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Steph Curry is almost at the logo when he gets the screen. No expiring shot clock and no deficit to overcome. Still, he just raises up from more than 30 feet and splashes the 3 just because he can. Before he came into the league, these shots were unimaginable.
Steph is the biggest factor for the staggering growth of the 3 point shot, and in just a few years he completely re-defined how NBA teams would play and how the league would look today.
To me Steph Curry is the greatest shooter of all times, it’s not even close. And I’ll show you why. What up everybody my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it.
First, before we get to the interesting stuff, let’s talk numbers and percentages.
Right now, Curry is third when it comes to all time makes behind Ray Allen and Reggie Miller.
But look at the games he took to get there and the average threes per game.
That average for Steph has only been going up the last 5 seasons.
Keeping this pace, which is a safe and conservative estimation, Curry will become number 1 in all time makes with only about 850 games.
That’s 450 less than Ray Allen. About 5 and a half seasons. This number is absolutely Crazy.
And it’s not like he’s just chucking up shots. He is extremely efficient and also 3rd all time in 3 point percentage.
Steph is the only guy showing up at the top of both lists which is unbelievable. Usually if you’re efficient, you don’t shoot nearly as much. Or if you’re a volume shooter, it affects your accuracy.
Curry being able to keep such a high percentage on that many shots is unreal.
Which brings me to my second point.
Taking a look at the greatest shooters from both lists, most of them make their threes out of catch and shoot opportunities or wide open shots out of the double team.
Guys like Klay Thompson and JJ Redick run around screens without the ball much like Reggie Miller and Ray Allen used to do, while we remember snipers like Steve Kerr and Kyle Korver being beneficiaries of double teams that came to their superstar teammates, so they often got wide open looks.
Steph Curry on the other hand, he’s the playmaker, the primary ball handler so he has cemented himself as a shooter off the dribble, with ultimate confidence I might add. Often times hitting unreasonably deep or heavily contested shots leaving even his own coach in disbelief. The degree of difficulty on many of his threes is off the chart, and that makes his numbers and accomplishments that much more special.
And my final point is about the effect that he’s had on the league.
Steph Curry essentially changed the way of what good defense looks like. You have to be attached to him from the moment he crosses half court. And before him I haven’t seen anyone being guarded like that.
Also, I truly believe that this whole push towards eliminating the midrange, concentrating on threes and layups, playing small lineups and switching everything on defense, the biggest reason for that whole shift in the NBA is Steph Curry himself and the Golden State Warriors.
When a player makes more than 400 threes in a season which was previously unthinkable, and helps his team get to 4 straight finals and 3 championships, teams are going to search for a way to compete with that.
Remember how big and heavy centers were in high demand during the Lakers dynasty with Shaq? The league was trying to stop the most dominant big man in NBA history.
So similar to that, now you don’t play if you can’t help out on the perimeter. If you can’t switch and hold your own against Steph Curry.
He has completely changed how teams play both on offense and defense. What we see today is of course basketball evolving, but he is a big reason for that evolution.
And that is why to me he is the greatest shooter to ever step out on the hardwood.
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