Reign of the Three-Pointer

Steph Curry was reigning down 3-pointers of a biblical scale. Folks were having such fun. I tried not to say anything. But, when the clamor descended into hysteria, for the sake of humanity, someone had to say something.

Steph Curry is not the "greatest shooter God ever created," as ESPN's Stephen A. Smith so vociferously advocates. Steph is good. He may be great. But, is not "the greatest." 

The 3-pointer is one of many shots taken on a basketball court, including dunks, lay-ups, mid-range jumpers, hook shots, etc. Of these, the 3-pointer is the easiest shot to attempt. Let me give you an example: In a recent game between the Bucks and the Heat, both teams combined to take nearly twenty 3 pointers in the first quarter, alone. (They missed most of them.) In that same quarter, not a single dunk shot was attempted.  

Looking at the latest rankings of NBA player stats, I noticed that Steph is not among the top 30 in field goal percentage in the league, (though his brother Seth is ranked 20th at 51%). Neither does Steph's percentage rank among the top 30 3-point shooters, (though his teammate, Wiggins, is 16th at 42%). Steph ranks somewhere below the Lakers' Carmelo Anthony, the 30th ranked 3-point shooter at 40%. How could the 'greatest shooter God ever created" neither rank among the top 30 shooters in overall field goal percentage, nor 3-point percentage... in his own time? The objective answer is: He is not the greatest shooter ever. He is not a greater shooter than Jerry West or Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He is not a greater shooter than the Celtic, Sam Jones, whose pull-up 20-foot bank shot was "pure money." In Steph's own time, he is not a greater shooter than Kevin Durant.  

When it comes to shooting, we measure excellence by accuracy. In the five-game stretch surrounding Steph's assault on Ray Allen's 3-point record, Steph made 24 of the 74 3-pointers in attempted. That is 34% shooting. Nevertheless, basketball analysts across the land quickly attach their emotions to Steven A. Smith's visceral response. One analyst, Dominique Foxworth, a contributor on ESPN's popular "GET UP!" morning program, said of Steph's record-breaking performance, "I almost cried." Considering Steph went 4-14 from 3-point range that night, I ask, tongue-in-cheek, "Why ('cry')?" Because he missed so many? Seriously, I am becoming convinced that many of the people in today's media are getting paid based upon how prettily they can clamber onto the bandwagon. 

The basis of all "great shooter" comparisons should begin with, not volume shots taken but the percentage of shots made. If Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, or Steph's own father, Dell Curry, had taken 15 three-pointers a game, any one of them would have made as many 3-pointers as Steph has today. Reggie said it himself: "Five 3-pointers a game was the limit coach would let me take."

There are many great shooters in NBA history. We must refrain from settling such debates with subjective profusions. Better to simply say, "Steph is the most likable shooter of all time." That would be more accurate, especially since accuracy is what we are shooting for.