December 15, (THEWILL) – Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry had already established himself as the NBA’s de facto 3-point king over time. Yet, to cast off all doubts and enter the record books, he made it official on Tuesday night.
Curry eclipsed Ray Allen to become the NBA’s all-time leader with 2,974 career 3-pointers with his second 3-pointer in the Golden State Warriors’ battle against the New York Knicks.
The 33-year-old was two 3-pointers away from breaking the record when he entered the game on Tuesday night, and he hit the historic basket with 7:33 left in the first quarter.
Curry’s achievement is all the more impressive considering Allen set the previous record with 1,300 career games. He set the mark in only his 789th career game, adding to his extensive list of NBA 3-point records, which includes career 3-pointers per game (3.8), 3-pointers in a single season (402), most games with double-digit 3-pointers (22) and most 3-pointers in a calendar month (96).
The GSW’s sharpshooter broke Allen’s record for most career 3-pointers in the regular season and postseason combined earlier this season.
Curry had plenty of time to put things in perspective before breaking Allen’s record on Tuesday night, as it was only a question of when, not if, he would do it.
Speaking of breaking the record earlier this season, Curry was upbeat: “I don’t even have words for it, to be honest. It’s not just getting the record. There’s another caveat of hoop heads knowing volume and efficiency is huge. Like, mastering both.
“So the fact that I have — I know I still got a lot more in my career — been able to shoot the percentage that I have in the regular season over the course of my career … with how defences have changed against me and the shots that I take, and all of that, to me is pretty special. But to get to that number is a big deal.”
The 33-year-old is playing the best basketball of his career as the Warriors chase another championship. There is no telling where his record will stand when he finally retires.
However, with the number of 3-pointers in the NBA increasing every season, there is a good chance someone will break Curry’s record, Draymond Green believes it will only last “five to six more years”, but for now, the greatest shooter of all time has rightfully earned his place as the league’s most prolific 3-point marksman.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
