Steph is the league’s best 3-point shot maker and it’s not even close
Just recently Steph made history and became number one all time in three pointers made. An achievement that many hoop fans have been waiting on for a while. But how did a scrawny kid from Davidson beat out all of the NBA competition and find himself as the best shooter ever? Well, you have to be able to make three-point shots in the first place.
Historically we know that Steph has always been confident when shooting from long range. We've seen his three pointers attempted and made increase as his career developed. But this season he finds himself with the most three pointers made in the fewest games, a record set by him. As well as the fact that he sits alone when looking at good shot making on low shot quality.
BBall Index produced a graph on Tuesday morning showcasing the NBA’s three point shooting this season. It was comprised of good shot making and poor shot making as well as high shot quality and low shot quality. The players with good shot making and low shot quality were located in the top left of the graph. The one superstar above the rest was Steph Curry, with no one even remotely close to his ability to make three pointers with such low shot quality. The closest player in shot making to Steph was Patty Mills but his quality was much higher.
With that being said, if you have watched Warriors games this season it almost feels like having a defender near Curry when he shoots helps him to make the shot. It could be the pressure of an open shot as he is basically guaranteed to make it ten time out of ten and must do so on the spot. Whatever it is Curry seems to make more contested shots while still being able to score at a high rate this season. He is shooting around 39% on threes, a lower percentage for him as he set the bar so high in previous years.
On the other hand, he leads the NBA in total three pointers made this season at 154 in only 29 games. He also makes 5.3 per game. If this sounds ridiculous, it is, the next closest player is Buddy Hield and he has 124 made and only 3.8 makes per game. What does this mean for the league and for guys who are the next generation of hoopers? Well as the game evolves so do the players and their skillsets. The reason guards and big men alike in the NBA are shooting more threes is because Curry made it look so easy, “He changed the game,” as his Under Armour slogan will tell you.
If you have a guy continuing to break records in his mid-thirties on shooting stats that he first made popular, then other teams should be worried. He is showing no sign of slowing down, other than putting up slightly lower percentages from the field which should be expected. But if teams are throwing box-and-ones, starting guys just to guard Steph with the possibility of fouling out, and planning their whole defensive scheme around him, and he is still having success, what does that say? This is why basketball fans anonymously agree at this point that he is the greatest three-point shooter ever.
Not to mention that he is 14 threes away from 3,000 made all time, a feat no one in NBA history has achieved. This is due to the rapid succuss he has had in his jumper and the ability to make and take highly difficult shots. And until his backcourt duo Klay Thompson comes back this season, it is safe to say that Steph Curry is the NBA’s best three point shot maker, and it’s not even close.
(Photo credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)