HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – Three is greater than two.
It’s simple math, and the NBA is realizing it more and more each year.
This season, the league has made and attempted more 3s than it ever has. Both the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets have passed the previous single-season, team highs for 3-point makes and attempts. And now, with one game left in the regular season, Stephen Curry is just two 3-pointers away from setting the all-time record for most 3-pointers made in one season by an individual.
Most 3-pointers, single season
| Player | Team | Season | GP | 3PM | 3PA | 3PT% | 3PA% |
| Ray Allen | Seattle | 2005-06 | 78 | 269 | 653 | 41.2% | 43.5% |
| Stephen Curry | Golden State | 2012-13 | 77 | 268 | 589 | 45.5% | 42.9% |
| Dennis Scott | Orlando | 1995-96* | 82 | 267 | 628 | 42.5% | 56.2% |
| George McCloud | Dallas | 1995-96* | 79 | 257 | 678 | 37.9% | 52.9% |
| Jason Richardson | Charlotte | 2007-08 | 82 | 243 | 599 | 40.6% | 40.8% |
| Peja Stojakovic | Sacramento | 2003-04 | 81 | 240 | 554 | 43.3% | 40.0% |
| Mookie Blaylock | Atlanta | 1995-96* | 81 | 231 | 623 | 37.1% | 55.5% |
| Peja Stojakovic | New Orleans | 2007-08 | 77 | 231 | 524 | 44.1% | 51.1% |
| Ray Allen | Milwaukee | 2001-02 | 69 | 229 | 528 | 43.4% | 46.0% |
| Reggie Miller | Indiana | 1996-97* | 81 | 229 | 536 | 42.7% | 43.1% |
* The 3-point line was shorter (22 feet all around) in 1994-95, 1995-96 & 1996-97
3PA% = Percentage of total shots from 3-point range
Curry put himself in this position after hitting nine 3s in L.A. on Friday and another seven against the Spurs on Monday, the 19th and 20th times he’s hit at least five 3s in a game this season.
In only 12 of his 77 games has Curry hit fewer than two 3s, so the odds are good that he’ll get the two he needs in Portland on Wednesday. The Blazers have the fourth-best 3-point defense in the league, but Curry hit seven treys against them less than three weeks ago.
Curry is the Warriors’ point guard, so most of his 3s have come from above the break. Only 46 of his 268 3s have come from the corners, but Curry has shot the worst from the top of the key. And he’s clearly more comfortable from the right side of the floor…
Stephen Curry’s 3-point shot chart
Curry leads the league with 103 unassisted 3-pointers, but 165 (62 percent) of Curry’s 3s have been assisted, by nine different teammates.
Assists on Stephen Curry’s 3-pointers
| Player | Assists | % |
| Jarrett Jack | 62 | 23% |
| David Lee | 41 | 15% |
| Klay Thompson | 24 | 9% |
| Harrison Barnes | 16 | 6% |
| Andrew Bogut | 10 | 4% |
| Carl Landry | 5 | 2% |
| Festus Ezeli | 3 | 1% |
| Draymond Green | 2 | 1% |
| Kent Bazemore | 1 | 0% |
| Andris Biedrins | 1 | 0% |
| Unassisted | 103 | 38% |
Only 39 percent of his 3s from the top of the key have been assisted, vs. 67 percent from the wings and corners. Combine that with his shooting percentage numbers (worse at the top) and it’s clear that he’s a better shooter off the pass than off the dribble.
The way things are going, we may see somebody top 300 3-pointers in a season sometime soon. And it may be Curry. For now, he’ll have to settle for this place in the NBA record book.
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – When then Minnesota Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale put the finishing touches on the eight-player deal that brought Kevin Love to Minnesota for O.J. Mayo on draft night 2008, folks from Minneapolis to Memphis and back went (for lack of a better word) crazy.
