Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history. He has and is continuing to impress everyone with his remarkable shooting displays that have become commonplace over the past 7 years. Between 2014 and 2019, Steph has attempted 4247 triples and nailed 1839 of them. An elite 43.3%! Between 2016 and 2019, Steph made 48.5% of his wide open triples where the defender was more than 6 feet away! It was only a little better for defenders when they were closer. He only made 43% of his shots. However, a 49% 3-point shot is equal to a 73% layup or 2-point jumper. A 43% 3-pointer is equal to a 65% 2-pointer, both of which are incredible efficiencies. The biggest key to Steph’s excellence is his release speed. Steph’s release speed is unreal at around 0.43 seconds to catch and shoot. This means that defenders have a hard time closing out to Steph because the ball is out of his hands by the time the defender can get his hands up. The second key is his range. Stephen Curry is one of the few players in NBA history who can manufacture his 3s from at least 30 feet. This leaves a couple hundred square feet where an open Curry 3 is a highly efficient offense. Why run a fancy offense when you can pull from 35 feet? He made more 3s from 2014-15 to 15-16 than Larry Bird and MJ did in their entire career. However, he doesn’t only excel at 3s, he’s an assassin from inside the arc as well.
Steph Curry’s mid-range game is underrated. He has an excellent mid-range game as well, shooting 46% from 5-23 feet. This is above league average, so during these years, Stephen Curry was one of the most efficient volume scorers ever in those years, even though less than 10% of his field goal attempts came from this distance. Teams tended to play drop coverage on Steph because he tends to bypass the mid-range, but he would counter this by stepping back for a mid-range pull-up from 15 or 20 feet. Rarely did he pull up from inside 10 feet. He’d rather relocate or head straight to the basket for a layup.
As a finisher, Steph has been remarkable, 40% of his offense comes from inside 5 feet. In this 5 year span, he has made around 65% of his attempts. He even led the league in FG% on layups in 2015-16 by nailing 68.7% of his layups! He was more efficient than LeBron James in the restricted area! That is incredible, especially for a small player like him. In fact, he is comparable to Tony Parker in terms of both volume and efficiency around the rim. Because of his size and reliability on shooting and ball skills, Curry is an underrated finisher. But he’s able to get to the rim not only because he spaces the floor, but also because the defense can’t afford to foul him. He has a respectable free throw rate for a point guard who relies on outside shooting so much at 5.5 FTA per game and is the all-time leader in FT% making 90.7% of his shots. This guarantees 2 points at the line. He’s had his fair share of 3-point plays and what allows him to convert a lot of his acrobatic layups is his outlier hand eye coordination.
This brings us to his ball handling. Steph Curry is one of the greatest ball handlers in NBA history. In fact, Steph uses his handle to set up a lot of his shots or probe for better looks for himself and his teammates. Because of his ball handling and outlier shooting skill, Steph Curry is one of the greatest off the dribble shooters in league history, making 42.5% of his contested off the dribble threes and making 200 of them. He made more contested off-the-dribble threes than 26 NBA teams did in 2015-2016. His favorite move is the double behind the back leading to an open 3. He nailed a mind-bending 47% on unassisted pull-up threes!
But what makes Steph so hard to guard is his off-ball movement. For quite some time, he led the league in distance ran per game and fastest average speed. His greatest contribution to off-ball movement is the relocation off of the pick-and-roll. A big man would set Curry a screen, leaving the opponent’s big man on Curry. Steph would probe for a shot with his handle before passing. Now, big men aren’t used to staying with their men when their man passes. This allowed Steph to run out to the 3-point line for more cash. If Steph’s defender stayed on Curry, he would run out to the 3-point line where a teammate would set a pin down to get Steph a sliver of daylight. These tactics also meant Steph was an amazing catch-and-shoot player. He made 45.6% of his catch and shoot triples between 2013 and 2020. That’s absolutely absurd because he’s 1st in FG% on catch and shoot threes in league history. But he does more than just look for open shots.
Steph Curry can pass too. He’s done every delivery in the book, hook passes, handoffs, bullet passes, even a Magic Johnson heater! Steph Curry has incredible court vision but isn’t recognized for it. In 2015-16, he averaged 6.7 assists per game. Because he has an incredible feel for backdoor cuts, he can thread needles and send it home himself for cutting teammates. In fact. His and Klay’s gravity is what allows for many Warriors to get open shots at the rim. This is the key reason for why a “jump-shooting team” can lead the league in FG% at the rim. Constant ball movement in the Warriors’ system keeps defenders on their toes and allows for playmakers to exploit gaps in the defense. The only issue is that Steph can be sloppy with his deliveries. This was a constant issue in the infamous 2016 Finals. However, Curry is great offensively, but does his size limit him defensively?
Defense
Steph Curry has led the league in steals before – in 2015-16 at 2.1 steals per game. He obviously isn’t built to block anybody, but he is able to strip balls off of shooters, something his teammate Andre Iguodala definitely taught him. Steph is like a smaller Larry Bird. He uses his “defensive IQ” to block passing lanes and read the defender. Curry is also a decent man-defender. He stays on the balls of his feet to change direction when necessary. He’s incredibly pesky with his hands, taking quick swipes at the ball. This has constantly irritated many of the greatest ball handlers, like James Harden and Kyrie Irving. This means that Curry doesn’t get smoked off the dribble too often. However, many teams pick on Curry, like the LeBron Cavs. Bigger players can shoot over him or bully him down low in the post. Of course, Curry can hold his own…occasionally. He literally pushed 285 pound Zion Williamson from the three point line into the key! He has the strength, but he is underrated in that aspect. He does gamble a lot with steals, and sometimes he fouls players if he can’t contain them. He is also injury prone, so it doesn’t help that he is exploited on defense all the time. So Curry isn’t a clear negative on the defensive end. Many impact metrics view him as a neutral and slightly positive defender. Others view him as a slight negative. It’s kind of hard to tell.
All in all, Stephen Curry’s skillset makes him the most scalable offensive weapon in league history. His ability to score on all three levels while providing immense impact on and off-ball. His incredible shooting and ball handling allows him to get clean looks with ease. Steph’s court vision is great and has dropped lots of dimes over his career. His defense isn’t game-changing nor is it very impactful. He has great diversity all over the frontcourt. This makes him the greatest offensive player ever. His unprecedented combination of volume and efficiency will never be seen again, especially his 50-40-90 unanimous MVP numbers from 2015-16. He is transcendent and a player like him will never grace an NBA court again.
