1990 — Round 1, Pick 4
When Dennis Scott arrived to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he had to convince then-coach Bobby Cremins to let him pull up from the 3-point line almost indiscriminately. No one thought of the 3-point line as that kind of a weapon.
When he got to the NBA, it still took convincing coaches Matt Guokas and Brian Hill to let him fire from 3-point range. That pesky line that had been there since 1980 was not something anyone ever figured out how to use.
Credit Dennis Scott as one of the forerunners of the 3-point revolution in the mid-1990s. His run with the Orlando Magic — and their run to the 1995 NBA Finals to meet the equally 3-point happy Houston Rockets — made the 3-point line an accepted strategy.
Scott hit 40.3 percent from beyond the arc in seven seasons with the Magic. That included a season where he averaged 19.9 points per game. He was not like anything the league had seen. Or at least, he was given the freedom to be that shooter.
And when the Magic got Shaquille O’Neal, the two became fast friends and perfect complements. O’Neal drew the defense in and Scott made them pay with his barrage of 3-pointers.
He led the league in 3-point makes in 1996 and that was his ultimate legacy. Scott was part of the group that made 3-pointers cool. And made them a successful strategy in the league.