Evidence submitted Sunday at Madison Square Garden reaffirms Stephen Curry commitment to bend, if not break, the game of basketball.
Barely a minute into the third quarter of a 112-105 win over the Knicks, the Warriors point guard drilled his third 3-pointer of the game, his 238th this season and, moreover, the 1,831st of his career — moving him past Chauncey Billups and into 10th place on the all-time list.
Curry has played 556 games.
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All nine players with more career treys have played more than 1,000 games. They average 1,274.
Put another way, Curry has needed fewer than half as many games to creep into the hallowed company of the best long-distance shooters in NBA history.
The retirees who say the game has changed are correct. It’s probably more accurate to say it is Curry who changed it.
The all-time leader in triples, Ray Allen, with 2,973, didn’t reach 1,831 until his 10th season at age 30. Reggie Miller, No. 2 on the list, was 34 when he got there.
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As of Sunday afternoon, there are six active players still ahead of Curry: Jason Terry (2,220, third), Paul Pierce (2,138 fourth), Kyle Korver (2,026, fifth), Vince Carter (2,018, sixth), Jamal Crawford (2,017 seventh) and Joe Johnson (1,903, ninth).
Carter, a former teammate of Curry’s father, Dell, turned 40 earlier this year. Terry and Pierce are 39 years old. Crawford will turn 37 this month. Korver will turn 36 this month. Johnson will turn 36 this summer. Each has played at least 13 full seasons.
Curry has played seven full seasons. He turns 29 on March 14.
Curry owns the record for most threes in a game, with 13. He owns the record for most in a season, with 402. With his current trajectory, and good health, it’s realistic to believe the all-time record will be his at age 32.