Stephen Curry never wanted to say it himself, even if others have been saying it for years.He refused to call himself the greatest shooter of them all until the numbers said so.And now?“I got that baby,” Curry said, raising his arms high in the air.
He struck the same pose hours earlier Tuesday night after shooting his way to the top of the NBA record book with his 2,974th 3-pointer in the first quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ win over the New York Knicks.
Curry broke the record set by Ray Allen, who held it for 10 years after passing Reggie Miller. They were both at the game and presented Curry with a jersey with a 2,974 on the back.
None of Curry’s stardom was guaranteed when he entered the league in 2009 as the No. 7 pick from Davidson, far from one of the basketball powerhouses that usually produce the top players.
But with perhaps an unmatched combination of dribbling and shooting accuracy, he led a long-distance revolution that has turned the 3-pointer from an afterthought in NBA offenses into a weapon. He has led the league in 3-pointers six times and is well on his way to a seventh for a resurgent Warriors team that again has the league’s best record at 23-5.
“He has totally changed the game of basketball as we know it,” teammate Draymond Green said.
“He has revolutionized the way the game is played and continues to leave fans in awe with his amazing artistry and extraordinary shooting ability,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We congratulate him on this historic achievement.”
Curry could put the record well out of reach at his current pace: He entered the night making 5.4 3-pointers per game this season, best of his career.
Curry, age 33, has now played 789 games, with perhaps a few more seasons at the top. At the same point in his career, Allen had 1,918 3s.
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