Stephen Curry

Curry is considered by many to be the greatest shooter in NBA history. He is credited with revolutionizing the game of basketball by inspiring basketball teams, from high school to the NBA, to regularly utilize the three-point shot. Analysts have referred to him as “the Michael Jordan of the three-point era,” stating that he did for the three-point shot what Jordan did for the dunk. The Guardian’s Robert O’Connell cites Curry’s February 27, 2013 game against the New York Knicks, in which he made 11 of 13 shots from behind the arc en route for a 54-point performance, as the start of the three-point era. The era has been referred to as “The Steph Effect” and “the NBA’s Three-Point Revolution.”

Before Curry, shooting behind the three-point line was more of a novelty, an occasional way of scoring. Catch and shoot players existed, but Curry’s success inspired the league to abandon physical play around the basket and to embrace a pace and space and three-point shooting style.[207] The increase in three-point shooting is partly due to NBA teams incorporating it in their attempts to defeat the Warriors or copy the Warriors’ style of play, and to young people wanting to imitate Curry’s shooting range.[5][205] Although this has led to players becoming good at or improving their three-point shot, it has also set unrealistic standards because Curry’s range is unique. Curry regularly takes shots from between 30 and 35 feet. He shoots 54 percent from this range, while the NBA makes 35 percent of its threes overall and under 22 percent from between 30 and 35 feet. He can make the shots with elite ball handling, off the dribble, and often with an extremely quick release, from anywhere on the court and with one or more defenders on him. Curry said that he is sure coaches tell their high school players that shooting the way he does takes work and time. Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post stated that “coaches have to explain that while Curry’s skill set is something to aspire to, his game is built on fundamentals” and that “while the Warriors have become the NBA’s gold standard and make all those social-media-bound plays, the root of their success is ball movement.”

Kirk Goldsberry of ESPN opined that “one of the keys to [Curry’s] greatness is his range” and that “Curry isn’t just the best 3-point shooter ever, he’s the best deep 3-point shooter ever.” Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post stated that he “moves around behind the three-point line in an ever-widening arc, sinking long distance shots so cleanly that the net seems to snap like fresh laundry in a breeze” and that a highlight is the “sheer preposterousness of his shots, and the rate at which he is sinking the most far-fetched of them.” She said that “in one stretch he hit a mind-expanding 67 percent between 28 and 50 feet.” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr stated that Curry’s hand-eye coordination “is as great as anyone I’ve ever seen.” Jeff Austin of Octagton concluded that Curry “had to develop tremendous strength in his wrists to shoot and maintain that form from 40 and 50 feet.” Goldsberry stated that “no player in the history of the NBA has combined range, volume and efficiency from downtown as well as Curry” and that “Curry’s jumper is so lethal that he has become the most efficient volume scorer on the planet.” His range and efficiency drove the developers of the NBA 2K video game series, in which Curry is featured, to worry that his abilities could not be replicated on screen.

Although Curry is commonly cited as the NBA’s greatest shooter, where he ranks as one of the greatest NBA players has been more subject to debate. Former NBA player Steve Nash, who is also among the NBA’s all-time efficient shooters, said Curry is “already an all-time great” and that people question his greatness “because he doesn’t dominate the game physically. He dances. He pays a tax for that. He pays a tax for his great teammates.” Scottie Pippen, who won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, said that Curry’s “willingness to sacrifice for [Kevin Durant] is one of the great stories in history” because Curry welcomed Durant, who is also a top player, to the Warriors without ego. “If you have a mind for the game, you know that it takes sacrifice to be great. All the greats have to sacrifice something. Otherwise you can’t win,” he said, crediting Curry with being “one of the greatest guards the game has ever seen.” CBS Sports ranked Curry #19 in their list of “50 greatest NBA players of all time”. Sports Illustrated ranked him #3, behind Durant and LeBron James, on their “Top 100 NBA Players of 2019” list. Sports Illustrated stated that “Curry and the Warriors are a great match of player and system” and that “the entire ecosystem is predicated on the idea that a player doesn’t need to dominate the ball to dominate a game. Curry took that noble idea and elevated it beyond any reasonable expectation.”