Golden State Warriors shooting guard Nick Young was put on the spot on Twitter when a young fan asked him who is the best shooter on his new team. To be safe, Young, known as Swaggy P during his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, pointed to coach Steve Kerr as the best marksman on the team. Young was on target because Kerr was known as a shooter during his career with the 15-year NBA stint with the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers.
In his career, Kerr made 47.9 percent of his shots from the field, 45.4 percent of his attempts from three-point range and 86.4 percent of his foul shots.
He led the league twice in three-point percentage and best remembered for his game-winning jumper in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals when he was still playing with the Chicago Bulls.
With the game tied at 86 and with 10 seconds remaining on the clock, Jordan found himself facing a double team against Byron Russell and John Stockton of the Utah Jazz. Jordan created enough room to pass, finding an open Kerr, who calmly sank a 17-foot jumper to give the Bulls their fifth NBA title. As a player, Kerr won five NBA titles – three with the Bulls and two with the Spurs.
Kerr even better shooter than Curry
Based on NBA.com’s statistics, Kerr was an even better shooter than Steph Curry from the field and beyond the arc.
In his career, Curry has made 47.6 percent of his field goal attempts and 43.8 percent of his tries from three-point range. Klay Thompson, another known Warriors shooter, made just 45.3 percent of his field goal attempts and 41.9 percent of his three-point tries. Kevin Durant was a better field goal shooter than Kerr, making 48.8 percent of his attempts but was just 37.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Young, for his part, was a career 41.9 percent shooter from the floor and 37.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Young joined Warriors on one-year deal
Young recently joined the Warriors on a one-year deal worth $5.2 million. He opted to join the Warriors despite receiving a reported two-year offer worth $4.3 million per season from the Minnesota Timberwolves because of his dream to win an NBA title.
Last season, Young averaged 13.2 points per game and made 40.4 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. When asked about his choice of jersey number, Young said he is choosing between 1 and 6. He wore number 0 with the Lakers but it belongs to Patrick McCaw. If JaVale McGee returns to the Warriors, he will wear the number 1 again, leaving him with just number 6.
