Steph Wants Unbeatable 3-Point Record, But Sees One Threat Originally Posted by NBC Sports Bay Area
Days after James Harden moved past Ray Allen for second on the NBA’s career three-point list, James Harden shared a hug with the man in first place.
That’s about as close as Stephen Curry wants anyone to get to his ever-updating total.
“You hope to push the number to where – and you know all records are meant to be broken; that’s the way sports work, that’s the way life works — but hopefully with the volume and the accuracy, it can be a number that’s going to be very, very hard to break,” Curry said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Dubs Talk,” which debuted Wednesday.
“Very similar to what LeBron did [James] he did with the all-time record. There’s a lot, so maybe we’ll move it on. Then no one can touch him.”
Through November 19, Curry had made 3,788 three-pointers. Harden had 2,977, four more than previous record holder Ray Allen. The others — Damian Lillard, Reggie Miller and Klay Thompson — have surpassed the 2,500 mark, but only Curry has topped 3,000.
There’s a chance he’ll climb to 4,000 this season.
“We definitely have something to look forward to, a clean number like 4,000,” Curry said. “When I got to 2,974, it was special because I knew that was the all-time record that (Allen) had held for so long. Three thousand was special when I got to that milestone. Even 402 in a day ( 2015-16), a single-season record. It all matters because I’m blessed to be doing it at the highest level. The fact that it’s even achievable is wild to me.”
The numbers grow vaguely because the game has changed not only since the turn of the century, but also into the decade that begins in 2020. Teams in 1980-81 averaged 2.0 3 shots from deep per game. season, upped that to 13.7 in 2000-01 and are on pace to average around 40 attempts per game this season.
At this rate, Curry, 36, has an outside chance to reach 5,000 — and that number wouldn’t be safe for long.
Harden, 35, admitted he’ll never catch Curry, that being behind by roughly 800 threes is simply too much to handle in his final seasons. But there is one person Curry sees as a legitimate threat: Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
“He focuses a lot on how much he shoots the ball,” Curry said of his teammate during the 2024 Olympics in Paris. “We talked a little bit with Team USA this summer about how you’re developing, your style and the way you see the game as you get deeper into your career.
“He’s only 23 so he’s got a long way to go.
Edwards is on pace. Through Nov. 19, he has played 316 games and has a career-best 67 triples this season and 856 in his career. He will likely surpass 1,000 this season.
Curry was 26 when he hit 1,000 in his 369th game.
“Whenever you see guys start the year and the list that I’m on, I think he’s had two of those 3 years in the first (few) games of the season and he’s third on that list,” Curry said. from Edwards. “Looking at shooting 3s, the volume that’s going on around every team and around the league, it’s definitely a different world. So at this point it’s anyone’s guess.
“I question how far it can go because it seems to be hitting a tipping point. This style has its threshold or limit. Everyone plays numbers and wants to get as many as possible. So we’ll see how it goes.”
It’s going up, Steph. Three will always be more than two, so the math dictates the upside—at least for the foreseeable future.
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