The best stretch fours in NBA history

If there’s one thing we learned from watching The Last Dance, it’s how much the game has changed over the past 20 years. The crackdown on defensive hand-checking is a part of that, of course, but the biggest change has been the emergence of the stretch four.

Rugged power forwards like Charles Oakley and Horace Grant has been replaced by highly-skilled tweeners who stretch defenses to their breaking point with their ability to nail deep threes. Their names aren’t always easy to spell, but they are easy to cheer for as they score from every place imaginable on the court.

Join us now as we celebrate the five greatest stretch fours in NBA history.

5. Robert Horry

NBA teams: Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs
Accolades: 7x NBA Champion

Few players have a more peculiar resume than Robert Horry. The 6-foot-9 journeyman averaged just 7.0 points per game over his 16-year career and never came close to making an All-Star team. And yet, despite his shortcomings, "Big Shot Bob" was an integral part of seven championship teams thanks to his phenomenal ability to knock down open shots. Horry’s tremendous range and reputation as a clutch shotmaker helped draw defenders away from Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, and Tim Duncan, and allowed his more famous teammates to do what they did best: dominate the paint.

4. Kristaps Porzingis

NBA teams: New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks
Accolades: 1x All-Star

If Kristaps Porzingis had entered the NBA in the mid 1980s he would have been just another spindly center. His lack of size and strength would have relegated him to the end of the bench while other, more rugged bangers stole his minutes. However, the 7-foot-3 Latvian entered at precisely the right time, as the league was beginning to fully embrace the three-point shot and seven-footers were being judged by their skill, rather than their girth.

The "Unicorn's" impeccable timing has resulted in him averaging 18.1 points and 7.6 rebounds over four seasons, while shooting close to 36% from beyond the arc. His nearly limitless range makes him the perfect pick-and-pop partner with Luka Doncic, and should help the Mavs become playoff contenders for many years to come.

3. Kevin Love

NBA teams: Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers
Accolades: 5x All-Star, NBA Champion, Most Improved Player

Kevin Love began his career as a classic back-to-the-basket big. The UCLA product averaged 19.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game over six seasons with the Timberwolves, and seemed destined to continue making his bones in the paint before being traded to the Cavs in 2014.

"K-Love" occasionally struggled to fit in rather than "fit out", but he eventually came to terms with becoming a perimeter player and flourished in his new role. His ability to drill three-pointers led Cleveland to an NBA championship in 2016 and helped him become one of the league’s best-paid players two years later.

2. Chris Bosh

NBA teams: Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat
Accolades: 11x All-Star, 2x NBA Champion

Chris Bosh seldom gets the love he deserves from basketball fans, and that’s a shame, because he made huge sacrifices to become an NBA champion. "CB4" was the man in Toronto, where he averaged 20.2 points and 9.4 rebounds and made five All-Star teams in seven seasons with the Raptors. He likely would own every record in franchise history had he not taken his talents to South Beach in 2010 to team up with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

That decision ultimately resulted in six more All-Star selections and a pair of championships, but it wasn’t always easy. Bosh’s usage percentage plummeted during his first four seasons in Miami, and he was forced to develop a new set of skills as he dutifully moved to the perimeter. His selflessness made him the ultimate teammate and should pave the way for a Hall of Fame induction soon.

1. Dirk Nowitzki

NBA team: Dallas Mavericks
Accolades: Hall of Fame, 14x All-Star, NBA MVP, NBA Champion, NBA Finals MVP

Was there any doubt that Dirk Nowitzki would claim our top spot? The "Tall Baller from the G" revolutionized the stretch forward position with his remarkable marksmanship and off-the-charts basketball IQ.

Nowitzki shot 40% or better from deep in five of his 21 seasons in Dallas, and had a knack for neutralizing the opposing team’s power forwards by drawing them far away from the paint. His impressive skillset led to 14 All-Star appearances and the Mavs’ first – and only – NBA championship in 2011. His place in Springfield is all but assured.