In the opening seconds of Stephen Curry’s NBA career he got an assist on the first possession, a steal on the second and then tried …
In the opening seconds of Stephen Curry’s NBA career he got an assist on the first possession, a steal on the second and then tried a 3-pointer for the first time at the professional level. It missed. In that moment, there probably were not very many people expecting he would become the most prolific 3-point shooter in NBA history. Yet as the new NBA season starts Tuesday night, so does the countdown toward Curry surpassing Ray Allen’s mark for 3’s made in a career. Allen retired with 2,973 3-pointers in regular-season games. Curry is 141 behind, with 2,832 in his career. At his typical rate of 3’s made in recent years — about five per game — the Golden State sharpshooter could have the record by mid-December. Curry is the only player in NBA history to average at least five made 3’s per game over a full season. He’s done it three times. Curry also has four of the five seasons of at least 300 made 3’s, including a record 402 in 2015-16; James Harden had the other 300-plus season on that list. Allen never made more than 269 3’s in a season. Curry has topped that on six different occasions. Some other storylines and milestones to watch this season: LeBron James could become the NBA’s all-time scoring leader next season. And, technically, this season as well. James enters the season No.3 on the scoring list,1,561 points away from No.2 Karl Malone’s 36,928 points. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tops the list with 38,387 points — currently 3,020 ahead of James. If James averages 25 points per game, which he did last year, he would catch Malone in his 63rd game this season and could reach Abdul-Jabbar’s mark sometime around the midpoint of the 2022-23 campaign. All those numbers are regular-season games only, and for purposes of NBA record-keeping, that is the official tally. But if adding the playoffs, James is in line to become No.1 in career scoring this season. With postseason included, he has scored 42,998 points, just 1,151 away from Abdul-Jabbar’s 44,149, meaning that’s well within range for James this season. James has a few other milestones within reach this season. He’s 304 assists shy of 10,000,21 3-pointers away from 2,000, and one triple-double from having 100 of those. But perhaps the biggest stat quirk of James’ 1,310-game career is this: He averages 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game — but, somehow, has never had a game with exactly 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich has 1,310 career regular-season wins, putting him 26 away from outright possession of the NBA record. He’s currently third on the list, behind only No.2 Lenny Wilkens (1,332) and No.1 Don Nelson (1,335). Popovich is entering his 26th season as coach of the Spurs, extending his NBA record for longevity with one franchise.
