Storyline: There have been a huge amount of great shooters in the NBA’s record books. Time has moved on and has Stephen Curry taken the title of greatest shooter of all-time with him?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 3 years, you’ve heard of Stephen Curry’s ascension to the top of the three-point hierarchy. Leading the league in three-point field goals made and attempted by a considerable margin as well as boasting a 42% shooting percentage has irrefutably established Stephen Curry as the best three-point shooter in the league.
While there are pundits who would try to make an argument for Kyle Korver, he lacks the high volume shooting that would propel him past Curry. According to Basketball Reference, Steph averages 2 more three-point attempts per game and is also .8% more accurate than Korver. Detractors of Steph would attempt to refute such a notion by pointing towards Kyle Korver’s otherworldly accuracy. Over the past two seasons, he has knocked down 47% of his treys. However, simply looking at accuracy undermines the degree of difficulty at which Steph makes his threes. Stephen Curry has the unprecedented ability to create his looks off the dribble, as 62% of his shots have been unassisted.
Courtesy: USAToday
Kyle Korver, on the other hand, is an ideal role player, relying on others to pass him the ball in catch and shoot situations. This is why over 95% of Kyle Korver’s three-point attempts have been assisted. Now this does not mean Kyle Korver isn’t a phenomenal catch and shoot three-point shooter. It does means that, while Steph Curry and Kyle Korver are relatively on par in terms of catch and shoot three-pointers, Curry blows away Korver, and the rest of the NBA, when it comes to difficult, off-the-dribble shots.
According to NBA.com, for the 2014-15 season, Steph Curry has a catch and shoot three-point accuracy of 48.6% while Korver’s stands at 50.4%. However, on three-point shots requiring one or more dribbles, Curry’s 1.8 made field goals per game leads the league by a wide margin and makes Kyle Korver’s 0.3 made field goals look laughable. Thus, Stephen Curry’s combination of volume, efficiency, and degree of difficulty makes him the indisputable three-point king.
Now that we’ve established Steph Curry as the clear cut best three-point shooter in the league right now, let’s look at where he sits on the all time ranks. His 50th place standing in all time three-point field goals made leaves more to be desired. Remember that he’s only been in the league for 6 years with three of those years involving some sort of injury setback. In this short time, he’s already accomplished several impressive feats such as being the fastest to record 1000 three-pointers, most three-pointers in a post season (breaking the record by 40 three-pointer), and breaking his own record for most three-point field goals made in a single season. Each of the past 3 seasons, Stephen Curry has surpassed 250 made three-point field goals. If he keeps up that pace, he’ll break the all time record within the next 8 seasons, which is completely manageable, barring health problems.
It’s also worth noting, that Steph Curry’s shooting ability and his skill set in general is not predicated on athleticism and is something that’ll stay with age. Steph Curry also sits third on the all time three-point accuracy list, below Hubert Davis and Steve Kerr. Both of whose three-point exploits pale in comparison to that of Steph Curry’s. What I’ve proven to you here is that, barring any unforeseen injury or conflict, Steph Curry will inevitably be the greatest three-point shooter ever. However, what if he already is right now?
Courtesy: backofthejersey.com
His two greatest competitors for the throne of greatest three-point shooter ever are Reggie Miller and Ray Allen. Both Allen and Miller boast nearly two decades of efficient three-point shooting; consistency which Curry is far from. Both also have a plethora of big time shots which will remain intact in NBA lore. From Miller’s incredible 8 points in 9 seconds to Allen’s heart breaking, game tying three-point shot against the Spurs in the Final. Ultimately, they have far superior legacies as three-point shooters than Stephen Curry does. That’s not to say Steph isn’t close to getting there. After the remarkable shooting performance he put on in the 2015 playoffs, Curry has also had his fair share of big moments.
Admitting that Allen and Miller, thus far, had better careers as three-point shooters doesn’t mean I’m conceding the three-point throne to them. Strictly based on the ability to shoot the three-pointer, Steph Curry is hands down the best to ever do it in the business. His profound ability to shoot the ball in any way, shape, or form is unprecedented. No one has ever made three-point shots at a higher rate or degree of difficulty than Steph is right now. According to Basketball Society, in the 2014 -2015 season, three-point shots consisting of 7 or more dribbles beforehand, Curry made an unfathomable 50.1%. That’s something Miller or Allen could never do.
It’s not a coincidence that the NBA’s evolution of small, three-point shooting line ups coincides with Curry’s historical feats behind the three-point line. Teams are adjusting so they can keep up with this phenomenal shooting. Naysayers may make the argument that Curry wouldn’t be able to shoot with such ease if he encountered the physical defense of basketball’s previous eras. While it’s true that physical defense can pester Curry sometimes such as that of Tony Allen, it’s foolish to think he wouldn’t have similar success in other eras. According to Grantland, Curry drills 44% of his contested threes. Therefore all his defender can basically do is pray that it doesn’t go in. Curry’s uncanny ability to shoot the three-ball from all areas, with one dribble or 10, make him the greatest three-point shooter to play the game of basketball.
