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Klay Thompson Ray Allen Chase: Heat Guard 34 Threes From Third All-Time
Klay Thompson is 34 three-pointers away from passing Ray Allen for third place on the NBA’s all-time list, and the Miami Heat are leaning on his shooting as they try to climb out of a 4-6 start. The Klay Thompson Ray Allen storyline was a preseason curiosity. Three weeks into the 2026-27 season, it is a live chase, and it is happening alongside the biggest rebuild of the Erik Spoelstra era.
Thompson carried 2,939 career threes into Tuesday night’s game at Utah, according to the Sun Sentinel, against Allen’s 2,973. Every number in this story runs through Sunday’s win in Sacramento. The final box score from Tuesday’s game at the Delta Center had not been confirmed when this story was filed, so it is not reflected here.
Klay Thompson Ray Allen Chase by the Numbers
Thompson began the season with 2,899 career threes. Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald reporting in August put him 75 makes shy of Allen. Entering Tuesday he had already cut that gap to 34, which means he made 40 threes across Miami’s first 10 games. By the NBA’s career list, he currently sits fourth, behind Stephen Curry, James Harden and Allen. You can see the full ranking on the career 3-point leaders list.
The recent stretch has been the best of it. Thompson made seven or more threes in three of the five games before Tuesday, per the Sun Sentinel. On Sunday at Golden 1 Center he went 7-of-13 from deep and finished with 23 points in the 114-108 win over the Kings. As a team, Miami shot 18-of-43 from three, and the Heat needed every bit of it after the Kings erased a 16-point deficit. Our full Heat-Kings recap has the complete breakdown.
The week’s defining moment also belonged to him. In the 117-116 overtime win at the Clippers on Nov. 4, Thompson scored 30 points and hit the game-winning three at the end of the extra period on a pass from Giannis Antetokounmpo. We covered that finish in Klay Thompson’s game-winner lifts Heat past Clippers.
Why Thompson’s Shooting Matters for a 4-6 Heat Team
Miami opened 0-4, slid to 2-5 and entered Tuesday at 4-6. Spoelstra has asked his locker room to “embrace the tension,” and the early results have been uneven even in the wins. The Heat also gave up 106 points to Sacramento, the fewest they have allowed this season, which tells you how much work remains on the defensive end.
That is where Thompson’s value shows up in a different way. When the defense is still searching for its identity, a floor-spacer who can erase a 10-point deficit in two possessions keeps games within reach. This is analysis rather than a stat line, but the pattern is clear: when the Heat shoot well from three, they have been able to survive their defensive lapses, as in Sacramento. When they don’t, the 120-100 loss at Golden State shows how quickly things can get away from them. Our Heat-Warriors recap lays out that game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Is Creating the Looks
Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.5 points through his first 10 games with Miami, according to HEAVY, and he put up 29 points and 14 rebounds against the Kings. He was listed as probable for Utah with a right wrist sprain, an issue that has appeared on the injury report in several recent games without costing him a start.
His gravity is the engine. Thompson explained that his job is to stay patient and keep relocating into Antetokounmpo’s line of sight, “because he’s gonna find you.” Antetokounmpo described the other side of it: when a double team or a third defender arrives, he looks for the open man, and “whenever Klay’s next to you and he’s open, you gotta deliver the ball to him.” That chemistry is why so many of Thompson’s makes have been clean, high-percentage catch-and-shoot threes.
Spoelstra on Thompson’s Conditioning and Defense
Thompson is 36 and played 61 games off the bench for Dallas last season, so the question entering this year was whether he could handle a starter’s workload. Spoelstra’s answer, as quoted by the Sun Sentinel, was that Thompson has worked on his body and “you’re seeing him rewind the clock a little bit. We need every bit of it.”
The coach also pointed beyond the shooting. “It’s not just the shooting,” Spoelstra said, adding that Thompson’s feet are moving better defensively and that he is “getting closer to who he used to be.” For his part, Thompson said he feels healthy and attributed the improvement to training, sleep and the team’s conditioning culture. Those are encouraging signals for a player coming back from major knee and Achilles injuries earlier in his career.
A Lineup Shake-Up Around the Shooter
Spoelstra made his first starting lineup change of the season on Sunday, moving Pelle Larsson into the first unit and Andrew Wiggins to the bench. The new group of Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Thompson, Davion Mitchell and Larsson outscored Sacramento by 12 points in 11 minutes together, per HEAVY. Larsson finished with 11 points before fouling out, and Wiggins scored six points in 31 minutes off the bench.
Whether the lineup stays the same remains to be seen. Spoelstra called the decision tough and said it is “all hands on deck.” The sample is small, and one game against a 1-8 Kings team that was missing Domantas Sabonis proves little. Still, the starting group that puts Thompson next to Antetokounmpo, Adebayo and Mitchell has given the Heat clear spacing and a reliable defensive floor. For more on the captain’s role, see our story on Bam Adebayo’s franchise rebounding record.
When Could Thompson Pass Allen?
Here is a Remix Sports Media projection, not a prediction from the team. Thompson made 40 threes in Miami’s first 10 games, roughly four per contest. At that pace he would need about eight or nine games to close a 34-make gap. Counting Tuesday’s game at Utah, that would put the milestone just beyond the five-game homestand that follows. Injuries, minutes and normal shooting variance could move that timeline in either direction.
The symbolism is hard to miss. Allen won a championship in Miami and hit one of the most famous threes in NBA Finals history in 2013. Thompson insists he is not content with a hot start, saying he wants “a great shooting season and postseason.” If he reaches third place in a Heat uniform, the franchise will have another milestone moment during a season that badly needs one.
What Fans Should Watch Next
The Heat return home for a five-game stand that opens with a Friday-Saturday back-to-back against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons, then continues with the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. Keep an eye on four things:
Thompson’s three-point total, and how quickly he trims the gap on Allen.
Antetokounmpo’s wrist, and whether he stays off the injury report’s serious list.
Whether Larsson keeps the starting spot or Spoelstra goes back to Wiggins.
Whether the defense can string together two good halves, which Spoelstra has asked for.
Follow Remix Sports Media for continuing Miami Heat news, including Thompson’s chase, injury updates and game recaps all season. Catch up on the Heat’s NBA Cup opener rout of the Pacers while you wait for the next tip-off.
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