Shaquille O’Neal makes bold proclamation about Stephen Curry's 3-Point Records

Although he’s held the title for many years, Stephen Curry officially became the greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history on Tuesday. After hitting his 2,974th three, the Golden State Warriors star passed Ray Allen on the all-time list against the New York Knicks in the first quarter at Madison Square Garden.

The TNT pregame show shared their thoughts on Curry’s record-setting evening, with Shaquille O’Neal seeing his historic mark standing for many, many years.

Stephen Curry has long been the 3-point king

Curry became a national darling when his long-distance shooting propelled Davidson College to the Elite Eight in 2008. But little did we know that the seventh overall pick from the 2009 NBA Draft would become the face of the 3-ball.

While Steph didn’t become an All-Star and MVP from the jump, he immediately became an elite 3-point shooter. The son of Dell Curry buried 43.7% of his threes his rookie season, seventh in the NBA. He progressed to becoming a 44.2% shooter by year two and a 45.5% by year three, ranking third and second, respectively.

As Curry grew to become the star of the Warriors, he never lost his shooting touch. Steph has led the league in threes made and attempted six times and leads in both this season. His 2015-16 campaign saw him hit 402 triples, an NBA record, on the way to a 73-9 finish and unanimous MVP. Curry also holds the spots for the third, fourth, sixth, and seventh-most threes in a single season.

Shaquille O’Neal sees Curry as the record-holder for a long time

Reggie Miller became the all-time leader in threes in 1998, holding onto the record for 13 years. Then in 2011, Allen broke the record and held onto it until today. Curry, on the other hand, might have a slightly longer grasp on the historic achievement, said TNT’s O’Neal on Inside the NBA.

“By the time Steph Curry gets done playing — we don’t know what the number will be — his number will not be touched for 50 years. Nobody will even come close for the next 50 years. … We won’t be around, but my quote will be around, so write it down.”

Shaquille O’Neal

The next highest active player with a chance to catch Curry is James Harden. But the Brooklyn Nets star sits at 2,509 3-pointers made, over 400 less than Curry despite tossing up more career attempts.

Curry forever changed the NBA

Stephen Curry is now the new official record holder. And throughout his career, he has inspired the entire league to chase after him.

In 2009-10, Steph’s rookie season, teams averaged 18.1 3-point attempts per game. This season, teams are averaging 35.4 attempts, an improvement over last season’s record of 34.6.

But even with more and more players shooting threes, O’Neal is likely correct in this record standing for a long while. No current players have the pinpoint accuracy Curry does combined with the full autonomy he possesses to take shots whenever he wants. Truthfully, it’s hard to say if we’ll ever see a player like that again, let alone within the next 50 years.

All statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference.

RELATED: Stephen Curry Is on the Verge of NBA 3-Point History, but Steve Kerr Is Still the All-Time Leader in Accuracy

The post Shaquille O’Neal Fires off a Bold Proclamation on Stephen Curry’s 3-Point Record appeared first on Sportscasting | Pure Sports.

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By: Tim van Straten
Title: Shaquille O’Neal Fires off a Bold Proclamation on Stephen Curry’s 3-Point Record
Sourced From: www.sportscasting.com/shaquille-oneal-fires-off-bold-proclamation-on-stephen-currys-3-point-record/
Published Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2021 00:43:17 +0000

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