Picking the perfect H-O-R-S-E competition

Basketball fans received a rare glimmer hope this week when Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the NBA is teaming up with ESPN to televise a H-O-R-S-E competition featuring some of the game’s top marksmen. Players will compete in isolation in their own home gyms and will use streaming media to view the shots of their fellow stars in real time.

Woj’s welcome news got me thinking about which NBA greats I’d most like to see in a good ol' fashioned game of H-O-R-S-E. Here’s my list of lights-out shooters and trick shot artists.

Larry Bird

I could rattle off Larry Bird’s many accolades and delve into his three-straight NBA Three-Point Contest wins, but you already know about that. What you might not know is that Bird and Michael Jordan combined forces in 1993 in an epic McDonald’s commercial in which they matched each other shot for shot. It started out tamely enough with a behind-the-backboard jumper, but ended with the pair shooting off a billboard from atop a towering skyscraper. That’s exactly the kind of circus shot I would love to see in my H-O-R-S-E competition, and Larry Legend is just the man to make it.

Steve Nash

The only four-time member of the NBA’s exclusive 50-40-90 club, Steve Nash shot 50% from the field, 40% from deep, and 90% from the free-throw line for three straight seasons from 2008-10. Granted, he didn’t shoot much, but Nash was capable of scoring with the best of them, as evidenced by his 48-point outburst in the 2005 Western Conference Semifinals when the Mavs shut down his passing lanes and dared him to be a scorer. I’m putting the two-time MVP in my competition for those exploits, but also because I know that he’ll break out some salty soccer shots that will drive his fellow players batty.

Kevin Durant

The NBA experimented with a H-O-R-S-E event during its All-Star weekends in 2009 and 2010 and one man reigned supreme on both occasions: Kevin Durant. The competition wasn’t exactly daunting (who the hell invited Omri Casspi?), but the Slim Reaper brought the goods just the same, canning an endless array of threes and impossibly high-arching shots. I’ve never been a huge fan of Durant and his off-the-charts pettiness, but you have to respect a guy who can make a 25-footer look like a layup.

Pete Maravich

Younger fans may not be familiar with Maravich, but they should be. The floppy-haired kid from Aliquippa, PA averaged 44.2 points per game during his three years at LSU despite facing triple and quadruple teams every time he touched the ball. His scoring prowess and creativity were unmatched during the 1970s and led to Pistol Pete being selected to compete in a year long H-O-R-S-E competition that aired on CBS during the 1977-78 NBA season. He didn’t win, but his scoop shots and flashy layups made for some mighty fine viewing.

Steph Curry

Anyone who’s seen Steph Curry’s legendary pre-game routine knows that his game is built for H-O-R-S-E. The two-time MVP spends several minutes working on his handles before nailing a dizzying array of one-foot floaters, step-back threes, and long distance bombs from the tunnel. It’s a sight to behold, and it’s something I need in my dream competition.

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