Steph Curry is primed to lead the NBA in 3-pointers made in 2021-22

Steph Curry is once more the heavy favorite to be the leader in 3-point field goals made per game in the NBA this year. But despite his singular prowess, there are always challengers. Do any of those down-ballot upstarts provide enough value to be worth a look? Let’s survey Curry and some of his competitors to see where the best bet lies.

STEPH CURRY IS IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Wardell Stephen Curry II is the greatest shooter of all time (and naturally the greatest 3-point shooter of all time). Currently sitting at 2,832 career 3’s, Steph is on pace to become the all-time leader in career 3-pointers made this season, surpassing Ray Allen at 2,973 - in half as many seasons as it took Allen. But Curry’s style of play, the sheer volume and audacity of his shot-making, has bred a league of copycats, ensuring that no 3-point record, in-season or career, is totally safe.

Last season, Curry handily lead the NBA in 3-pointers made despite playing eight fewer games than runner-up Buddy Hield, because Steph hit an eye-popping 5.3 3’s per game, around 30% more per game than Buddy. At 32, Steph is still the unquestioned Alpha of the Golden State Warriors’ offense. The return of Klay Thompson should do nothing to diminish Steph’s overall attempts, it will only make it even easier for him to get open looks.

STEPH’S COMPETITORS

Buddy Hield, as runner-up both of the last two years, deserves some consideration. He certainly has the talent.

But the Sacramento Kings’ roster situation has the potential to hurt Hield’s production. After a trade that would have sent Hield to the Los Angeles Lakers was scuttled, the Kings took yet another guard in this year’s draft, Summer League Co-MVP and former Baylor standout Davion Mitchell. Mitchell was a dominant defender in Summer League, locking up sophomore players like Payton Pritchard. With De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton also worthy of playing starter minutes, it’s possible that Buddy falls out of favor. With that uncertainty, Buddy isn’t a good bet.

James Harden, who led the league in 3-pointers made 2017-18 and 2018-19, sits all the way down at +8000. But with good reason. While playing for the Houston Rockets, the entire offense was built around Harden, and in particular his above-the-break step-back 3. Since the trade to the Brooklyn Nets, Harden established himself much more as a pass-first point guard, seeing his attempts from deep fall precipitously all the way from 12.4 in 2019-2020 to 7.3 on the Nets. A bet on Harden is bet against the health of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, which at +8000, is reasonable enough, but hard to totally justify.

Paul George at +2000 might look appealing, as he was runner-up in 2017-18 and he’ll be playing as the primary scorer for the Los Angeles Clippers for an indeterminate amount of time until Kawhi Leonard returns. But a closer look dispels this notion. Per Statmuse, George’s attempts from 3 remained basically static during the 22 games he played without Kawhi Leonard on the Clippers. At around 7.9 per game, he doesn’t have a real chance.

Damian Lillard then, as arguably the best shooter of this group behind Steph, seems to be the last, best possibility. Lillard is as audacious, if not even more so, than Steph.

And he’ll be out to prove something this season, both hoping to quiet trade talk with his play as well as prove that his poor outing for Team USA during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was the result of an abdominal injury. Per Cleaning the Glass, the overall percentage of Lillard’s offense that comes from 3’s and his usage have steadily risen over his career, peaking last season when 48% of his total shot attempts were 3’s.

But that still pales in comparison to Curry, for whom the number was 55%.

Curry isn't about to slow down yet

At this point, betting against Steph is akin to betting against LeBron in the first round of the playoffs. You’re more or less counting on a major injury, because there is little argument to be made they’re losing otherwise.

Despite revolutionizing the league and inspiring a generation of competitors, Steph truly remains in a league of his own. Even at -167, Curry is the best bet on the board.