Despite "Slump", Curry Is Still the NBA's Top Shooter

To call 39.7% from beyond the arc “underwhelming” seems like a pretty wild concept. There are a ton of NBA players who would add huge value to their games by shooting at that clip. In the context of one of the greatest scorers to ever lace up, however, it becomes a bit more of a discussion. Extend that to the greatest shooter of all time, and now you can see why almost 40% of threes being made is what we’d call a “slump”.

That’s how we judge Steph Curry. A career 43.3% from range, Steph is launching shots at a clip that seemed unfathomable until he started doing it: He’s leading the league in attempts at 13.0 a game. There are legit rotation guys in the league that can be called good basketball players who don’t shoot regular field goals that much. Currently the league leader in both attempts and makes, he’s splashing 5.2 threes per game and playing every single game for a comfortable spot in first place. At his pace, he’ll keep the crown for another year straight when he’s played close to a full season.

We’ve come to expect this kind of thing from Steph. While most superstars would be praised for putting up his still-great splits of 42/39/97 from the line, there seems to be a recent indictment on Curry’s ability to score the basketball. Casual fans see Steph “struggling”, and while his oddity of lacking 4th quarter performances has certainly fueled some of this discourse, there’s no debate how good Steph Curry actually is.

We hear this kind of thing yearly. The slander to try and detract from Curry’s greatness is nothing new, and people are picking low-hanging fruit knowingly while they still can. We can all be assured that the torch is going to light up at some point, and if he’s hoisting 13 threes a game, there’s a very good chance that his percentages rounding out will lead to some absurd scoring displays, especially when he finds his rhythm late in the game once again.

Curry is currently 2nd all-time in three pointers made, and is expected to pass Ray Allen relatively soon. Coming off an MVP season and currently in the driver’s seat for the MVP odds through the first few games of the season, there is no sign that Curry will be slowing down any time soon. The three-point mountaintop will, by the time he retires, have Steph Curry’s name etched in what could be an inconceivable record. The best point guard to ever do it is showing he still has a ton of gas in the tank: With improved spacing currently and even better spacing when Klay Thompson returns later this season, the numbers he puts up without facing doubles every night could be a legend we’re telling our kids about one day.

(Photo credit: Noah Graham / Getty Images)