Curry passes Terry for 3rd on NBA’s 3-pointer list
Steph Curry’s 2,283rd career 3-pointer passes Jason Terry for third all-time. (0:28)
OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is now third on the NBA’s all-time 3-point field goals list, passing Jason Terry in Friday night’s 146-109 rout of the Chicago Bulls.
Curry, 30, had acknowledged before the game how much his ascension on the list means to him as he passes each name.
“I don’t think about it that much. I just still think about it in terms of names that I’m chasing,” Curry said. “I got the numbers mixed up in Sacramento; I thought that I had caught Jason — in the top three with Reggie [Miller] and Ray [Allen]. I wanted to keep the game ball from that game, just because growing up, those two guys were the metric for 3-point shooting. I paid so close attention when Ray was chasing Reggie in that whole race. I remember the game when [Allen] finally passed him, Reggie was on the sideline commentating and he walked over and shook his hand. That moment was special for guys who love to shoot the basketball, so for me to be close to — right there with those two guys in terms of 3-point shooting, I wanted to kind of remember that moment even though it didn’t happen. So for me to be that close is special. And again, the longevity of what those numbers mean, I want to continue to chase them.”
Stephen Curry passed Jason Terry on Friday night for third on the all-time list.
Curry passed Terry with his third 3-pointer of the night — the 2,283rd of his career — which came with 9 minutes, 59 seconds left in the third quarter on an assist from Draymond Green. Curry’s accomplishment was announced to the crowd, and he received a loud ovation from the fans at Oracle Arena.
Curry finished with five 3’s on 11 attempts as he scored 28 points in 27 minutes in the victory.
Curry believes the 3-point revolution the league is undergoing won’t change in the near future.
“You got the talent to do it, do it,” Curry said. “I think in terms of just a shift in perspective, like what guys are working on, how they’re trying to get better, expand their game. How teams are putting together lineups on the floor that highlight the 3-point shot. You try to just shoot high percentages — that’s the biggest thing. If you’re just out there slingin’ it and shooting 20 percent every night, that’s no fun to watch. But in terms of talent and skill set and how you create those 3-point shots, guys knocking them down at a high percentage, and producing wins, that for me has been a huge part of my game, will continue to be a huge part of my game from a team perspective. I’m sure it will continue to shift in that direction. The sustainability of it, who knows? I’m sure nobody could really predict this, but every era is a little different.”
Curry’s teammate Kevin Durant recently noted that he didn’t think the barrage of 3-pointers across the league was sustainable over the next few years, but Curry, the man at the center of the shooting revolution, believes the game will continue to grow long-range shooters as long as they are hitting at a high rate.
DeMarcus Cousins will join the starting lineup next week when he makes his Warriors debut, coach Steve Kerr said.
Oklahoma City’s Paul George has supplanted Golden State’s Kevin Durant in the starting five for the Western Conference in the latest voting totals for the NBA All-Star Game.
“Guys that shoot the ball well will continue to shoot it,” Curry said. “It’s obviously trending in a certain direction, so you want to celebrate guys that can do it well and teams that can do it well. It will show at the end of the year in the playoffs, when if a team wants to come out and shoot 60 3s and they’re making 10 of them and they’re losing, they might switch it up a little bit. But in terms of creating open 3s, shooting at a high percentage, kind of how we play, it’s obviously proved successful.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, a 45.4 percent shooter from beyond the arc during his career, has repeatedly praised Curry for the time and effort he puts into trying to perfect his craft.
“I think that all great shooters have a work ethic,” Kerr said. “There is obviously a natural shooting touch that comes for all of those guys. They were probably all great shooters when they were 6 years old. There is a touch and a hand-eye coordination that’s automatic, but the work ethic and the routine that each one develops, I think, Reggie and Ray were both well-known for their habits and work ethic. I see the same thing from Steph every day. He never misses a day. It doesn’t just happen. The ball just doesn’t go in — there is a lot of work that goes into it. That’s the common thread.”