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| Stephen Curry is the new record-holder for most 3-pointers in a season. (cbssports.com) |
Record Tying 3-pointer: Double screen on the left wing. Curl
hard. Don’t give the defender space to get over the top. Pass received. Three
hard dribbles to the right. Post man shows trying to help the screened defender.
No problem. He doesn’t commit. Doesn’t want to get beat off the dribble, so he throws a half-hearted hand out before running
into his own man. Perfect. Wide open. Let it rip.
Rattles home.
Even with Ray Allen now. Got to get one more.
Record Breaking Three: No more waiting. Pass is on its way. Grab
it and just let it go. Forget the defender. He’s out of position. Don’t think.
Just shoot. Catch and release. Like a million times before.
Swish.
And just like that, Stephen Curry held the record for the
most 3-pointers made in a single season.
There have been many truly sensational 3-point shooters
that have graced an NBA court. The likes of Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Steve
Nash and Ray Allen have all consistently watched a long ball nestle itself into
the nylon. The engaging and compelling debates of “who’s the best” are never
ending and will more than likely never be decided. However, every now and
again a new player will throw his or her name into the discussion. By passing
Ray Allen for most 3's in a single season, Golden State Warriors’
guard Stephen Curry is the most recent player to do so.
During his time at Davidson University, Curry was a dynamic
scorer and a brilliant shooter.
Averaging more than 20 points a game throughout his college career, Curry
exemplified what a scorer should be. He shot at least 45 percent in each of his
seasons, and nearly 90 percent from the charity stripe. He also showed good
defensive prowess, picking the pockets of his opponents twice per contest. The
one thing that separated Curry from other guards was his jump shot and that has
continued to be, among his many assets, his most lethal weapon.
Curry has a
lightening-quick release that would challenge even Allen’s and a fearless
demeanor that makes any shot seem like a good one for Curry. This same attitude
helped him lead his Wildcats to the Elite Eight before falling to the Kansas
Jayhawks in a tightly contested game in 2008. After having a career year in the 2008-09
season, where he averaged nearly 29 points a game, six assists a game and more than
two steals a game, Curry left for the NBA. And this is where his path to true
greatness as a shooter began.
Curry hit the ground running in his rookie season. He
established himself as a lethal shooter from downtown, firing more than 43 percent
from behind the arc. He led the Golden State Warriors from the point guard
position with a combination of scoring and passing that quickly led to the
discussion of where he ranked in the league among the position’s best. He was
named to the Rookie All-NBA first team and finished second in the Rookie of the
Year voting behind Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans. He made 166 3-pointers his
rookie season, more than Allen, Miller and Bird did in their respective rookie
years and each of them played full seasons, albeit Miller coming off the bench.
While it is still early in his career, Curry has yet to shoot less than 43
percent from long distance, something none of the other names mentioned did. To
bring things full circle, in Allen’s recorded setting year, when he made an
astonishing 269 threes in a season, he shot 41 percent from downtown, an
impressive number to say the least. However, Curry not only broke his record,
he did with more efficiency. In conjunction with his 272 made 3-pointers,
Curry shot a blistering 45 percent from behind the arc. He not only took Allen’s
record, but did it in fewer shots and with more precision, something nobody
could have believed would happen.
I do have an admission I must confess: I did not
expect Curry to be a starter in the NBA, let alone the player he has become. I saw
a skinny, undersized shooting guard who would get pushed around by the larger,
stronger athletes at his position in the NBA. Not only has he proved me wrong,
he’s made me look like a complete fool. While he is arguably the deadliest
shooter in the NBA, he is also a dynamic point guard who creates opportunities
for his teammates consistently. He grabs rebounds, racks up assists and, of
course, shoots it as well as anyone in the game today. He is lightning quick on
his feet, an exceptional ball-handler and a leader for his team, even though
he is only 25 years old. To top it all off, now he has inserted his name into
the record books, passing one of the greatest shooters to ever pick up a
basketball, and his career is just getting started.
So let’s start up those
debates again, and discuss who’s the bet from behind the arc.
This time, add Curry’s name to the list.
