On December 15, Beijing time, in the "basketball Mecca" Madison Square Garden, Stephen Curry created a new history, in this Warriors away game against the Knicks, Curry hit two three-pointers shortly after the opening, and the total number of career regular season three-point shots reached 2974 goals, surpassing legendary shooter Ray Allen and rising to the first place in history.
This article will take stock of the secrets behind the regular season three-point king and see how Curry became the undisputed top scorer in history.
The starting point of the legend
On October 31, 2009, then-21-year-old rookie Stephen Curry began his three-point trip in his second professional game.
Two nights ago, Curry missed his only three-point shot in his NBA debut. But toward the end of the first half of the away match against the Suns, Curry dribbled the ball into the front and handed the ball to teammate Anthony Morrow, who hoisted the ball to the low-post Andrés Bedrins on the right wing. Curry's staring at Steve Nash first cut inside, then quickly turned around and went outside the three-point line, and under the right cover of his teammates, he took the ball in the open position and hit the first three-pointer of his career.
That goal is the starting point of the legend.
What is the level of 2974 three points?
Ray Allen announced his retirement at the end of the 2013-14 season, setting the NBA's all-time record for 2,973 regular-season three-point shooting. This record was maintained for 7 years before it was finally broken by Curry.
Now, with Curry successfully ascending to the throne of the all-time three-pointer, Aaron has taken a back seat. Behind the duo, third in history is another legendary superstar known for his three-point shooting, Reggie Miller, who shot 2,560 career three-point shots, a full 414 fewer than Curry.
The player who has hit more than 2,500 three-pointers in the regular season in his career has only been four in the entire NBA history, except for Curry, Allen and Miller, which is the Nets' James Harden (2509 goals). There are 11 players who have shot more than 2,000 career three-point shots, the other seven being Kyle Korver, Vince Carter, Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford, Paul Pierce, Damian Lillard and LeBron James.
How amazing is Curry's record-breaking speed?
The historical records set and maintained by the NBA statistics are mostly based on long-lasting careers:
"Skyhook" Abdul-Jabbar played 20 seasons to become the all-time scoring champion, "Big Dream" Olajuwon used 18 seasons to become the all-time cap king, John Stockton can have both assists and steals at the same time, thanks to his super high attendance record....
Similarly, when Allen announced his retirement in 2014, he had already played 18 seasons in the league, when he was 38 years old. It took Allen 1,300 games and 46,344 minutes to set an NBA all-time record of 2,973 three-pointers, while Curry broke that record with just 789 games and 27,047 minutes.
Curry made history at the age of 33 and 275 days, and he will continue to set that record for the rest of his career. And for a long time to come, he will be the target of later people to catch up.
He was the first in history even earlier
Today Curry broke the historical record for three-point shooting in the regular season, and as early as a month ago, he had actually become the "NBA all-time three-point king."
In the home game against the Bulls on Nov. 13, Curry scored 40 points on 9-of-17 shooting from beyond the three-point line, and with this game, his career regular season + playoff total three-point shooting reached 3366, surpassing Allen's 3358 and rising to the first place in history.
And if you just talk about the playoff three-point shooting, Curry completed the surpassing of Allen as early as April 14, 2019, becoming the first in history. It was Curry's 91st playoff game, and it took Allen 171 games — nearly twice as much as Curry — to set the previous all-time record.
Use three points as the key to victory
Not only has Curry been able to make a lot of shots and hit three-pointers, but more importantly, he has also brought victories to his team.
In his 13 seasons career so far, Curry has led the team to the Finals five times as the warriors' star, won 3 championships, created the best record in history of 73 wins and 9 losses, the best record in playoff history with 16 wins and 1 loss, and won two MVP trophies and two scoring titles.
Before Curry won his first championship, Charles Barkley had said that "jump shots don't win championships," and many people agreed with him at the time. And now, no one will think so again.
What was Curry's most powerful three-point performance?
Curry's highest three-point shooting per game was 13, creating a 76.5 percent shooting percentage from the Warriors' home game against the Pelicans on Nov. 8, 2016, when he hit 13 from just 17 three-pointers.
But to say curry's most shocking three-point performance, I am afraid it will have to be the classic battle of the Warriors on February 28, 2016 against the Thunder.
In that game, Curry made a total of 16 shots from outside the three-point line, hitting 12 of them, equaling the league record at the time.
Even more shocking than the icy numbers is that Curry made the last minute of that overtime battle, dribbling the ball just after half, 32 feet away from the basket, hitting a long-range three-point shootout, helping the Warriors beat the Thunder led by Widhoo 2-2 118.
Which team is Curry's number one cash machine?
Curry hit a career-high 13 three-pointers in a single game on the Pelicans, hit the most classic three-pointer of his career against the Thunder, played the Blazers, and once hit 8 three-pointers in a single game to get a career-high 62 points, but the data showed that these teams were not his "number one cash machine".
According to statistics, Curry has shot a total of 170 three-pointers against the Clippers in his career, the highest record against all 29 opponents, followed by 156 goals against the Thunder and 155 goals against the Blazers.
In addition, Curry has shot at least eight three-pointers in 66 games in his career regular season, including 6 against the Clippers, which is also the highest record against any opponent.
