Steph Curry

Can Steph open 5K 3-pointer Club? Don't bet against Warriors star

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SAN FRANCISCO – Steph Curry defies high definition. He’s 4K – a step above, creating new records as he goes. 

On his fourth 3-point attempt in the Warriors’ 130-104 win against the Sacramento Kings, Curry gave Golden State a nine-point lead Thursday night at Chase Center a few minutes into the third quarter, giving him 4,000 3-pointers for his career.

Club 4K only has one member: Curry. 

So did Club 3K when Curry first established it. 

Steph opened its doors as a late Christmas gift to himself on Dec. 28, 2021. All he needed was three years and a little more than two months to upgrade to a doper spot down the block. How far can Curry keep pushing the 3-point barriers? 

“Eight thousand?” Steve Kerr semi-jokingly responded. “Who knows? Who knows? It just seems like it was not too long ago that he broke the record. And what was that? Less than 3,000. (Kerr is told 2,974)

“He just keeps going. The way that he keeps himself in shape, in condition, in rhythm – he’s going to make another thousand, for sure. That’s what I would guess, but who knows.”

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Curry’s two threes while being face guarded and top locked for all 94 feet puts him at 253 in 57 games this season. He’s making 4.4 threes per game, and he hasn’t missed a game since Jan. 28. Bilateral knee tendinitis had a treatment plan called Trading For Jimmy Butler

Assuming he plays every game the rest of the season, though Kerr would love to give him a rest or two if the playoff picture ever becomes clearer, Curry’s 3-point rate would have him finish his 16th regular season with around 324 threes. That puts him at 4,071 for his career. 

Shooters know shooters. They share a secret language, and Curry holds the passcode to where everybody wants to be but know it’s a place out of their reach. 

“Very special,” Buddy Hield said to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke in response to Curry reaching 4,000 career threes. “Growing up, you never think that mark will be in reach. But every year, every game, Steph always amazes people. It just shows his true dedication to the game of basketball and he’s been tremendously blessed.

“I just hope he gets to 5,000. I think he can do it.”

Say it again, Buddy. Five thousand? 

“I think so,” Hield said, doubling down. “I was doing the math the other day. … If he makes, what, 330 threes the next three years, I think he’s good for it. Nothing’s impossible for him.”

Those last four words beat math. Curry beat the system. He altered the game. Hield, as someone who joined Club 2K this season, should be heard. 

Curry’s current pace has him a few threes shy of Hield’s calculation. That’s questioning a couple of games of Curry going berserk behind the 3-point line. As history shows, that option always has to be considered. 

Giving him 330 threes this season now moves his career mark to 4,077. Curry’s current contract has two more years on it after this season ends, running through the 2026-27 season. Hield has Curry making 660 total threes in the final two years of his contract, now adding up to 4,737. Or, 263 short of 5,000.

But Curry said the day before he reached 4,000, two days before he turns 37 years old, he’s already eyeing to play past the 2026-27 season. 

“I know how my contract's lined up, and I would like to outplay that for sure,” Curry said on 95.7 The Game's "Steiny & Guru" after Warriors practice Wednesday. “But how long that goes? I have no idea."

What about just one more season? Can Curry, in what would be his 19th season, make 263 threes? In a final campaign where he would turn 40 with one month left in the regular season? 

If Curry were to play 62 games and miss 20 in his age-39 season, one year longer than his current contract goes, he’d have to average 4.3 threes made per game to get to 5,000.

Doubt him at your own risk. Look where that has got him: Standing on a mountain nobody once dared to climb. 

“This is a really cool milestone,” Curry said, walking back to the Warriors locker room. “Let’s see how far we can push this thing.”

Don’t look now, but the competitor inside Curry is already drawing blueprints to Club 5K.

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