Statistically, Warriors coach Steve Kerr is the most accurate 3-point shooter in the history of the NBA.
Throughout his 15-year playing career, which consisted of 910 games, Kerr drained 45.4 percent of his 3-point attempts, higher than Golden State superstar Steph Curry’s career average of 43.2 percent.
While numbers don’t lie, Kerr believes they do in this case. The coach appeared on Showtime's “Headliners with Rachel Nichols” alongside Curry, where the two debated who the NBA’s most accurate shooter of all time is.
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“[Steve] can’t run away from the compliment,” Curry said to Kerr and Nichols. “I know it’s not [me]. I know it’s not. Because I know what [Kerr] will say, too. He’s like, ‘Well, look at the shots that [Curry] takes, and it’s easy when [Kerr] was wide open.
“But you got to be able to shoot, though. That’s the thing. I don’t ever want [Kerr] to deflect that compliment. Because once you’re in that heat of the battle and expected to make shots, there’s a pressure to that, too.”
Curry insists his coach accepts the nod of being the NBA’s most accurate 3-point shooter ever despite Kerr’s reluctance, noting his big-shot-making ability and consistency.
But as the Warriors point guard assumed, Kerr quickly responded with praise for Curry’s ability to shoot through traffic as a leading option, dismissing his own playing career beside stars like Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan.
Golden State Warriors
“You see the degree of difficulty of [Curry’s] shots, you know. I mean, if [Steph] were able to just stand there wide open and shoot three [3-pointers] a night, only when he’s wide open. I’m pretty sure [it would go up].”
Kerr furthered his case by explaining how Curry’s 3-point percentage would be higher if the guard didn’t shoot so many half-court and full-court shots before the end of quarters but clarified his love for Curry’s showmanship and skill.
“Everybody on Earth bypasses these shots,” Kerr explained to Curry and Nichols. “[Steph] takes them every night. I don’t know, he’s taken hundreds of them. Imagine what his percentage would be if you removed all those. But he doesn’t care, which is the beauty of him.
“You [Steph] love the spectacular. You love to do something that nobody else does. And it took me a while to learn that.”
Kerr described a learning curve with Curry during his first year as Golden State’s head coach in 2014-2015, understanding that the Davidson product defies all rules and normalcies with his “superpower" of fearless shooting.
While Curry is the best shooter basketball has ever seen, he trails his coach in arguably the most key category.
However, Kerr knows that Curry runs an offense and is the focus for opposing defenses, no matter how often the player tries to hype up his coach.
Kerr also admitted that he never took shots that Curry still does.
“I’ll be honest, when I played, like most players, you get that ball and it’s like– maybe you take a dribble, like, ‘Oh, I don’t think I can [shoot the ball], you know? You don’t want to ruin your percentage,” Kerr shared with Curry and Nichols.