SAN FRANCISCO — Like 3-pointers, records come in bunches for Steph Curry.
Curry eclipsed 25,000 career points over the weekend and is now just seven 3s away from another hallowed benchmark: 4,000 made 3s.
Before Curry changed the game, no one had ever reached 3,000 triples in their career. Now, everyone launches from Curry range and teams like the Celtics average nearly 50 attempts per game.
Last time Curry neared a 3-point milestone, in December of 2021, he admitted to psyching himself up. He was approaching Ray Allen’s record of 2,973 but labored to get there. He went through a mini-slump, shooting 34% from deep in the five games before setting the record in front of Allen at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 14, 2021.
Curry doesn’t have that same issue this time around.
Over the past 12 games, Curry is averaging 30.1 points per game, second in that span behind only MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He has hit 40% of his 3s since Feb. 5 and just ripped off an epic road trip that included a season-high 56-point burst.
“Steph is something like we’ve never seen,” Portland head coach Chauncey Billups said.
To reach 4,000 on Monday night, Curry would need to hit seven 3s. He’s done that in 11 of his 55 games this season, meaning that’s an ambitious target even for him. The feisty Blazers, led by Toumani Camara, Scoot Henderson and Deni Avdija, also rank seventh in defensive rating over the past 15 games.
But excellent performances have been coming more and more often recently for Curry. Nothing he does should be surprising anymore.
“I am desensitized to the 3s because they just come flooding through game after game,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “Four-thousand is just an insane number. But it just feels kind of natural.”
Warriors optimistic Kuminga, Podziemski return soon
Kerr said the team is “hopeful” that Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski return later this week. Kuminga is missing his 31st straight game on Monday with a severe ankle sprain; he’s been participating in full-contact scrimmages over the past week-plus. Podziemski, meanwhile, tweaked his back less than a minute into the Warriors’ game against the Nets last Thursday.
Curry’s new gig
Steph Curry joined his alma mater Davidson College as an assistant general manager of the basketball programs on Monday morning. He’s part of a team building an eight-figure fund to compensate athletes and will advise the team.
Kerr said he hopes the role is more ceremonial than practical.
“I’m wondering: is he going to clean house?” Kerr joked. “Is he going in there firing everywhere? I don’t know. We’ll see. I think he’s kinda busy. So I’m hoping it’s a ceremonial role more than anything. If he asks me if he can not play a game so he can go scout some college games, I’m probably going to say no. Although, it is Steph Curry, so I’ll probably say yes actually. I hope he does not ask.”
Double-bigs starting
For a second straight game, Quinten Post is starting in Podziemski’s slot, joining Draymond Green in a two-big front court. Post has been so effective as a floor-spacing center, he has pushed Trayce Jackson-Davis fully out of the rotation.
Golden State sent Jackson-Davis down to Santa Cruz to get real game reps on Sunday night. The Rising Star logged 28 points and 12 rebounds.