Getty Steph Curry and the Warriors remain favored to win their third straight title.
Klay Thompson may be the new NBA record holder for most 3-pointers made in a single game, but Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has been on fire to start the year. Through the team’s first eight games, Curry is shooting a scorching 51.6 percent from 3-point range, and opponents have had no answer. But how impressive he’s truly been goes far beyond just his shooting percentage.
Curry has made 48 shots from beyond the arc this season, 12 ahead of the next-closest player (Kemba Walker) and 18 more than JJ Redick, who’s in third. But as The Athletic’s Mike O’Connor revealed, the Warriors star has made just one fewer 3-pointer than the entire Philadelphia 76ers starting lineup to this point.
Through eight games, Steph Curry (48) has made one fewer three than the Sixers’ entire starting lineup combined (49).
It’s worth noting that Redick, who’s one of the NBA’s top 3-point shooters in his own right, has been moved to the second unit in favor of Markelle Fultz. The veteran sharpshooter has been a core piece of the Sixers’ scoring off the bench, but it’s wildly apparent the starters aren’t getting the job done.
Both Ben Simmons and Fultz rarely attempting 3-pointers. In turn, this leaves Dario Saric, who’s struggled while making just 23.4 percent from deep, Joel Embiid and Robert Covington to pick up the slack. Of the starting lineup’s 49 buckets from beyond the arc, Covington has accounted for 24 of them, while Saric has 11, Embiid sits with 10 and Fultz is in the rearview mirror with just four.
Stephen Curry’s Red-Hot Start to Season
The Warriors star has tallied 23 points or more in every game this season while going for 29 or more in seven of eight games. Curry has made at least five 3-pointers in each game but one, with the outlier being against the Chicago Bulls, the spot in which Thompson broke the 3-point record. During that game, the 30-year-old played just 25 minutes due to a blowout and made 2-4 attempts from beyond the arc.
Through Golden State’s first eight games, Curry is averaging 32.5 points, 5.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds. He leads the league in scoring by 2.4 points per game, with the aforementioned Walker being his closest competition.
READ NEXT: Stephen Curry’s Message to Klay Thompson Before Breaking Record