If you go down to any open court in any city in the world, you will likely see kids and adults alike launching terrible shots. Attempting ludacris step-backs from 25 feet, firing threes on a three on one fast break and just displaying a general disregard for inside touches and ball movement. James Naismith could have never envisioned as he hung those peach baskets up in that one gym in New England his glorious invention would be trivialised to such a degree. But it’s not just on the playgrounds. The NBA usage of the three-point shot has skyrocketed in the last decade, up from a three-point rate (proportion of shots from behind the arc) of 22% in the ’09-10 season to a ridiculous 38% in the ‘19-20 season. This rapid changing of the game may shock you, but perhaps it shouldn’t, a quick conversation with a Homo Erectus or Velociraptor will tell you, evolution is inevitable (maybe idk I’m not a scientist).
What should shock you though, is the origin. Like the big bang birthed the universe from obscurity. The big three-point boom came from virtually nowhere. In fact, it came from a little 6’3’’ guard out of little known Davidson College. On paper, there wasn’t much to Wardell Stephen Curry that would constitute a top 10 draft pick, he wasn’t all that big or athletically gifted, was a defensive liability and my Timberwolves passed on him twice (unbelievable). But it isn’t like he didn’t have any hype coming into the 2009 NBA draft, in his Sophomore year, Steph set the NCAA single-season record for three-point shots made and led Davidson to its first elite 8 in March madness since 1969. This catapulted Steph to a number seven draft pick to the Golden State Warriors.
This may well go down as the biggest draft steal in the history of the game and, need I reiterate, my Timberwolves passed on him twice. In fairness to my garbage franchise though, not even the most delusional optimist could have predicted what was to come.
To put it simply, Steph lit up the NBA. Although it could be said his first three years were fairly uneventful, despite averaging over 43% percent from deep in each of those seasons. It was in the 2012-2013 season where the landscape of the league began its seismic shift. Steph began using an unprecedented combination of volume and efficiency from behind the arc, putting up 7.7 threes a game shooting 45% on these attempts, leading Golden State to the second round where they were eventually defeated by eventual Western Conference champions San Antonio Spurs.
Steph showed the league, and the world, what was possible and has since shown no signs of slowing down. In the 8 years since the 2012-2013 season, Steph has made over 250 three-point field goals per season, capping it off with an NBA single-season record 402 in 2015-2016 and currently sits third in the all-time 3 pointers made. He has elevated the Warriors to 3 NBA championships whilst, alongside fellow splash brother Klay Thompson, has created the most lethal sharpshooting backcourt of all time in addition to being a part of the greatest regular season team of all time. The previous wisdom that the three-pointer is an inefficient shot has truly fallen on deaf ears. In a decade, the three-pointer has gone from something a fad, used only to complement and supplement offensive production, to the main focal point of offensive production. Weeding out the old reliables post up and mid-range jump shots, artifacts of an age gone by for a new-age space and pace approach.
Oh and in that time Steph won 2 MVP titles (one unanimous), a scoring championship, has been a six time all star, won a three point contest and is a pretty decent golfer too.
But the magic of Stephen Curry transcends the numbers. The numbers don’t even matter. Watching him is a unique experience, a tingling at the back of your neck that you only get watching something truly special unfold before your eyes. Steph is one of those players where you never really know what he’s about to do, and once he does it, you’re not even sure if it was possible. An elegant concoction of stillness and speed, he can go from full pelt to pulling up in defenders faces in the blink of an eye, or break you down, put you on skates and finish through traffic. He is transcendent, mesmerising, every superlative in the book, and he is the most influential player of our generation. So can I blame all the wannabes in open gyms all over the world, rocking the 30 on their back and yelling “Curryyyyy” as they throw up a wild shot?
No. In fact, I’m one of them.
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