Getty Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics takes a shot as Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors defends on March 4, 2011 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Last month, Stephen Curry broke Ray Allen’s NBA all-time three-point mark for makes including the postseason. Now, the Golden State Warriors superstar is quickly approaching Ray-Ray’s all-time record for regular season three-pointers, a mark that has stood since Allen retired in 2014.
Allen recently spoke with NBC Sports Warriors Insider Monte Poole about Curry nearing his all-time record and had nothing but praise for the Dubs point guard.
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The Warriors won’t be in action again until Friday, when they host the Phoenix Suns, and entering that contest, Steph will be at 2,940 career three-pointers. Allen finished his Hall-of-Fame career with 2,973 makes, meaning that Curry needs just 34 more connections from distance to have the record all to himself.
Golden State has 14 contests slated for December, meaning that No. 30 will almost certainly break the record this month. Steph is currently averaging 5.4 three-pointers made this season, and if that pace were to keep up, he would need 6.29 more games to pass Allen – meaning he could get No. 2,974 on the road against the New York Knicks on December 14.
Allen Has Known Curry for Over 20 Years
GettyRay Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks walks on to the court during the game against the New York Knicks at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Though the former UConn star is 13 years Curry’s senior, Allen’s NBA career did overlap Chef Curry by five years. Even before Steph joined the Association though, the duo spent some time together during the 1998-1999 NBA season when Curry was 10 going on 11 years old, and his dad, Dell Curry, was a teammate of Allen’s on the Milwaukee Bucks.
“That was Dell’s lone season in Milwaukee, where Ray was a budding All-Star. Dell was his vet,” Poole wrote. “They’d sit on the bus together, and Ray recalls conversations Dell had with his family. Curry’s sons, Stephen and Seth, were regulars at the Bucks’ facility.”
Allen told Poole that even as a pre-teen, Steph was showcasing a promising shooting stroke.
“Steph used to come into Milwaukee when he was younger, him and Seth,” Allen said. “And (Bucks coach) George Karl used to let them participate in shootaround. So, they’d come and we’d go through drills and they’d be right there with us. And they’d hold their own.”
Poole noted that even with Curry now being a full-fledged superstar and Allen having been retired from the league for seven years, the duo remain friends and play golf together a couple of times each year.
“People have compared him to myself and to Reggie (Miller) and to other past shooters, great shooters, in the NBA. But he really . . . he really operates somewhat in a lane of his own.”
-Ray Allen on Stephen Curry
Curry passed NBA Hall-of-Famer, and Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller, for second place on the all-time three-pointers list last season.
Allen: ‘I Love Steph Because He’s a Great Dude’
GettyRay Allen of the Boston Celtics shoots over Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors during an NBA game at Oracle Arena on December 28, 2009.
It’s possible that some athletes who have held prestigious records for almost a decade would feel jealous and animosity towards a younger player approaching their mark. Allen though, told Poole that he’s thrilled for Curry.
“This is not about what I decide or how I feel,” he said. “I’m just proud and happy that he has done the job of playing in this league and creating young people and a great fan base where he is continually pushing the narrative of what great basketball looks like and set the bar. A different bar.”
While Allen has had somewhat of a falling out with former Boston Celtics teammate Kevin Garnett in both player’s post-playing careers, “Jesus Shuttlesworth” essentially steered clear of all types of scandals over his NBA journey. This, Allen noted, is another similarity between he and Curry, which makes No. 30 easy to root for.
“I love Steph because he’s a great dude,” Allen said. “He’s a good person. He’s a great family man. I always say that when you watch any sport, you celebrate and cheer for those that you know are good people and you want to see succeed and win.”
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NBA Hall-of-Famer: Warriors’ Stephen Curry in ‘Lane of His Own’