Since he was an under-recruited high schooler to spending two years at Davidson and an early NBA career hampered by ankle injuries, Stephen Curry’s always been a late bloomer.
In a macro sense, his journey to the all-time NBA 3-point record has been a sprint. He needed over 500 fewer games to reach the pinnacle than Ray Allen. But these last few games have felt like a slow burn.
He fell well short of history last Wednesday at home, when a miraculous 16 3s seemed in-reach only because of how extraordinary Curry is. He needed 10 against Philadelphia and delivered only three against Matisse Thybulle’s swarming defense. Even as he crept ever closer against Indiana, he still started 1-for-5, accentuating a meager 31-for-91 stretch.
The nights brought anticipation, but Curry didn’t quite explode. The ignitor on the dynamite stick was just lit and was slowly reaching the boom. The Warriors knew they, and Curry, would be relieved when they put the record behind them.
Then Curry didn’t waste any more time in Madison Square Garden. He drilled a pull up near the Knicks logo 64 seconds after tipoff for No. 2,973. For the record-breaker, Curry showed the non-stop off-ball movement that has made him unguardable, as he popped up for a quick release 3 for history.
After his second 3 sunk through with 7:33 left in the first quarter, Curry raised his hands in the air. He touched both his hands to his lips and blew a kiss and pounded his chest. He shared hugs with Draymond Green, Stever Kerr, his dad Dell, his mom Sonya, and Allen.
And the late bloomer is poised to pour more on now. At 33, he’s playing as well as he ever has, on pace for a third MVP season. The record is now his, as it will rightfully be for a long time. After the historic first two, Curry added three more 3s in Golden State’s 105-96 win.
“Go to Vegas,” Reggie Miller said. “This is one NBA record that will never — you heard it — never be touched.”
Curry breaking the record in Madison Square Garden — where nine years ago he produced a seminal moment in NBA history — and in front of Miller, who was broadcasting the game courtside for TNT, was fitting.
Miller, one of Curry’s idols, helped pioneer the modern game by becoming a prolific 3-point shooter at the turn of the century. Miller was also courtside when Ray Allen broke his record in 2011 as a Boston Celtic.
But the setting is as crucial to Curry’s story to becoming the greatest shooter of all time as the company. In 2013, he played all 489 minutes and scored 54 points — then a career-high — while hitting 11 of his 13 3-point attempts.
That game, as much as any other, represented Curry’s impact on the game. In front of a national audience, in the Mecca of Basketball, he took and made shots nobody had previously thought were possible. It’s not hyperbole to point to that night as the night Steph Curry became Steph Curry and changed basketball forever.
He became the human embodiment of The Hot Hand, a concept psychologists, scientists and scholars have debated for decades. Curry’s extraordinary play prompted reconsideration of theories and partially inspired a best-selling book from Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Cohen.
For NBA and Warriors fans, Curry and the hot hand have become synonymous. You don’t need a scientific definition to describe it; you know it when you see it.
“He’s always one shot away from being hot,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said pregame.
Tuesday, the parallels between that 2013 game in MSG and the record-breaker were striking. In 2013, one day after playing the Pacers in Indiana — like Golden State just did — Curry got on the wrong bus. It got pulled over and caused Curry to be late to the game. He missed warmups. The 2021 version of travel logistic snafu came in the form of mechanical issues with the team’s flight, causing the Warriors to stay an extra night in Indiana and fly to New York the morning of the game.
For most of Tuesday night, it seemed like Curry’s hands weren’t ever going to heat up. After the record-breaker in the first quarter, he needed to mentally regroup during the emotional play stoppage. Curry went 1-for-6 from deep and committed four turnovers.
But late in the third quarter, Curry crossed up Evan Fournier and finished a one-legged, one-handed floater in the lane. Then he drilled a 28-footer to cap a 12-2 Warriors run. Was this the flurry?
As the Knicks kept running him off the 3-point line, Curry scored inside. His gravity created two 3-pointers for Nemanja Bjelica (14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists).
Curry hit another 3 late in the fourth — his fifth — but Julius Randle traded triples with Golden State. At one point, Randle drilled a stepback 3 over Curry, a clear example of an unacceptable shot before Curry made his impact.
Randle didn’t get enough help from his teammates to hang with Golden State down the stretch. The heat check never came, but Curry finished with 22 points and went 5-for-14 from 3. He still finished a game-high +13.
Eight years ago, Curry changed the game in Madison Square Garden. On Tuesday, the Knicks and Warriors combined to hoist over 80 3-pointers. Although his shooting touch was off once again, his touch on the sport is as strong and clear as ever.