Stephen Curry passes Reggie Miller for No. 2 all-time in 3-pointers made
Stephen Curry is now 411 made 3-pointers behind Hall of Famer Ray Allen for the most in NBA history.
With a catch-and-shoot corner 3 in third quarter Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Stephen Curry passed Hall of Famer Reggie Miller for second place on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made list.
Miller made 2,560 3-pointers over 1,389 regular season games during his 18-year NBA career; Curry passed him in his 715th career game, coming early in his 12th NBA season.
Growing up, Reggie Miller was my favorite player.
With @StephenCurry30 passing @ReggieMillerTNT for 2nd all-time in threes made, take a look at the mutual admiration these two sharpshooters have for each other. pic.twitter.com/whsHdsV0KG
— NBA (@NBA) January 24, 2021
“That’s pretty dope,” Curry said after the game (the Jazz beat the Warriors 127-108). “We got our head beat tonight, but I was trying to still enjoy it. After I made the third one, I knew that was a big one, and then to make that fourth one in the third quarter was pretty special. Something I’ve been looking forward to for a very long time.”
With only Ray Allen ahead of him, Curry is close to becoming the 3-point king. Allen, a legendary shooter himself, holds the record with 2,973 career 3s. Even though he still has a lead of more than 400 3-pointers, it’s just a matter of time before Curry takes the top spot. However, for 2021, Allen’s title seems secure with Miller now behind Curry.
So many little ones like mine are inspired by you.
Our guy @ReggieMillerTNT congratulated Steph after he moved into 2nd place on the all-time 3PM list. pic.twitter.com/tsKYHuMUGa
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 24, 2021
Given Curry’s present rate of 3-point scores (4.1 3PM per match), he would require slightly more than 100 games to surpass Allen. Considering only 57 games are left in this reduced 72-game season, it’s probable that Curry won’t contend for Allen’s record until the latter part of the 2021-22 season.
What sets Curry apart from Miller and Allen is the speed at which he ascended the all-time leaderboard. While Miller and Allen incorporated the 3-point shot into their gameplay, Curry spearheaded a 3-point revolution due to his exceptional shooting skills and the growing focus on the 3-point shot. In short, he revolutionized the game.
Over the past six seasons, Curry has averaged at least 9.8 3-point attempts per game each year and has three seasons averaging at least 11 3s per game. By comparison, Miller’s career-high in 3-point attempts for a season was 6.6 in 1996-97 (3rd in NBA), while Allen’s was 8.4 in 2005-06 (1st in NBA by 1.6 3PA).
Curry’s ascension is not solely due to an increased number of 3-point attempts. His reputation as arguably the best shooter ever is due to the perfect combination of frequency and extraordinary accuracy. Curry boasts a career 3-point shooting percentage of 43.3%, outperforming Miller’s 39.5% and Allen’s 40.0%.
Curry’s 43.3% career 3-point percentage ranks seventh all-time and leads all players ranked in the top 200 in 3-pointers made. Curry has a strong connection with the top two players on the all-time 3-point percentage list: No. 1 is his head coach Steve Kerr (45.4%) and No. 2 is his younger brother Seth (44.9%), who is shooting a league-best 59.6% this season from 3 for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Curry’s unique blend of high volume and extraordinary precision are the main factors why he needed a mere 715 games to exceed Miller’s career total achieved over 1,389 games. This is also why Curry is poised to be the first player to surpass 3,000 career 3-pointers made, setting a benchmark for all other shooters to strive for.
Which Players Will Eventually Challenge Curry?
If Curry manages to surpass Allen and set a new record for career 3-pointers, two significant questions will persist: 1. What will be the new record he sets? 2. Which existing players might have a chance to overtake him in the future?
Let’s go back to the all-time leaderboard for 3-pointers made, but rather than track totals we’ll look at per game averages instead. The 14 players with the highest 3-pointers made per game are all active players before we get to Allen at No. 15. Let’s take a closer look at the top 10 on that list and see which players may have a shot at catching Curry.
Curry currently has a significant lead and doesn’t seem to be slowing down, making it difficult for other seasoned players to catch up. Currently, Harden is fifth in all-time rankings, lagging behind Curry by almost 200 three-pointers. He made three-pointers at an extraordinary pace in his last two seasons in Houston, with an average of 4.8 per game in 2018-19 and 4.4 per game in 2019-20. However, Harden is now adapting to a different role in Brooklyn, averaging 3.2 three-pointers per game this season.
By taking out the veterans (Thompson, Lillard, Harden, and George) from the list, we can then concentrate on the younger players who were inspired by Curry’s game as they aspired to make it to the NBA. These players haven’t just been influenced by Curry, they’re dedicating their entire careers to an NBA that has welcomed the 3-point shot like never before.
Most 3-point shots made in the first 100 games of a player’s career:
1. Duncan Robinson, 326
2. Luka Doncic, 250Noteworthy mentions (keep in mind, the game has undergone significant changes):
11. Klay Thompson, 204
12. Stephen Curry, 200
18. Mike Miller, 190
59. Ray Allen, 145— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) January 19, 2021
Donovan Mitchell recently surpassed Buddy Hield’s record of achieving 600 career 3-pointers in the fewest games. Mitchell accomplished this feat in 240 games, while Hield took 244 games. Although he’s not recognized as a 3-point specialist, Mitchell’s speed is due to the growing importance of the 3-point shot in contemporary basketball. His pace mirrors that of Curry, who surpassed Miller and is on track to overtake Allen.
Keep an eye on the two youngest players on the top 10 list – Trae Young (22) from Atlanta and Luka Doncic (21) from Dallas. Both are in their third season in the league and have a knack for sinking 3-pointers. Their youth and prolific 3-point scoring make them the most likely candidates to challenge Curry.
