% or better from beyond the arc, and 90% or better from the charity stripe four times in five seasons and came close to doing so in the fifth. Only nine players have accomplished this feat at least once while playing at least 55 games in a season, with Larry Bird’s four remaining the most.

When taking into account the difficulty and significance of the shots, this season was Curry’s best shooting performance Vandeweghe has ever seen (48.7 overall, 44.3 on 3s, and a league-leading 91.4 from the line).

According to Vandeweghe, “I’ve never seen anyone better” when comparing peak performers from one year to the next. I can’t believe how difficult his shots are. He takes shots that I would never even consider, and I’ve taken a lot of them. He is physically and tactically astute. He never loses sight of the basket. His foundations are as strong as anyone’s I’ve seen (although Dell’s form is more textbook because to his higher release point), and he’s always got a solid shot in him.

It’s no big deal to Nash that Curry is now the champion.

He finally spoke out, saying, “The only hesitation I have is from fear of being ignorant.” “Am I forgetting someone? Should he practice or perform for longer? How many more years must he repeat that feat in the postseason? However, my initial thought is, “Why not?” When it comes to pure shooting, variety of shots, percentage, getting hot, and staying in the game to the finish, he is as excellent as anyone I can think of.

To those who think statistics are infallible and efficiency is everything: Nash didn’t put much stock in his numbers because he played the game differently and was occasionally criticized for it.

Steve Nash thinks that Stephen Curry, inspired by Nash’s shot-making, should take more shots for the Warriors.

According to Nash, “he’s going to take more shots and he should,” thus throughout the course of his career, he will shoot a lower percentage than he did. “It’s just a matter of different worldviews. Because I am more cautious than Steph, I would have a greater shooting percentage. To provide my teammates more opportunities, I would aim for a high shooting %, only increasing my attempts in the last minutes of the game. My coaches warned me I was doing more harm than good when I tried to find open teammates, but I felt I more than made up for it in the positive impressions I made on them and the way I helped them fit in with the team’s overall offensive strategy and dynamic. He has the ability to, but prefers to, score. He has abilities that I do not. You certainly wouldn’t want to take away his ability to shoot so gracefully, with such a wide variety of photos and such a fast release.

The ability to shoot from long range off the dribble is one area in which Nash and Curry are similar, yet even there, Nash considers Curry to be superior.   

It’s “Steph takes it to another level,” Nash remarked. I could do it cutting to the left or right, as could he, but my goal was always the three-point line. He can do it from a greater depth than I am capable of, yet I never retreated. He can easily back up a few steps and still succeed. That goes in addition to the rest of the rounds. This move could prove decisive in determining the victor of this competition.

In this 1989 photo at the Boston Garden, Seattle SuperSonics guard Dana Barros, number 11, drives on Boston Celtics guard Kelvin Upshaw, number 7. WARNING, USER: User hereby irrevocably admits and agrees

Both Barros and Person spent the most of their careers on the ice before the NHL effectively banned hand-checking in 2004 and repealed the unlawful defense rules in 2001. Barros, who is classified at 5 feet 11 inches and 163 pounds, had to figure out how to get his shot off against defenders who were legally allowed to utilize their size and power to their advantage.

“I had to learn a new definition of open,” Barros explained. “Michael Jordan’s hand encircled my entire waist as he directed me, and he said, ‘You’re going nowhere, Little Man.’ I’ll never forget that.” When I had the ball in open court, I always tried to make as much forward progress as possible. When I finally got the other team to respect my speed, I was able to pull up at the three-point line and take my shot with relative ease.

Barros thinks Curry’s ball-handling talents and fast release would have translated in the black-and-blue ’90s despite both players’ diminutive statures (6’3″, 185 pounds). “What he’s doing would be amazing and unstoppable in any era,” Barros remarked.

While Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, and the late Drazen Petrovic all make Barros’ all-time list, Stephen Curry’s ability to score without relying on the playmaking of a teammate may place him ahead of them. “I call him a real shooter because he is not a spot-up shooter playing off an All-Star,” said Barros. “Dale Ellis was a terrific shooter, but he never even dribbled the ball. Steph is a great shooter who is speedy off the dribble. I always expect something to happen when he has the ball. One could argue that he is the greatest of all time. Making a case against him would be more difficult.

Being able to make his own shot gives Curry more scoring options than most spot-up shooters.

Being able to make his own shot gives Curry more scoring options than most spot-up shooters.Getty Images/Noah Graham

The expanded use and favor of the three-point shot gives a platform for Curry that past great players did not have, as acknowledged by Person, who played during the era of illegal defense and hand-checking (1986-2000). In his 13 seasons, Person shot 36% from beyond the arc, making 3.6 threes a game on average. When he made his 1,000th, there were only a select few players who had done so. This season, Curry attempted an average of 8.1 threes per game; by the end of his seventh year in the league, he may have already surpassed Person’s career total.

Person ranks Curry first on his personal list of greatest shooters, which also includes Bird, Miller, Allen, and Glen Rice. “I don’t think there’s ever been anybody better,” he declared. He’s got a quicker release time than the men that play spot-up. Nothing like that has ever happened before.

Curry’s flair for the theatrical is something that Barry appreciates as well, even if he avoids the all-time shooting cliches. “It’s the way he does it,” Barry explained. “It has incredible speed and range in its release. And he thinks he can do anything. As an audience member, I enjoy seeing him. And now he’s a fantastic basketball player thanks to his own efforts. He can score, assist, and shoot.

Game Two of the 2015 NBA Western Conference Finals was played on May 21 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors took a shot against Terrence Jones #6 of the Houston Rockets in the fourth quarter.

Even more shocking than the unanimous acquiescence of B/R’s panel of shooting greats to Curry’s superiority claims was the fact that not a single member of the panel cited analytics, such as the more recent true shooting percentages, distance/success breakdowns, or success in the game’s final minutes, in an effort to support his position. Those who have really met Curry can appreciate this: As he advances up the court, the crowd erupts in anticipation, not knowing where he will halt and pop. When he releases the ball, everyone lets out a collective “A-ha!” since the biggest mystery—from what angle he will shoot—has been resolved. Only when the outcome doesn’t occur (by falling through the net) is it considered newsworthy.

Consistency,” Nash opined. Is it possible for someone to reliably make shots over the course of many seasons? A true player would have that quality. That’s the crux of it, really, no matter how you slice it. The frequency of bad nights. When certain players take a shot, you can almost guarantee that it will go in. Steph can plant his feet, center his weight between them, and launch himself into a rhythmic jumper’s dunk as if he were standing still when he caught the ball and shot it.

From what I can tell, he’s the best there has ever been.