Stephen Curry, the greatest shooter in the history of shooting, recently expounded on what he deemed his considerable unintended consequences on the NBA. Most recently he was featured on the “Mind the Game” podcast with LeBron James and Steve Nash. The exchange underscored just how much Curry’s style of shooting has changed the game, especially recent after breaking the record for most three-point attempts in a season.
A three-point revolution— For those who think Curry’s revolution started when he first attempted 646 three-pointers in a single season. Here, this was an impressive number at that time, but was only the start of something special in his maturation as a shooter. The next year, he went from 182 attempts to 886 in an astounding year-over-year spike. This move highlighted his insistence on rounding out his game.
One person who influenced Curry to explore the boundaries of his shooting was his former general manager, Bob Myers. Myers, as the Warriors’ GM, infamously encouraged Curry to “shoot 15 3s a game.” Yet this directive directly contradicted Curry’s intuition about the quality of shot he was taking. In response, Curry remarked, “What? You know how hard it is to get 12 good looks up?” As Myers bluntly put it, “The math doesn’t care if you shoot 15 3s—you’re awesome.” He spoke about the crucial role of volume shooting in today’s game.
The lasting influence of Curry’s shooting dominance would soon be felt as more and more players started to adopt his deep-range approach. Former coach Mark Jackson even went so far as to say that Curry “saved the game” by encouraging young players to shoot the same way. You can hardly find a player on an NBA roster today that doesn’t shoot hundreds of three-pointers in a single season. It’s the latest evidence of just how powerfully Curry has impacted the game.
During the podcast, Curry reminisced about his early relationship with Myers, dating back to high school, which laid the groundwork for their future collaboration. He specifically called out fellow long-rangers Klay Thompson and Damian Lillard. According to the players, they look to his deep three-point bombs as examples.
Curry’s discussion with James and Nash featured a breakdown of that critical Game 7 from the 2016 NBA Finals. The trio recreated pivotal plays and strategies from that epic game, focusing on the importance of teamwork and play execution.
Curry pointed out that Trae Young was the first player to be regularly compared to him. He’s mentioned Young as the “next” version of his shooting style. “When Trae Young came into the league, that was the first person they said was like the ‘next’ me,” he remarked, acknowledging the ongoing evolution of shooting in the league.
Curry’s insights into shooting mechanics and shot quality left an impression on listeners, as he stated, “Shot quality is still … the jury’s still out in the league.” Look forward to these and other more thought-provoking conversations! Stay tuned for the second half of our discussion with James and Nash coming soon.
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