Efficiency and throughput are equally staggering
Not only did Curry surpass Allen in less time and fewer games, but he also used 557 fewer three-point shots than Allen (6872 vs. 7429), because Curry was not only the most prolific shooter in NBA history, but also one of the most efficient shooters.
In his career to date, Curry has shot 43.1 percent from three-point range, with the exception of 6 games played by injury in 2019-20, which has no reference point, and every other season has shot more than 41 percent. Reaching a 40% three-point shooting rate is basically regarded as an elite level shooter.
The NBA has another exclusive criterion for top scorers — "180 Club," in which a player shoots more than 50 percent from the field, more than 40 percent from three-point range, and more than 90 percent from the free throw line in a season. Curry's 2015-16 unanimous MVP season not only managed to meet that criterion, becoming one of only nine members of the '180 club' in history, but also averaging the highest score per game (30.1 points).
A change of tradition
In terms of three-pointers, Curry broke with tradition, ranking first in the NBA in terms of three-point shots and shots for five consecutive seasons from 2012-13 to 2016-17. In 2015-16, he became the first player to average more than 10 three-pointers per game, and in the same season, he also set a league record of 402 three-point shots.
Overall, Curry has four of the five most prolific three-pointer seasons of all time (the other from Harden). He also made at least 10 three-pointers in 22 single-game attempts, and no other player has more than five similar performances.
To see how Curry has revolutionized tradition on offense, consider that nearly 50 percent of his career shots have been three-pointers. By comparison, Jordan's three-point shooting percentage is only 7 percent, Kobe Bryant and James' three-point shot percentage are 21 percent and 23 percent, respectively, and even Allen, who is also known for his long-range shooting, is only 39.2 percent.
Last season, the NBA hit almost twice as many three-pointers as it did in the 1996-97 season. Curry transformed the sport, influencing an entire generation of players, spawning a large number of high-quality three-point shooters, including Lone Ranger's Luka Doncic and Eagles' Trae Young.
Curry's followers
Curry will clearly hold the throne of the all-time three-point king for a long time to come, and the player closest to him may be Harden.
Harden is currently fourth on the all-time three-point list and could overtake Allen to second place in history in the next two or three seasons. In addition to Harden, Damian Lillard is currently ranked tenth all-time with 2,106 three-pointers, and he also has a chance to finish in the top five before the end of next season.
However, Harden, 32, and Lillard, 31, still have little hope of catching up with Curry. So, will there be a rising star who poses a threat to Curry's throne of the historic three-point king?
So far, we don't seem to see another player with Curry's level of shooting ability, but there is one name worth noting: Kings guard Buddy Hield shot 1,000 three-pointers in just 350 games, while Curry used 369 games.
What will Curry's final record be?
Curry is the NBA's all-time three-point king today, and the scary thing is that his career looks like he still has a long way to go. Dale Curry played until he was 37 before announcing his retirement, while his son still played his best performance since the beginning of his career at the age of 33.
Curry's astonishing range, ability to create shots and plenty of energy should help him age gracefully, and if serious injuries can be avoided, it is conceivable that Curry will still be a good shooter in his 40s.
Assuming Curry can play until he's 40 and is in relatively good shape, his career three-point shooting will easily break through 4,000, and maybe even approach 5,000, which is unimaginable when he won his first MVP in 2015.
Even as the NBA's three-point revolution continues to accelerate, Curry will almost certainly be the only one in the world for the foreseeable future.
How does Curry view the all-time three-point record?
Curry, who had 16 goals left to set a new record before last week's game with the Trail Blazers, was interviewed and asked if he had the chance to make history in this game, his response was: "Anything is possible." Crazier things have happened. ”
Curry clearly has full confidence in his shooting, which is why he will give an answer that everything is possible. But Curry also knows that in the context of the pursuit of victory, the record has a meaning.
"I know it's close, but I try not to let it affect the way I play, you just have to enjoy the process of reaching the destination. That means a lot to me. ”
In the past few games, Curry has not performed well and seems to have a somewhat unbalanced mentality. Before yesterday's game against the Pacers, he admitted that the record-breaking goal did put some pressure on himself because it was an important milestone he had been pursuing throughout his career.
Curry would certainly prefer to meet this important milestone in front of the home audience, or to make history in the presence of his brother Seth Curry, but "when to break, whenever, I will enjoy it." ”
"When such a moment has passed, there will be no more. After that, it's a question of how much you can improve your record. ”
Today, Curry finally ushered in this long-awaited historic moment, I believe that after this, he will be relaxed and in a better state to meet the future game. After all, for him, this is far from the end.
Curry's main three-point record count
No. 1 in career three-point shooting history;
Career average of 3.7 three-point shooting per game;
1st all-time three-point shooting in a single season, 402 (2015-16);
Hit at least 10 three-pointers in a single game, the first in history, 22 games;
1st all-time hit three-point attempt in a single month, 96 times (April 2021);
First all-time three-point shooting in the playoffs, 470;
The first all-time three-point shooting in the Finals, 121 times;
Hit at least 10 three-pointers and score 50+ all-time firsts, 7 times;
Hit at least 200 three-pointers in a single season, the first in history, 8 times;
Reached the fastest record of 2,000 three-point shots, 597 games.
It should be emphasized that the above are only a few major three-point records that Curry has created and maintained so far in his career, and if it is refined, it will be far more than these, limited to space, and will not be listed here.