As if there was any doubt, Stephen Curry on Wednesday cemented his legacy as the greatest shooter in basketball history.
Listen to the latest episode of "Bay Current" below.
The superstar drained his 2,974th career 3-pointer last night in the first quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ win against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, becoming the all-time leader in career 3-pointers made in NBA history, surpassing former All-Star Ray Allen.
Nobody knows the greatness of both of those legendary players better than KCBS Radio’s "Bay Current" host Matt Pitman, who has had a front-row seat to each of their brilliance.
Pitman is currently the public address announcer for the Warriors home games at Chase Center. Prior to that, he held the same position at Key Arena in Seattle, where he watched Ray Allen as a member of the Seattle Supersonics drain many of what until Wednesday night were an NBA record number of 3-pointers.
On Thursday's episode of KCBS Radio's "Bay Current", Pitman was joined by veteran play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Calabro, the current voice of the Portland Trailblazers, and previously the long-time radio broadcaster for the Supersonics, including during Allen’s remarkable five season tenure with the team.
The two discussed the stars' similarities and differences on the heels of Curry's historic achievement.
While each of their shots usually resulted with the ball swishing at the bottom of the net, they both differed drastically in their process for getting the ball there.
"In terms of their pure technique and their shot location and so-forth, I think they were wildly different," Calabro said.
"Steph has just a quick release, doesn't really bound off the floor, is not a high riser when it comes to the jump shot. He snaps off a lot of shots, has a lot of different angles and so-forth that Ray just did not have."
Meanwhile, Calabro said Allen jumped "as high as any jump shooter I’ve seen" for a "picture perfect and technically perfect release."
Despite their mechanical differences, the two are unquestionably similar in both their shooting greatness on the floor and how they treat people off of it.
"(Allen) is really good guy with the people around him," Calabro said. "Ray wanted to know everybody’s name. He wanted to know the ball boy, the guy that was mopping up the sweat on the floor, the broadcasters, he wanted to know everybody's name. And my sense is that Curry has done the same thing at Golden State."
Pitman, who joined the Warriors in 2019, confirmed that sentiment.
"You always hear that old adage that 'true character is what you do when no one is watching.' And the way I see Steph engage with myself, with many many others... that’s when Steph steps up," he said. "I've never seen someone embrace that role of being the face of the franchise the way Stephen Curry does - and my only other comparison in my years doing this, is Ray Allen.”
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