Stephen Curry Sets New NBA Record for Career 3-Pointers

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night became the league's greatest long-range shooter, breaking the record for 3-point shots and solidifying himself as a player who has revolutionized basketball.

There was no real suspense heading into Tuesday night's game at New York's Madison Square Garden. Curry needed to sink just two 3-pointers to break a record held by Hall of Famer Ray Allen. He hit the first one no problem — record tied at 2,973. But then with history waiting, Curry, a player so relaxed on the court he looks like one of those inflatable dancing figures outside a mattress store, didn't exactly tense up, but he said he did become aware of the moment.

"I got the ball coming down, and I could see everybody on that end of the stadium start to slowly stand up, and there was, like, a buzz," Curry told reporters afterward. "So I didn't want to, like, rush it because I knew - that's when you can kind of get in your head trying to, like, force the moment."

But, then, with 7:33 left in the first quarter, Curry's 2,974th 3-pointer splashed gracefully through the net, followed by a lengthy celebration inside where he hugged his parents, teammates and Allen, whose record stood for 10 years.

Curry said he would have loved to have set the record at home in front of his Bay Area fans. But doing it in front of his family and Ray Allen and Reggie Miller — who each used to hold the record — and an adoring crowd at Madison Square Garden wasn't a bad alternative.

“If you can’t do it at home, this is definitely a great Plan B,” Curry said Tuesday night.

“I thought the night was perfect,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who called timeout after the record shot to make room for the celebration. “It just pretty much encapsulated who he is and his reaction to it was perfect.”

The Warriors went on to beat the Knicks 105-96.

Curry's record could last much longer, as he is currently taking and making 3s better than anyone in basketball, averaging a career-high 5.4 3s per game.

After the game, teammate Draymond Green, wearing a shirt with Curry's face on it, said the guard could end up beating the record by 1,000 or more.

“Steph is the best to ever shoot a basketball and we get the opportunity to go to work with him every day and it’s a very special thing,” Green said.

Curry set the record on the same New York court where he had a 54-point game in 2013 — before becoming the NBA's two-time MVP.

Reggie Miller, a former three-point champ himself who did commentary for last night's game on TNT, provided the momentous context: "The way he changed the game, it's almost like how Babe Ruth changed baseball with the long ball," he said.

In his 13 NBA years, Curry has made the long-range shot an essential part of the game. According to SI.com, NBA teams averaged 18 three-point attempts per game in 2009, Curry's first season. Now, thanks to Curry glamorizing the shot, teams average over 35 — for better and worse.

Purists still grumble about how players at all levels have forsaken fundamental basketball just to jack up 3s. But even purists have to acknowledge Curry's brilliance and efficiency: Allen took 1,300 games to set his record. Curry needed 789.

In the crowd Tuesday night, Bob McKillop cheered with everyone else and undoubtedly thought back to when, as the coach at Davidson College, he recruited a skinny but talented kid — the son of Dell Curry, the Charlotte Hornets' all-time leader in points and three-point field goals.

"After a month of watching him in individual workouts, I went publicly and told a lot of our alums, this is a special young man," McKillop told NPR in 2009.

And now Curry's a special 33-year-old whose record may end up being out of reach. Check that; it will be, according to Hall of Fame NBA player Charles Barkley, who does commentary for TNT as well. He put Curry's accomplishment alongside Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game and Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak of 56 straight games.

"He going to set a record that ain't nobody ever going to come to again, and it's beautiful to watch," Barkley said.

Curry speaks with his play, but last night he couldn't resist when goaded by a reporter. Who is the greatest shooter of all time? Curry raised his arms and said, 'I got that, baby.'

And no one's arguing.

This post includes reporting from the Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press.