All hail the 3-point king.
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry became the first player in NBA history to make 4,000 career three-pointers after nailing a 27-footer at home, in front of his fans against the Sacramento Kings in the third quarter on Thursday.
As a trio of Sacramento Kings players went for the ball, Moses Moody scooped it up and quickly found Curry. After a pump fake and a patented sidestep, Curry buried a 28-foot 3-pointer from the right wing, becoming the first player in NBA history to reach 4,000 3-pointers milestone at the 8:19 mark in the third quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ 130-104 blowout win at Chase Center, a day before his 37the birthday. There is no better present.
“It’s a clear milestone threshold,” Curry said before the game about the achievement, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “A number that I didn’t think about, that it was realistic even from 2,974, which is a number that means the most because that was the record at the time. It’s beyond my wildest dreams to push a record that far.”
The Warriors were doing everything they could in an effort to get Curry his 4,000th 3-pointer, that they were committing careless and unforced turnovers that allowed the Kings to rally and slice a seemingly comfortable 23-point second-quarter deficit down to four, just a few seconds before Curry finally reached the mark that fans at Chase Center came to see.
“You see that last turnover I had in the second quarter?” Warriors forward Draymond Green said of a forced bounce pass in the final two minutes of the first half. “A lot of anxiety. That was a terrible pass. We all kind of wanted that for him. There was a point in the game where we all were just trying to make it happen, but to see him cross that milestone that no one has ever crossed is very fitting the way he changed the game, how important he made the 3-point shot to the game of basketball. Happy it happened at home with the last one happening on the road.”
Embed from Getty ImagesCurry’s triple gave the Warriors a nine-point advantage, 72-63, with just over eight minutes remaining in the frame.
The sellout crowd in the Bay area celebrated the achievement and responded with a prolonged roar as play continued.
“It was a weird night because we all knew I was two away,” Curry said after the win. “Made the first one in the first quarter off a transition, [Jonathan Kuminga] made a great pass. Sacramento was playing that gimmicky defense all game where they were literally face-guarding me, top-locking, and nothing was clean about it.”
The two-time NBA MVP and the only unanimous MVP came into the special night with 3,998 made three-pointers, easily No. 1 all time in the record books. Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden is the only other NBA player to make 3,000 or more (3,127 as of Thursday). Ironically, they were in the same draft class in 2009.
For the season, Curry has averaged a team-high 24.5 points per game alongside 6.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds. He has shot 44.8 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from 3-point range.
Entering Thursday, Curry had been exceptional over his last seven games, averaging 32.9 PPG. That stretch included 56 points against the Orlando Magic on 16 of 25 shooting, and 40 more versus the Brooklyn Nets.
Golden State entered the evening as winners of 10 of 11 games to turn a .500, 27-27 record into a 37-28 mark, good enough for sixth place in the Western Conference.
The Warriors still have some work ahead of them to qualify for the playoffs, but Golden State has been excellent after acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat and look destined to continue that momentum.
So, chances are that Curry, who is also the leader in postseason career three-pointers (618), will extend that lofty record as well.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who tied the late Al Attles for most regular-season coaching wins in franchise history at 557, joked that perhaps Curry can go for another 4,000 3-pointers.
“So, he just keeps going the way he keeps himself in shape and conditioned in rhythm,” Kerr said. “He’s going to make another 1,000 for sure.”
