NBA 2018-19: 10 centres who are viable 3-point shooters

The modern NBA has changed basketball from the norm of the past 30-40 years on the offensive end in one distinguishable way - the rise of the 3-point shot. The best teams in the league today are the ones that are able to generate the best looks from range while simultaneously being able to run opposition shooters off the 23-foot line.

In such a day and age, post play is increasingly being discarded by more and more teams in favour of the more efficient 3-point shot, although bigs are still required to have the ability to bang down low.

The average big man of today's NBA is, however, a better offensive player than his predecessors, and there is a multitude of centres and power forwards with a smooth shooting stroke from the perimeter. For the purposes of this article, we are looking at players who are averaging nearly 1 made 3-pointer on a sizeable sample and league-average efficiency, and here goes the list:

#1 Brook Lopez

The biggest beneficiary of Mike Budenholzer's trigger-happy, 3-pointer-heavy offence has been Brook Lopez. Teams' inability to send centres out to defend and close down perimeter shooting means Lopez is routinely found open from downtown. Through 13 games of the season, Lopez is ranked 5th among all players in 3-pointers made, with 39 converted attempts out of 93.

Last night, in a win over fellow early hits Denver Nuggets, Lopez shot 8-of-13 from downtown - a career high in makes. Both teams have strong frontcourt players, and Lopez fits well with the Bucks' swingmen. Many of his teammates are capable off-the-dribble creators, and he is a pretty good pick-and-pop option from the elbow region out till 28 feet - as you can see below:

Lopez will undoubtedly be a factor in the playoffs next summer.

#2 Marc Gasol

Perennially underrated and eternally counted out when we begin to talk of the game's elite players, Marc Gasol has quietly been putting up a solid season. The Grizzlies are currently proud owners of a 7-4 record and are looking good value for another season of playoff contention. With Mike Conley fit again and the likes of Casspi and Anderson integrating seamlessly, their big man rotation has been good enough to fend off playoff teams.

The likes of 76ers' Embiid, Nuggets' Jokic and Jazz's Gobert (twice) have had to eat humble pie when faced with Gasol. One of the reasons Gasol is still a top centre in the league today is his long-range shooting.

At 7 feet tall and a relatively quick release for a player of his size, Gasol is able to pop off onto the perimeter and hit shots, creating driving lanes for his teammates. This season, Gasol leads all centres in 3-point percentage, making a whopping 46.2% of his 3.5 attempts per game.

#3 Karl-Anthony Towns

Towns has started the season off on a really low note, though it is hard to place too much blame on the youngster considering how the Wolves have been affected by the Jimmy Butler trade saga - now finally put to an end with his trade to Philly. Despite his struggles within the paint and from the post, Towns remains a lethal option from the perimeter.

Through 13 games, KAT has converted 26 of his 64 attempts - good for 50th among all qualified players and 5th among all centres. With Robert Covington's shooting added to their roster, KAT will now be taking more shots from all spots on the floor and will have additional spacing to work with and regain his All-NBA form.

#4 Juancho Hernangomez

The Spanish international is one of Spain's finest exports to the NBA in the recent past. His the ability to make plays off the dribble and shoot it from mid-range and long-range in guard-like fashion has often served offences as a spark plug for his teams, and the Nuggets gave him a longer run today than Mason Plumlee in the point centre role, which he performed pretty well.

Playing 20 minutes per game, Hernangomez is averaging nearly 3 3-point attempts per game and has connected on 44% of his looks - a rate that looks pretty sustainable from the eye test. With Jokic manning the starting lineup and a solid centre rotation, the Nuggets look primed to make a run for home court this season.

#5 Nikola Jokic

The 23-year-old point centre from Serbia started the season off with a bang on the offensive end. Ever since, while he's now shouldering less of a scoring burden, he continues to perform at characteristically elite levels as the Nuggets' offensive hub whenever asked to. Averaging 17.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game through the first 13 games of the season, Jokic's efficiency and volume continue to mirror those of a transcendent offensive talent at the centre position.

