Remembering Stephen Curry’s 30 greatest moments on his 30th birthday
30. First career triple-double
Curry was having a strong rookie year through 50 games, averaging 14.4 points, 4.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 made 3s on .455/.423/.869 shooting splits.
Then, in Game No. 51, Curry exploded for 36 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds and seven 3s — all career highs. The Warriors beat the Clippers by 30, and Curry’s rebound with one second remaining gave him his first career triple-double.
The performance sparked a 30-game stretch to close the season in which Curry averaged 22.6 points, 7.8 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 made 3s on .470/.452/.903 shooting.
29. Two half-court shots against the Pacers
As you probably know (and will certainly know by the end of this list), Curry is the king of the impossibly deep 3-pointer. You think he’s lucky the first time you see it, and maybe the second, but by the third, fourth and fifth, you realize that there’s more to it than randomness.
If you happened to be watching his game on Jan. 22, 2016, you would have caught on even faster. Curry drilled a shot from just beyond the opposing 3-point line at the end of the 1st quarter, but did not get it off before the buzzer sounded. Too bad, he wasted a once-in-a-blue-moon prayer, you may have thought.
A quarter later, he atoned. Curry made sure to pull up with plenty of time — about 1.2 seconds — and drained a shot from beyond half court.
28. Four 3s to end 3rd quarter in his hometown
Curry always likes to put on a show when he goes home. Combine that with the unparalleled confidence he was playing with in 2015-16, and it’s no surprise that he had arguably the greatest heat check moment of his career in Charlotte on Dec. 12 of that season.
With 1:50 to play in the third quarter, Curry was 4-of-8 from deep. By quarter’s end, he was 8-of-12. Four 3s in less than two minutes (and the layup that he sprinkled in) is special even for Curry, but it was more than that. The distance he shot from, the reaction from the crowd and his father on the Hornets broadcast say it all.
27. 20 points in 4th and OT vs. Mavericks: Curry’s first superstar performance
Curry showed tantalizing potential throughout his first three NBA seasons, but exactly what kind of player his elite shooting and creative play style would make him was uncertain. On Nov. 19, 2012, it started to become more clear.
With eight minutes remaining in Dallas against a potent Mavs team, the Warriors trailed by five. That’s when Curry took over in now-familiar fashion, scoring 14 points to force overtime. With six more in the final period, Curry had “willed” the Warriors to victory for the first time. In many ways, this is the game in which “the baby was born.”
26. 270th 3 to break Ray Allen’s record
With three games remaining in the 2012-13 season, Stephen Curry had made 252 3-pointers, 17 shy of Ray Allen’s all-time mark of 269. In what was becoming a trend for Curry, it didn’t seem to matter how far off he was — once he decided he was getting to the record, he was going to get there. He hit nine 3s against the Lakers (in the Kobe Bryant “Achilles” game), and followed it up with seven against the Spurs.
He entered the Warriors’ final game in Portland at 268. He tied the record with a top-of the-arc pull-up out of a pick-and-roll with David Lee, and buried a catch-and-shoot attempt in transition for No. 270. He ended the game, and the season, at 272.
25. Inside-out lefty dribble into a game-winning 3 vs. Orlando
For most players, a game-winning shot in the final seconds is a top-five career moment. For Curry, most of his game-winners didn’t make the top 30. His pull-up over Kris Humphries to beat Boston, his wing 3 to sink the Suns, his high-arching step-back over Shawn Marion to beat Dallas and his driving layup to top the Nuggets are just a few of several Curry game-winners that didn’t make the cut due to their relative mundaneness.
So why did a Dec. 2 shot against the lowly Magic in 2014-15 make the list? Just look at that lefty ball-handling Curry uses to create a wide-open look for himself on the right side. It’s as unconventional as it is brilliant, and it won his team a basketball game.