The Greatest
Shooter
of All Time
By James Fox
Early Life 👶
Stephen was born on March 14, 1988 in Akron OH to Dell and Sonya Curry. His father played for the Cavaliers at that point, but he became a Hornet that year and moved to Charlotte, which is where Stephen spent the majority of his childhood
Stephen spent a lot of time around NBA courts as a child. His father was a great 3 point shooter and brought him to work a lot 🙂

01:02

Young Stephen Curry Making Half Court Shots!

Quiz ☑️

What is Steph Curry's proper first name? Stephen Steven Wardell Dell

Answer 💡

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Wardell! His full name is Wardell Stephen Curry II, son of Wardell Stephen Curry I

College 🏫
Though he wanted to join Virginia Tech, where his father spent his college years, he was rejected by Coach Seth Greenberg. Curry finally enrolled at Davidson College in November 2005 after being convinced by a coach named Bob McKillop, who first realized his potential when he watched him play at the age of 10.
At Davidson, Stephen Curry played his first collegiate game against Eastern Michigan.
  • While he would only score 15 points in the game, committing 13 turnovers, he showed his mettle in the next game against Michigan, scoring 32 points. He became the second scorer in the nation to have an average of 21.5 points per game and earned the title Southern Conference Freshman of the Year that season.
  • He followed up his record-breaking 122 three-pointers as a freshman in the first season with an even more impressive performance in the 2007-08 season. He led Davidson Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament since 1969, and helped his team continue its winning streak for 22 games where they made it to the elite 8

Golden State Of Mind

An oral history of Steph Curry’s historic run at the 2008 NCAA Tournament

Steph’s college coaches and teammates reflect on when he introduced himself to the world.

Curry’s individual 2008 NCAA Tournament numbers are ridiculous. He averaged 32 points, 3.5 assists and 3.2 steals while shooting 44% from beyond the arc over those magical four games. Even though Davidson fell short of the Final Four, Curry was named the Most Outstanding Player in the tournament’s Midwest Region.
  • During his junior year, he became Davidson's all-time leading scorer with 34 points. He also scored a career-high 44 points against Oklahoma on November 18, 2008. He surpassed the previous scoring leader, John Gerdy, in total points and became the NCAA scoring leader that season.

Quiz ☑️

How much wider is the hoop than the ball? (NBA/adult size) 1.2x wider 1.4x wider 1.7x wider 2x wider 2.2x wider

Answer 💡

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2x wider! The size of the basketball rim's radius is 9 inches and the diameter is 18 inches. This means that 2 balls can fit through the hoop at the same time!

NBA Career 🏀
Stephen was drafted as the 7th overall pick by the Golden State warriors in 2009

The Rookie

The warriors weren't very good in those days, but Stephen quickly showed his shooting skills by making 166 three pointers in his rookie year, the record at that time. It has now been broken by several others, shown in this cool graphic. Most Threes By A Rookie In A Season | StatMuse LOL thats Donovan Mitchell, owell 🤷

Enter Klay and Dray

Klay Thompson was the 11th overall pick in 2011 out of Washington State Draymond Green was the 35th overall by in 2012 out of Michigan State

Ankle Issues 🦶

As a young NBA player, Steph was plagued by ankle injuries. December 2010 saw the first of his injuries when he managed to roll his right ankle without anyone being around him. Deemed as a fluke, the injury happened without Curry chasing anyone, tripping over anyone else or encountering any obstacle. Since the awkward injury of 2010, Curry has had to deal with on/off issues with his right ankle. His 2011 season saw him struggling extensively with it which eventually resulted in offseason surgery to reattach and strengthen torn ligaments. It was only the beginning of the continuous thorn in his side. The 2012 season was filled with different twists and sprains to the same ankle and ended with another surgery to clear out scar tissue. 2013 saw him sacrifice four games as a result of ankle injury. Fortunately, through relentless hard work, Steph has been pretty good at keeping an eye on this and making it mostly a non issue 🙂

2013 Season - Splash Bros

By 2013, the Warriors improved enough to make the playoffs with a record of 47-35, their first playoff appearance since the iconic "We Believe" season in 06-07. This was around the time when the term "Splash Brothers" caught on, with Stephen and Klay Thompson setting the NBA record for combined 3 pointers in a season (483)

2015 Season - M-V-P! 🏆

In 2015, the Warriors made their first finals appearance since 1975. That year, Stephen was named the first ever unanimous NBA MVP. What is True Shooting %? The warriors won the 2015 NBA Finals, but Steph actually didn't win the finals MVP. Instead it was awarded to Andre Iguodala for his fantastic all around contributions, most notably his defense on Lebron James. Golden Moment

2016 Season - 73-9

Curry and the Warriors followed up their 2015 title with a return trip to the finals. They started the season 24-0 and finished 73-9, setting an NBA record. Curry again won league MVP but the Warriors lost to the Cavaliers in 7 games. *Some say the 73-9 record has an asterisk because of the finals loss

2017-2018 - KD

Kevin Durant joined the Warriors in 2017 to form what many called a Superteam. This team waltzed into the finals and won 2 consecutive years, with Kevin winning finals MVP both seasons.

(Bubble, covid, injuries, yuck.... lets forget these 2 years)

2021 Season - The Record 📈

For years now it's been well known that Stephen would eventually break the all time record for most 3 pointers scored by a single player. The previous record holder was Ray Allen with 2,973 3 pointers. On December 14th 2021, Steph broke Ray Allen's record but hitting his 2,974th three pointer. STEPHEN CURRY BREAKS THE ALL-TIME 3 POINT RECORD! 🔥

Whats Next? 🔮

Curry has a ruthless mentality when it comes to practice and improving his game. Despite being considered undisputedly as the greatest shooter ever, he wants to get better. Stephen Curry’s Scientific Quest for the Perfect Shot Stephen Curry Wants to Get Better at Shooting

Quiz ☑️

How far is an NBA 3 pointer? 20' 9" 22' 6" 23' 3" 23'9"

Answer 💡

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Its a trick question! The exact corner is 22', the rounded arc is 23'9"

Case for the G(S)OAT 🐐
  • He's made the most threes, AND has the highest percentage on those threes
  • He has the best all time true shooting percentage for guards

Basketball-Reference.com

NBA Career Leaders and Records

True Shooting Percentage

  • His shooting percentage from 30+ ft (3 point line is 21' to 23'9") is the 2nd best of all time
  • Damian Lillard is slightly higher but he never takes full court heaves like Steph does, so this can be argued
  • Watch these

Quiz ☑️

How far does steph run in an average game? 1.4 miles 1.8 miles 2.2 miles 2.5 miles 3.1 miles

Answer 💡

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2.54 miles this season! How Great Is Steph Curry's Off-Ball Movement ACTUALLY?