Hoops Habit
Fansided

Stephen Curry: Greatest Shooter In NBA History?

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 7, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after scoring against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after scoring against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
Stephen Curry
Feb 12, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) is defended by Miami Heat guard Ray Allen (34) in the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Heat defeated the Warriors 111-110. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

All-Time Pace

The only reason I’m hesitant to declare that Curry is already the greatest shooter ever is that he still has some work to do. He’s certainly on pace to be the best shooter the game has ever seen after a few more seasons like this, but if Curry were to never play another game after this season, could we really put him ahead of Ray Allen or Reggie Miller?

On the all-time three-point leaderboard, Allen sits atop the group at 2,973 made three-pointers. Miller is in second, with 2,560. Currently, Curry’s 1,186 made threes has him at 50th all-time. That’s pretty darn good for a guy only in his sixth season, but he’s still got a way to go.

To be clear, Curry doesn’t have to climb to the very top of this list in order to supplant Ray Allen as the greatest shooter to ever play the game. After all, it took Allen 18 seasons in order to approach the 3,000 mark. If Curry were to play 12 more relatively healthy seasons, even as a spot-up shooter once he reaches his twilight years, there’s no doubt he’d reach 3,000.

This year, Curry has set a new single season record for made three-pointers with 281, and there are still two games left. The record he broke? His own, when he made 272 threes in 2012-13. Curry has never shot less than 42.4 percent from three-point territory in a single season during his six years in the league.

Of the top five single season records for made three-pointers, Curry owns three of them. Although he trails Allen by a whopping 1,787 made threes right now, Curry only has to make 200 threes for another nine seasons to climb to the top of the list.

That sounds like a lot, but he’s made at least 261 over the last three seasons, so even if he only makes about 250 per season from here on out, it’d only take him seven seasons to get there. Even as athleticism wanes with old age, shooting is a talent that can keep you in the league for years.

The point is, Curry is very much on pace to pass Ray Allen. As long as he stays healthy, he could very well be the NBA’s all-time leader in made threes in six or seven years…and that’s excluding his twilight years where he could get a spot-up shooter in a role similar to the one Allen played in his latter years.

Next: Conclusion

Home/Golden State Warriors