4 More Stats to Know on Curry’s 3-Point Shooting
1. Double-Digit 3-Point Shooting Games
Curry has 15 of the 56 games in NBA history when a player has made at least 10 3-pointers in a game. The next ranked player is his teammate Klay Thompson with five, followed by the trio of Damian Lillard, James Harden and JR Smith with three each and Zach LaVine with two. No other player has more than one game with at least 10 3-pointers made.
Thompson currently holds the record for the most 3-pointers made in a single game, having made 14. Curry and LaVine follow closely behind him, each having made 13 3-pointers in a game. Curry was the initial record-setter, making 13 out of 17 attempted 3-pointers in a victory against the Pelicans on November 7, 2016. Two years later, Thompson surpassed this record, while LaVine matched Curry’s achievement in 2019.
2. Playoff 3-Pointers Made
Keep in mind that all of the numbers discussed so far are for regular season games only, and do not count Curry’s record 470 3-pointers made in the NBA Playoffs. Curry racked up his 470 3s over 112 career playoff games (4.2 3PM per game); he is followed by LeBron James, who has 414 3s in 260 career playoff games (1.6 per game).
The legend Reggie Miller, who ranks sixth in playoff 3s with 320 in 144 games (2.2 per game), just passed. On the other hand, Ray Allen, the legend still being chased in regular season 3s, ranks third in playoff 3s with 385 in 171 games (2.3 per game).
3. Most 3-Pointers Made in a Season
There have been four seasons in NBA history when a player has made at least 300 3-pointers – Curry accounts for three of the four, with James Harden being the only other member of the club. In 2015-16, Curry not only became the first-and-only unanimous selection for the Kia Most Valuable Player award, he also set the record for 3-pointers made in a season as he shot 402-for-886 (45.4%) from beyond the arc over 79 games.
In the 2018-19 season, Harden secured the second spot with 378 3-pointers while Curry, in the same season, secured the third spot with 354 3-pointers. Curry also scored 324 3-pointers in the 2016-17 season. Remarkably, Curry holds three of the top four and six of the top 20 spots on the list for most 3-pointers in a season. Harden, on the other hand, holds four spots in the top 20. Buddy Hield and Klay Thompson are the only other players to hold more than one spot in the top 20.
4. Most Consecutive Games With a 3-Pointer
Curry holds the record with 157 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer made, a streak that spanned three seasons from Nov. 13, 2014 to Nov. 3, 2016. Kyle Korver is the only other player to reach 100 straight games with a 3-pointer at 127 games.
Curry does not have the longest active streak in the league, that belongs to Sacramento’s Buddy Hield at 82 straight games, followed by Curry and Brooklyn’s Joe Harris each with 77 consecutive games. Toronto’s Fred VanVleet and Brooklyn’s James Harden are the only other players with an active streak of at least 40 games.
Curry’s Milestone 3-Pointers on Climb to No. 2
Curry’s ascent to the second position in career 3-pointers started in 2009 when he was the seventh overall pick from Davidson College. Let’s take a retrospective look at the significant milestones he reached during his rise up through the ranks.
1 – Oct. 30, 2009: After missing his only 3-point attempt in his NBA debut, Curry shot 2-for-3 from beyond the arc in his second career game, a 123-101 loss to Phoenix.
100 – Feb. 27, 2010: Curry’s 100th 3-pointer came in his 58th career game as he shot 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 27 points in a 95-88 win over Detroit.
500 – Jan. 26, 2013: Curry reached 500 career 3-pointers in his 221st career game with No. 500 coming on a night when he scored 26 points on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point land in a 109-102 loss to Milwaukee.
1,000 – Jan. 7, 2015: Curry became the fastest player to ever reach 1,000 3-pointers made as he reached the century mark in just his 369th career game. He reached the milestone during a 117-102 win over Indiana when he shot 4-for-8 from deep and finished with 21 points.
1,500 – March 11, 2016: The theme of Curry being the fastest to reach a 3-point milestone continued as he hit the 1,500 mark, this time shattering the previous record held by Ray Allen. Curry needed only 477 games to reach 1,500 3-pointers made, while Allen needed 661 games.
Enters Top 10 – March 5, 2017: Curry entered the top 10 on the all-time 3-pointers made list at Madison Square Garden in New York – the same arena where he set his career-best scoring mark of 54 points four years prior (he topped that mark with a 62-point game earlier this season). Curry scored 31 points and shot 5-for-13 on 3s in a 112-105 win, ending the night with 1,833 career 3-pointers, passing Chauncey Billups (1,830) to crack the top 10.
2,000 – Dec. 4, 2017: Curry became the eighth player in NBA history to reach 2,000 career 3-pointers and did so faster than any other player, needing only 597 games to hit the milestone. Curry scored 31 points and shot 5-for-11 on 3s in Golden State’s 125-115 win, but the achievement was marred by a sprained ankle late in the game that would cost Curry nearly four weeks of action.
Enters Top 5 – Oct. 24, 2018: Curry entered the top five on the all-time 3-point list in style as he scored 51 points and made 11 3s during Golden State’s 144-122 win over Washington. With his third 3-pointer of the night, Curry (2,162) passed Jamal Crawford (2,153) for fifth place in career 3s made.
2,500 – Dec 27, 2020: In the third game of the 2020-21 season, Curry became the third player in NBA history to reach the 2,500 career 3-pointers made milestone, joining Reggie Miller and Ray Allen. Curry scored 36 points and shot 5-for-15 from deep to help the Warriors earn their first win of the season.