Averaging 3 attempts per game and knocking them down at a 41% clip currently, Jokic is on course to create history as the first centre since Wilt to average such high assist numbers once again. With the likes of Isaiah Thomas, Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr yet to suit up, the Nuggets will look to their Serbian big man who looks a surefire pick for his first All-Star game appearance in 2019.

#6 Al Horford

This may not be the best time to be singing virtues of the Dominican big man given his ice-cold shooting form to start the season off, but his resume commands enough faith in my homer eyes for me to expect him to shrug it off as the season wears on. Having shot a percentage good enough to crack the top-10 3-point % ranking in 2017-18, Horford is now making fewer shots on 1 more attempt per game on average.

And yet, his threat from downtown has to be guarded in a befitting manner, as the Thunder found to their cost when Horford knocked down 3 3-pointers in the space of a minute to turn the tide of the Celtics' game at the loudest arena in NBA basketball.

The entire Celtics roster is struggling for form and rhythm right now, but their talent is too good for them to continue to be this putrid on offence for too long. Having Brad Stevens, arguably the best coach in the league, at the helm, helps a lot.

#7 Kelly Olynyk

For a Celtics homer like me, the mention of Olynyk brings up memories of our slow but steady ascent through the post-Pierce era. Drafted in 2013 for his ability to shoot from a variety of ranges, Olynyk has since improved on his defensive abilities.

Signing with the Heat and playing alongside more able cutters and rim-runners has allowed Olynyk to showcase his shooting range to the fullest. Although he has gotten off to a rather slow start from downtown, he's still attempting nearly 4 shots per game from distance, and his floor spacing is especially valuable to the Heat who only have Wayne Ellington as a spot-up threat.

#8 Ersan Ilyasova

One of Turkey's premier basketball exports in the recent past, 31-year-old Ersan Ilyasova is back to where his NBA journey started, signing a long-term deal with the Bucks who drafted him 36th overall in 2005. One of the least surprising players to pop up on this list given that he's made a career as a tough rebounder and knockdown perimeter shooters despite his 6'10" height, Ilyasova's basketball IQ is up there with the best of them.

Through 13 games this season operating as both a 4 as well as a 5 in small-ball lineups, Ilyasova is averaging a 38.9% conversion rate on 2.8 attempts per game - figures right in line with his career averages. He's not the last Bucks centre to appear on this list, either.

#9 John Henson

Well, honestly, I've been on record stating multiple times that the Bucks had the worst centre rotation in the league last season. And I've had good reasons for still stoutly defending that take, but what I absolutely did not foresee and floored me when I first saw it was John Henson's seemingly magical ability to make 3-pointers at an NBA level.

Indeed, when he first flashed his new-look 3-pointer in the preseason, I was of the mood to dismiss it as nothing more than a gimmick, but coach Bud knows a lot more about basketball than me, and consequentially, Henson is now actually an asset for the Bucks' offence. Flashing a sweet shooting stroke, the forward-centre is now averaging a 37.9% conversion rate on 2.2 attempts per game.

#10 Alex Len

While John Henson at least looked and played like an NBA player, I had serious doubts about whether Alex Len would find a team willing to bet on him as the Suns declined to re-sign him from the unrestricted free agency this summer. The Hawks, short-staffed at basically every single position, were in perfect position to do that, and have succeeded in reigniting the former #5 pick in the 2013 NBA draft.

I'd never seen it or thought it possible, but Len is now a seriously capable shooter from the perimeter. In the Hawks' defeat to the Lakers at the Staples Center tonight, Len flashed his smooth shooting stroke, knocking down long 2s and even a 3-pointer on 4 attempts from downtown. Len is averaging only 29.6% on a small sample space thus far, but the eye test reveals a surprisingly textbook shooting form and the potential to be developed into a potent offensive weapon for the big man.

Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.