Call it incredible talent or dumb luck, Stephen Curry's three-point prowess has electrified the National Basketball Association (NBA). Curry, the seventh overall pick out of Davidson now in his seventh year with the Golden State Warriors, has become a household name. After winning both an MVP award and an NBA championship last season, Curry is in the prime of his career and leads a Warriors team that is currently on pace to break the record for the most wins in an NBA season. However, not everyone is a fan of the point guard's success.
During a marquee match between the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas Day 2015, ex-Warriors coach and ABC analyst, Mark Jackson, made some comments about Curry's impact on the game. Jackson claimed, "To a degree he's hurting the game. And what I mean by that is that I go into these high school gyms, I watch these kids, and the first thing they do is run to the 3-point line." At face value, it's easy to agree with Jackson; watch Curry play and you'll see him jack up three-pointers that are either heavily defended or well beyond the three-point line. Analyze Curry more closely, however, and his shot selection makes as much sense as a seven footer working the post.
Stephen Curry has one of the quickest releases and the best three-point range in the NBA. These skills allow Curry to get off shots no matter if there's little space or defenders bearing down on him and help him shoot confidently from unprecedented distances. Curry should not be regarded as an example of bad shot selection, but rather be a moniker associated with hard work and diligence.
Curry’s 2009 pre-NBA draft reports call his explosiveness and athleticism “below standard,” state that he needs to “considerably improve as a ball handler,” and predict that “he will have limited success at the next level.” Since then, Curry has worked persistently to improve his footwork and ball handling skills. These abilities not only help him create shots for himself, but also, as a point guard, for his teammates. Rather than hurting the game, the lanky kid from a mid-major college program has proved to fans everywhere that hard work can trump any circumstances.
Michael Jordan, a global icon, revolutionized basketball by making the game more centered on the presence of superstars; his career paved the way for players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Curry has helped create a league that values the three-pointer. Since Curry has entered the NBA, the average number of three-point field goal attempts per game has steadily risen. The Warriors guard exemplifies an NBA that has become smaller and more offensively focused. As the prominence of the guards has risen, the league has gotten less physical and, consequentially, less defensive. Some argue that Curry would have never been able to accomplish his impressive shooting feats in the more defensive NBA of the past. However, most fans of the game can simply sit back and marvel at the extreme talent of Stephen Curry. As this NBA season continues to unfold, it will be exciting to see how high Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors can soar.
