| 09 February 2010
Quick. Name some of the NBA’s all-time greatest three-point shooters in NBA history.
I'll give you a second or two.
Chances are you just left Craig Hodges off that list.
Don’t feel bad. Everyone does it. But lets be real here: Hodges - who shot 40% from beyond the arc during his 10-year career -belongs in the discussion alongside the likes of Larry Bird (37%) and Reggie Miller (39%).
In fact, only Bird and Hodges have ever won three consecutive 3-point shooting contests during All-Star weekend (1990-92), this to go along with Craig’s two championship rings with the Chicago Bulls. Hodges would have gone for four-straight (not to mention being a runner-up in ’86 and ’89) had the Bulls not cut him after the 1992 season.
That’s the story within the story here. And I’ll let ESPN’s LZ Granderson tell the rest from his phenomenal piece last February where Hodges describes being “blackballed” from the league at almost 32 years old.
In 2005 – and after 13 years out of the league – Phil Jackson added Hodges to the Los Angeles Lakers coaching staff. But for this “History Black” installment, we go back to 1991 where Hodges set an all-time record during the three-point shootout on All-Star Saturday in Charlotte.
He hit 19 straight shots – to jump out of the gate. That streak helped Hodges capture his second-straight title and obliterated Bird's consecutive shot streak of 11 back in ’86.
Can we put Craig Hodges towards the top of that list now?
The History Black Series - Honoring Black History Month:
February 1: Muhammed Ali
February 2: Gary Payton
February 3: Bo Jackson
February 4: Dr. J
February 5: The Junkyard Dog
February 6: John Starks
February 7: Barry Sanders
February 8: Spud Webb
photo: nba.com
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