Everyone knows that Stephen Curry is one of the most prolific long-range shooters the game has ever seen. He has led the league in 3-point makes and attempts for the past five seasons, both streaks are NBA records. He also holds single-game (13) and single season (402) record for made 3-pointers and looks like the only player with a chance of challenging Ray Allen’s career record for made three-pointers. He also looks like the only player able to reach 3,000 career three-point makes.
Curry is rewriting the NBA record books with regard to three-point shooting and Monday night's game was no different. The 6-foot-3 sharpshooter was 5 of 11 from beyond the arc en route to 31 points to lead the Warriors to a 125-115 win over New Orleans. Warriors star guard became the eighth player in the history of the league to make at least 2,000 3-pointers. He surpassed the milestone in just 597 games, shattering the previous mark set by Ray Allen, who needed 824 games to make 2,000. That's a difference of 227 games or almost three seasons.
Here’s a look at fastest players in league history to career 3-point milestones:
500 – Damian Lillard (199 games)
1,000 – Stephen Curry (369)
1,500 – Stephen Curry (477)
2,000 – Stephen Curry (597)
2,500 – Ray Allen (1,050)
Curry continues to climb up the NBA's all-time three-pointers made list and before the season ends he will most likely crack the top five:
- Ray Allen – 2,973
- Reggie Miller – 2,560
- Jason Terry – 2,243
- Paul Pierce – 2,143
- Kyle Korver – 2,109
- Jamal Crawford – 2,080
- Vince Carter – 2,057
- Stephen Curry – 2,000
- Jason Kidd – 1,988
- Joe Johnson – 1,940
And here’s how long it took everyone in the 2,000 3-pointer club:
1. Stephen Curry – 597 games
2. Ray Allen – 824
3. Kyle Korver – 1,015
4. Reggie Miller – 1,077
5. Jamal Crawford – 1,152
6. Jason Terry – 1,161
7. Paul Pierce – 1,219
8. Vince Carter – 1,318
At his current rate of 3.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, he's on pace to finish with 2,205 through the completion of his ninth NBA season. To put it into perspective, through nine full seasons (1996-97 to 2004-05), Allen made “just” 1,486 3-pointers.
So the question is when Curry will break Allen's career record? The answer is only a matter of time before he becomes the NBA’s all-time three-point king.
The 39-year-old Allen accomplished that mark in 1,300 games. Curry, who turns 30 on March 14, needs 974 three’s, so if he maintains his current numbers he will break the record sometime during the 2020-21 season with more than 3,000 three-pointers made. If he plays to 39 years old like Allen did, Curry could end his career with better than 4,000 from beyond the arc.
Still, some think he is just a volume shooter, and he is breaking all the records because his green light never goes yellow, much less red. However, nobody has ever led the NBA in three-pointers while shooting as high a percentage as Curry. Second place is Curry. Third place is also Stephen Curry. Moreover, he finished in the Top three in 3-point field goal percentage five times during his first eight seasons and that’s a big reason I remain confident in my Curry prediction.
It's not unfair to say we're witnessing the greatest shooter in basketball history in Curry. He is the leader of the basketball’s 3-point revolution and all the records are almost secondary to the experience of witnessing it. Years from now Stephen Curry will walk away from the NBA surrounded by various trophies and titles, for MVP awards, for scoring titles and, for his deep ball.
Source: Basketball-Reference and NBA/Stats.
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