Sixers’ Doc Rivers compares the shooting of Steph Curry and Ray Allen
Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry is on the verge of making history. After knocking down three 3-pointers on Saturday in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, he is now just seven triples away from passing Ray Allen for the most in NBA history.
Curry is one of those shooters who has range as soon as he crosses halfcourt. The guy has just made some wild 3-pointers in his career off the dribble, with movement, drawing contact, defenders in his air space, it doesn’t matter. He has been able to make it look so effortless and easy. It has been so impressive to watch.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers coached Allen during their time together with the Boston Celtics so he understands what a terrific shooter looks like. Allen was more of a spot-up shooter compared to what Curry does, but he was absolutely amazing to watch shoot the basketball.
“They’re both terrific shooters,” said Rivers. “It’s funny, Steph, just his imagination, the 3s that he’s made off the dribble, and from the point and the places that he made them from have made him just an unbelievable shooter, obviously, but it’s just different eras.”
It is most certainly different eras. Curry is averaging 13.4 3-point attempts in the 2021-22 season while the most triples Allen attempted per game was 8.4 in the 2005-06 season with the then-Settle SuperSonics. The most triples he averaged under Rivers in Boston was 6.2 per game in the first two seasons with the Celtics.
“One guy said ‘We didn’t play that way’,” Rivers added. “We didn’t take that many 3s and yet Ray was still able to get the record that he got with the way we played. What was Ray’s high in 3-point attempts in a game? Does anybody know that? And then how many times? It would be interesting to look at that.”
The most 3-pointers Allen ever attempted in a season was 269 in that 2005-06 season in Seattle. Curry has attempted 886 triples in a single season once in the 2015-16 season. Obviously, the more 3-pointers you put up, the better chance you have to make them, but both Curry and Allen are two of the greatest shooters to ever play the game.
“They both, you can’t take anything away from either one of them,” Rivers finished. “The greatest shooter of all time. Steph, Ray, Reggie (Miller) has to be in the room, right? They’re all great. Nobody wants to guard any of them. I’ll put it that way.”
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