JR reacts to Stephen Curry becoming the NBA's new three-point king
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will always be remembered as one of the NBA's greatest three-point shooters. But on Tuesday night, in front of a sold-out crowd in New York City, the transcendent superstar officially became the game's very best.
During the first quarter of the Warriors' 105-96 win over the New York Knicks, Curry drained his 2,974th career three-pointer, surpassing Hall of Fame guard Ray Allen's all-time record. When the ball went through the hoop, the Warriors quickly fouled and called timeout, allowing Curry to soak in the moment with teammates and family. Another historic event at Madison Square Garden.
"I have no idea, in my lifetime, whether we'll ever see another human being shoot the basketball the way he's shot it," JR said during Tuesday's edition of the JR SportBrief show. "Curry is able to take and make shots from locations that players in previous generations would've gotten benched for. We see it at all levels... The way Curry plays, whether you like it or love it, he's helped change the game of basketball... His impact has been absolutely ridiculous.
"I think it's just a matter of how long it lasts. And when it comes down to his record, it took Curry less than 800 games to get this record. You think about Ray Allen, it took him 1,300 games. You think about Reggie Miller, it took him almost 1,400 games... Curry is going to obliterate this record. He's going to have more than 4,000 threes. And I have no idea who's going to play catch-up or shoot at the rate he is. He makes zero sense."
Curry, who scored a team-high 22 points on 8 of 19 shooting, is performing at an MVP-caliber level this season. Through 27 games, the league's new three-point king leads the Warriors in average points (26.9), and his mark also ranks fourth-best in the NBA. Curry has never shot below 40-percent from behind the arc in his career, and if he maintains his health and scoring pace, the two-time MVP could easily reach 4,000-plus threes before his contract expires.
Golden State, which owns the league's best record at 23-5, returns to action on Friday in a road matchup against the Boston Celtics (14-14). According to FiveThirtyEight, the Warriors are currently projected to win 55 regular season games, and their 9-percent chance to reach next summer's NBA Finals ranks fifth-best in the Western Conference.
JR's complete thoughts on Curry's record-breaking moment can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the JR SportBrief show on Twitter @JRSportBrief and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.
