But Curry missed most of 2019-20 with a broken left hand. Although he bounced back last season, averaging 32 points a game, the team did not, missing the playoffs. Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala had left in 2019, and injuries cost Klay Thompson more than two full seasons. The golden years at Golden State seemed to be over.
Yet at 33, Curry has helped turn the team all the way around this year.
The continued development of Jordan Poole (17 points a game, up 5 from last season); Draymond Green’s outstanding defense, rebounding (eight a game) and passing (eight assists per game); and another solid season from Andrew Wiggins (18 p.p.g.) are all a part of the resurgence. But Curry rightly deserves a huge amount of the credit.
In his first 15 games, Curry already has three 40-point efforts and a 50-pointer against Atlanta last week. Thursday night was his fourth game with nine 3-pointers. At 29.5 points a game he leads the race for what would be his third scoring title.
Curry is indisputably the best 3-point shooter in the game’s history. Though he has maxed out at nine this year, in his career he has 22 games with double-digit 3s made; the next best player is Thompson, with a mere five.
Curry has not shied away from the shot. Early in his career, about a third of his shots came from beyond the arc. That increased to 50 percent and eventually 60 percent in his prime years. This season, fully 65 percent of his shots are from 3, which would be a career high. His 85 3-pointers made leads the league by 20.