The three-point shot was first introduced to the NBA during the 1979-80 season, with Brian Taylor achieving the honor of being the league’s first three-point champion by making 90 shots that season. Since then, the landscape has dramatically changed, with Stephen Curry leading the league in the 2023-24 season with an impressive 357 three-pointers.
Here is a look at the players who have led the league in three-point scoring multiple times.
Stephen Curry: 8 times
Stephen Curry has dominated the league by leading in three-point field goals a record eight times. He holds the all-time record for career three-pointers made with 3,747 and is also the leader in playoff three-pointers with 618. In the postseason, Curry averages 4.2 made threes at a rate of 39.7%. His career-high in a single game is 13 three-pointers, achieved on November 7, 2016, during a win against the New Orleans Pelicans. Regarded as the greatest shooter in NBA history, Curry is a two-time Kia MVP and a four-time NBA champion. He has been selected for 10 All-Star teams, led the league in scoring twice, and in steals once.
During his back-to-back MVP seasons in 2015 and 2016, Curry averaged 26.9 points with a shooting percentage of 49.6%, hitting 4.3 three-pointers at 44.9% and 91.0% from the free-throw line. Over those years, he also averaged 7.2 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 steals in about 33.4 minutes per game. He is now entering his 16th season with the Golden State Warriors, having been drafted seventh overall in 2009.
James Harden: 3 times
James Harden secured his three-point titles in three consecutive seasons from 2017 to 2020. During this period, he made a total of 942 three-pointers with a shooting percentage of 36.3%. Harden won the Kia MVP award in the first year of this stretch and led the league in total free throws made during all three seasons. He also led the league in scoring in the latter two years, finishing a remarkable nine-season run with the Houston Rockets, where he averaged 29.6 points with a shooting percentage of 44.3%. He made 3.3 threes per game at a 36.3% rate and shot 86.2% from the free-throw line. Additionally, he averaged 7.7 assists, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in about 37.0 minutes.
Harden is also a ten-time All-Star and has led the league in assists twice. Before his time in Houston, he played three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and has also spent two seasons each with the Brooklyn Nets, the Philadelphia 76ers, and is gearing up for his second season with the LA Clippers. He was drafted third overall in 2009.
Ray Allen: 3 times
Hall of Famer Ray Allen is renowned for being one of the best pure shooters in NBA history and was an outstanding all-around scorer during his prime. Allen led the league in three-pointers made in 2002, 2003, and 2006 while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Seattle SuperSonics. Throughout those seasons, he made the All-Star team four times and averaged 23.3 points with a shooting percentage of 44.4%, making an average of 3.0 three-pointers per game at a rate of 39.9%. Allen also averaged 4.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.3 three-pointers per 38.2 minutes of play. He finished his career with a 40.0% three-point shooting percentage and won two championships—once with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and again with the Miami Heat in 2013. Over his 171 playoff appearances, he maintained a three-point shooting percentage of 40.1%.
Players who have led the NBA in made three-pointers twice include various notable names who have made significant impacts in the league.