Stephen Curry cements himself as NBA's all-time best shooter with 3-point record
Stephen Curry is alone at the top, and he's feeling the love.
As the Golden State Warriors superstar drilled his second 3-pointer of the night, roughly four and a half minutes into Tuesday's 105-96 win against the New York Knicks, he blew kisses while the crowd at Madison Square Garden erupted.
Just like that, Curry hit the 2,974th triple of his career and, in doing so, took sole possession of the NBA record for 3-pointers made in a career.
The reaction came flooding in instantly, but the 33-year-old Curry was far from finished. By the time the game ended, the reigning scoring champion dropped in three more 3-pointers — running his career total to 2,977 — and shot 8-of-19 from the field overall to finish with 22 points.
Several NBA legends were in attendance to witness Curry make history, including the two Hall of Famers he passed on his ascent to the top: Reggie Miller (2,560 3-pointers made) and Ray Allen (2,973 3-pointers made).
As FOX Sports NBA writer Yaron Weitzman detailed after the game, Curry has transformed the game with his proficiency from behind the line.
The love-fest for Curry carried into Wednesday. Skip Bayless of "Undisputed" said the event was "monumentally historical" to watch.
"That was the second-greatest individual achievement moment I've experienced in my lifetime," Bayless said, "Since that day I was sitting in my dorm room at Vanderbilt University in 1974. It was April the 8th … and I'm watching Hank Aaron break Babe Ruth's home-run record of 714 hallowed home runs."
Skip Bayless: Steph Curry breaking the 3-point record at Madison Square Garden was monumentally historical
That is high praise, indeed. There was plenty more where that came from.
Nick Wright of "First Things First" was unequivocal in his assessment of the Warriors' star.
"It's inarguable — and it might be the only thing in sports that's inarguable — Steph Curry: greatest shooter ever," Wright said. "There is no argument for anyone else. … The only thing I could compare it to is, what, Secretariat in horseracing? …. It's the greatest shooter ever with no counterpoint."
Nick Wright: It's inarguable. Steph Curry is the greatest shooter of all time
For the sake of comparison, take Curry's numbers against the duo who watched him make history in Allen and Miller.
Curry's record of 2,977 was set over the course of 27,077 minutes played in 789 regular-season games. That shakes out to an average of one 3-pointer for every 9.1 minutes played.
Allen's total of 2,973 came in 46,344 minutes played in 1,300 regular-season games, giving him an average of one 3 per 15.6 minutes. Miller's 2,560 triples came in 47,619 minutes played in 1,389 games for an average of one 3-pointer every 18.6 minutes.
Curry has the edge in efficiency over that duo, too, drilling 43.1% of his 8.7 attempts from deep in his 12-year career. Allen hit at a 40% clip, while Miller shot 39.5% from distance.
It makes sense, then, why Colin Cowherd of "The Herd" would say the 3-point shot belongs to Curry.
"The 3-point shot was allowed in 1979," Cowherd said Wednesday. "It was there for everybody. Steph is the first one to own it."
Colin Cowherd: 'Steph Curry owns the 3-point shot'
Curry has certainly owned the 3-pointer, and he doesn't appear to be relinquishing control anytime soon.
His average distance of 20.2 feet on his field-goal attempts this season is on pace to be the longest of his career, and his 145 made 3s so far this season are 83 more than second place. In fact, Curry is on pace to hit 437.4 3-pointers, assuming he doesn't miss any more time.
Even if he doesn't play 81 games — he has missed one so far this season — he'll have wiggle room to improve upon his all-time single-season record of 402 3-pointers made in 2015-16. At his current rate of 5.4 3s made per game, featuring in 75 games this season would put him on track for 405 3-pointers.
That's a record to keep an eye on another day. For now, let's allow Curry to bask in Tuesday's glory before he resumes action Friday against the Boston Celtics.
