Stephen Curry passed Ray Allen on Friday night to become the NBA's all-time leader in three-point field goals, playoff games included. Curry is widely considered the king of the long ball, and it has nothing to do with reaching this new milestone—well, almost nothing.
Before Curry set a new NBA record, he owned the title as the best three-point shooter ever. Before him, Allen wore the crown of king of the three-pointer. It was short-lived because Curry exploded onto the scene into superstardom, setting shooting records left and right once he overcame early-career ankle issues.
But just in case people still consider Allen the GOAT shooter, here are three reasons Curry is the better shooter.
Every record Allen owns will be broken
Allen still owns the career record for three-pointers in regular-season games, but Curry will likely pass that milestone this year. Allen has 2,973, and Curry is currently at 2,896. He needs 78 makes to pass Allen for most three-pointers in regular-season games. The scary part about this is Curry is still playing at an MVP level and is showing no signs of slowing down. Who knows how high he will set the new record when it's all said and done?
Allen once held the record for most threes in a season with 269. Can you guess who first broke that mark? Yep, Stephen Curry. He's since beaten that number of makes in a season six times and holds the current record of 402.
His percentage is higher
Allen shot 40% from three on his journey to the Hall of Fame. Only select players have been able to do that in a single season, let alone an entire career. Curry, on the other hand, is currently shooting the long ball at 43.2% for his career, and it's not because he's attempting fewer threes than Allen. Curry is taking 8.7 threes per game in his career compared to Allen's 5.7.
The story these numbers tell is if Curry shot it fewer times, not only would he still make more threes than Allen did, he probably would hold the record for three-point percentage as well—one currently record held by his coach, Steve Kerr.
The eyeball test
Many of Allen's makes came courtesy of running around screens, not dissimilar from Curry. But unlike Allen, Curry has the elite ability to rain triples off the dribble, too. He even created a shot that's growing more popular every season, the logo three.
It doesn't matter if Curry sees one or two defenders. If he can get the shot off, it's likely to go in. As great of a shooter as Allen was, he still needed a clear look at the basket to knock threes down consistently. Curry even gives off the impression that it's not always necessary for him to look at the basket. He often turns around before the ball goes through the net after launching a three.
Assessing the two players with the most made threes in NBA history, you can see one is a superior threat from downtown. That one is no other than Stephen Curry, the greatest shooter to ever walk the earth.
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