Warriors’ Curry Sets Another Record, Draining 3’s at Blistering Pace

Steph Curry made history again Tuesday night when the Golden State Warriors took on the New Orleans Pelicans.

During the opening quarter, Curry pulled up from behind the arc and sunk his first three-pointer of the game. It also happened to be his 300th three-pointer of the season.

The 300 mark is special among long-distance shooters, as it has only been hit five times in NBA history. Curry is responsible for four of those achievements.

James Harden, of the Brooklyn Nets, is the only other player to reach the mark in a regular season, per Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

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Curry on Historic Three-Point Pace for the Warriors This Season

The all-time NBA record for three-pointers drained in one season is 402, which Curry set in the 2015-16 season. He also poured in 354 in the 2018-19 season and 324 in the 2016-17 campaign.

The Warriors point guard dropped eight more 3’s on Tuesday night, May 4, vaulting his total during the 2020-21 season to 307. Curry has amassed that total through 66 games, eight of which he sat out due to injury. By hitting his 300th trey in his 58th game, Curry became the fastest player to ever reach the mark, per Bleacher Report.

Curry has attempted more 3’s per game this year than in any of his previous 11 seasons in the league, averaging 12.3 heaves from downtown every night out. He is also connecting on more shots from deep (5.2) than he ever has in his career, per Basketball Reference.

If Curry can hold to that average, he will flirt with 340 made three-pointers by the end of this coronavirus-abbreviated season, during which only 72 games will be played instead of the normal 82. During a season of typical length, Curry would be on pace to drain 390 shots from behind the arc, which would be the second most in NBA history and only a dozen short of his own record.

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The Warriors Have Needed Every Bit of Curry’s Three-Point Greatness in 2021

Golden State fell to the Pelicans Tuesday night to move to 33-33 on the season, good enough currently to slot the Warriors in a virtual tie for the 8-seed in the West with the Memphis Grizzlies, who are 32-32.

At this point, it appears clear that the Warriors will return to the postseason after injuries rendered them one of the worst teams in the league last year. But they also appear destined to take part in the play-in tournament, which will require them to win at least one play-in game, if not two, to earn their way into a first-round playoff series.

Curry has shouldered a tremendous offensive burden for the Warriors this year, as fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson has missed his second straight season due to injury (ACL tear).

Curry (31.4 ppg) led the NBA in scoring by a half point per game over the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal (30.9 ppg) heading into Tuesday night’s game. The point guard bolstered that average by dropping 37 points in the loss to New Orleans.

He gained that scoring average advantage on the strength of a lights-out month of April, when he dropped in 30 or more points in 11 straight contests, also a record for a player over the age of 33.

It was Curry’s consistently outstanding performances over the last several weeks that have been responsible for putting the Warriors in the likely playoff position that they now find themselves. But Golden State will need to find scoring elsewhere if they hope to accomplish anything of significance in the postseason. In the meantime, Curry shows no signs that he will stop sniping anytime soon.

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