Had you told me that a certain veteran player would be on this list half a decade ago, I would have dismissed your statement entirely.
If that same prediction was made to me just a couple of years prior, my reaction would have remained the same.
However, this perpetually impressive athlete continues to discover new avenues for impactful performance. It’s uncommon for players to cultivate a reliable perimeter game after entering the league; typically, they either possess that skill from the start or largely forgo its development.
The player in question has not historically been regarded as a premier outside shooter; to illustrate, here are the recorded percentages from beyond the arc throughout their extensive career: 27.2 (’95), 33.6 (’96), 37.0 (’97), 31.3 (’98), 36.6 (’99), 33.7 (’00), 29.7 (’01), 32.1 (’02), 34.1 (’03), 32.1 (’04), 36.0 (’05), 35.2 (’06), 34.3 (’07), 38.1 (’08), 40.6 (’09), 42.5 (’10)
Can you readily identify many other players who demonstrably enhanced their proficiency from three-point range so late into their professional years?
Consider the familiar scenario in informal basketball games, where a more seasoned player might exhibit limited mobility but consistently seeks out the open teammate and reliably converts unguarded opportunities. This player embodies a similar role, but operating on the grand stage of professional basketball rather than the local recreation center.
