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In the spirit of March Madness, we partnered with Locked on Wizards to create a bracket to crown the best shooter in team history.
Note that we said shooter, not scorer. So please vote for who you feel more comfortable taking a jump shot, not who you think would be better at scoring 30 a game.
Voting for this round will close on Thursday, March 23 at 9:00 a.m. The winners of each regional will advance to the Final Four.
LEGENDS REGIONAL: Gilbert Arenas vs. Phil Chenier
Our first regional starts with an interesting litmus test in what you value in a shooter. Arenas is the franchise’s all-time leader in three-pointers made, and demonstrated throughout his career a unique ability to hit from almost anywhere on the court.
On the other hand, Arenas was never the most efficient shooter from deep. He only shot above 36 percent from deep once in his career with the Wizards, and his discretion got progressively worse during his time with the Wizards.
Then you have Phil Chenier. The three point line wasn’t introduced until his final season in Washington, so he only made three shots from beyond the arc during his time in Washington. Still, there’s no question Chenier’s outside shooting was a key to the Bullets’ success throughout the 70’s. Even though his deep shots didn’t count for extra points, they kept the team balanced offensively. Without his outside shooting, Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld would not have had the room to operate and be effective in the paint.
TALL GUY REGIONAL: Antawn Jamison vs. Bojan Bogdanovic
Like Arenas, Jamison wasn’t the most efficient shooter from deep in Washington, but that’s in part because the team needed him to shoot it a lot to keep the floor spaced for Gilbert and Caron Butler. He was a true stretch four before it became a common position in the NBA and was a key part of why Washington was a top-10 offense during his heyday with the team.
And while it may seem a little premature to put Bojan Bogdanovic on here after such a short amount of time, it’s hard to argue with what he’s done. He’s shooting a blazing-hot 42.9 percent from deep while averaging over 10 attempts per 100 possessions. Even if he regresses a little bit, he’s still arguably putting up the best high-volume three point shooting season in Wizards history.
SILKY SHOOTER REGIONAL: Bradley Beal vs. Tracy Murray
Beal is only 23, but has already cemented his place as one of the best shooters in Wizards’ history. He has the best three-point percentage of anyone who has played at least 150 games with the team, and is third in threes made, trailing only Antawn Jamison (who he’s only 10 threes behind at this point) and Gilbert Arenas.
Yet, you could still argue Tracy Murray was better at his peak. He shot 43 percent from deep in the 1999-2000 season, a mark Beal has never reached in his career, and has two games where he’s made more than six threes in a game. Beal only has one.
SMALL GUY REGIONAL: Tim Legler vs. Chris Whitney
Legler had the single best three-point shooting season in franchise history and the third-best in NBA history. He shot 52.2 percent from deep and won the Three Point Contest during the 1995-96 season when the Bullets made the playoffs. However, it’s worth noting Legler’s big year came during the short time when the NBA moved the three-point line in during the mid-nineties.
Chris Whitney also benefited early in his career from the short three-point line, but showed he could stretch it out once the NBA moved the line back in 1997, shooting over 40 percent from deep on three separate occasions after the league adopted the current arc.
You’ve heard everyone’s cases. Now vote! Round two will begin on Thursday.