Stephen Curry is on the Brink of a Historic Record Heading Into the 2021-2022 Season
There are plenty of reasons why Golden State Warriors fans’ excitement for the new season is justified. The Warriors have the fourth-best title odds according to Vegas as a result of a successful offseason. The roster was bolstered with veteran additions like Otto Porter Jr and Nemanja Bjelica. The return of Andre Iguodala provides the team a mentor and an experienced leader in the Warriors system. First-round picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody look like they’re ready to contribute this season following a strong summer league showing.
And the return of Klay Thompson restores the core trio of Draymond Green and Stephen Curry being together again on the court.
Speaking of Curry, fresh off another $200 million extension signed this summer, he has a realistic shot at surpassing a record that will quite literally cement him as the greatest shooter this game has ever seen. Granted, any rational individual already knows he holds that title. But this season, Curry has the opportunity to break a record that will put himself in a tier of his own, with the possibility of never seeing that record broken again for quite some time.
Stephen Curry could finally surpass Ray Allen’s all-time three-point record, and this is the blueprint for #30 to achieve just that.
What’s the record status as of now?
After Curry passed Reggie Miller back in January for second all-time in made three-pointers, all eyes were on the inevitable moment when Steph would reach the pinnacle of the record books. As the record stands right now, Ray Allen holds the top spot with (2,973) career three-pointers made. Steph is inching his way past that mark, with (2,832) career made three-pointers. That leaves Curry less than 150 made threes to go in order to add another milestone to his NBA immortality. For a transcendent player like Steph, and barring no major injuries along the way (fingers crossed), the likelihood is that Stephen Curry will “officially” cement himself as the greatest shooter this coming season.
What will it take to get there, and when will it happen?
Curry averaged 5.3 made three-point attempts per game last season and with a total of 141 made three-pointers to go, by those calculations Steph could make history by the 28th regular-season game this year. Though the exact schedule has yet to be released, that would put the estimated date more or less in January of 2022.
Again, this is with the belief that Steph could replicate the same production from last season, which we all are confident he can. Curry embarked on an offensive tear last season and I fully expect him to pick up where he left off right out the gate. Give or take averaging 5.3 made threes again this season, and you’re targeting an early 2022 date to witness history.
Just how significant is this milestone?
Granted, everyone knows that Steph is the greatest shooter this game has seen, and there was arguably no doubt that he would be able to achieve such a feat. But when he does pass Ray Allen for the most made threes in NBA history, it will be a legendary milestone given how Steph achieved it in a manner that is likely never to be replicated again.
Ray Allen made (2,973) threes in a total of 1,300 games played. Steph is less than 150 made threes away...and he’s done it in half the time. It took Curry just 762 career games to record (2,832) made threes to date. Ray finished his career with a 40% average from deep, and Steph is currently surpassing that with a 43% average. Ray achieved his feat in what was in reality towards the end of his career.
With Steph, as we witnessed last season, he’s about to make history while still at the peak of his game. Even after he achieves this milestone, who knows how far that number of made threes reaches given how long Steph can play further into his career.
An NBA record, and some hardware along with it?
The hardware that will be on Steph’s mind next season is another championship trophy, but if he stays healthy throughout the season and we witness Curry pass Ray Allen on the carer-made three-point list, then it would only boost his chances to add a third MVP trophy to his resume.
After winning the scoring title last season by averaging 32.0 ppg, Steph will understandably need stats and wins to make his case for MVP contention again. But achieving a historic feat by passing Ray could put him over the top among the other finalists, and cement him winning the third MVP award of his career.
A third MVP, a fourth NBA Championship, and a broken NBA record all in one season? It’s the dream scenario, and yet it’s a reality not out of reach. For the latter, barring any injuries along the way, it’s a very real possibility we witness Stephen Curry becoming the all-time leader in made threes this season, cementing his legacy as the greatest shooter ever seen.
It’s Stephen Curry...and then there’s everybody else.