Stephen and Seth Curry grew up in NBA arenas, following around their dad. They spent countless hours shooting with and playing against each other, learning to anticipate each others’ moves like psychics.
Steph, now 10 3-pointers away from Ray Allen’s all-time record, can officially become the most prolific shooter in NBA history any game now. It would be fitting if he does it on Saturday in the Wells Fargo Center, with his brother Seth sharing the court.
Injuries and other roster-related issues have led to the biggest role of Seth’s career. He has started 24 games and is enjoying more volume while maintaining his offensive efficiency with Philadelphia this year. He’s averaging a career-best 16.3 points per game on over 50% shooting from the floor and 40% from 3.
Seth told KNBR in a late November interview that his older brother “deserves” to own the all-time record.
“I mean, it’s special,” Seth said. “He deserves it. He changed the game, changed the way every team in the league and a lot of people growing up approach the game and what they want to work on. He should be the leader in that. He’s the best shooter to ever do it, not only from 3 but midrange, finishing, off the dribble, off the catch. He can do it, in every sense of the word, shoot. He’s worked for it. It’s a longevity record, too. He’s been consistently the best shooter since he stepped in the league.”
Steph led the NBA in total 3-pointers made every year from 2012 to 2017. His counting numbers took a slight dip when Kevin Durant joined the Warriors, but he again made more 3s than anyone else in 2020-21 and currently sets the pace for this season.
Steph has said in the past that Seth is one of the toughest defenders to play against, joining a list that includes Jrue Holiday, Tony Allen, Patrick Beverley and Avery Bradley.
“Seth Curry is the one that frustrates me the most,” Steph said in an interview last spring. “He just has that look, like ‘I know what you’re going to do.’”
Playing against his older brother his entire life gives Seth a competitive edge, he said. He’s watched more Steph Curry than any other player, so he often subconsciously knows what’s coming — especially with his left-handed and behind-the-back passes, Seth said.
In 2019, the Currys faced off in the 2019 Western Conference Finals, back when Seth played for Portland. The younger guard, mainly tasked with checking Steph, recorded a team-high seven steals in the series.
But in their most recent matchup, Steph fooled his older brother a handful of times. Seth especially didn’t see this first-quarter move coming.
In that game, though, Seth out-played the two-time MVP for most of the night. Seth finished with 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting, while Steph recorded 25 and hit six 3-pointers. He’ll need to play even better to break the record on Saturday.
Steph gets his, even when faced with the toughest defenders. It took Allen 1,300 games to set the all-time record; Steph is 10 away at Game No. 786. If he continues to thrive into his mid 30s, as many shooters (including Allen) historically have, he could etch seemingly one of the most untouchable records in sports.
“I mean, no record is unbreakable, but it’s going to be one of the hardest records to break, I feel like,” Seth said. “Because not only is it longevity but it’s high skill. You’ve got to be able to shoot in tons of different ways. There’s a lot of guys who can do it in a couple ways, but not in every sense of the word. It’s tough when you come into a game knowing he wants to get up 15-20 3s in a game and he still gets them off and hits them at a high clip. I think it’s going to be one of the most unbreakable ones, but nothing is impossible.”