Stephen Curry has a legitimate chance to go down as the greatest shooter in NBA playoff history.
With just two days before the Golden State-Cleveland NBA Finals finally begins, an appreciation of Curry’s shooting stroke — and the changing landscape of how offenses emphasize the three — point to Curry having a chance to at least be part of an elite playoff performance list.
The 27-year-old MVP ideally will be playing in many more postseasons over the course of his career and should be able to combine made 3-pointers and efficiency from the floor to eclipse every legendary playoff shooter, all of whom will be mentioned in some form below.
Playing in just his third NBA postseason, Curry already has eclipsed 100 made 3-pointers and did so with the seventh-best percentage of all time among players with at least 100 makes.
| Player | Makes | Attempts | Percentage |
| Kenny Smith | 117 | 261 | 44.8 |
| Jeff Hornacek | 122 | 282 | 43.3 |
| Danny Green | 136 | 317 | 42.9 |
| Bruce Bowen | 168 | 398 | 42.2 |
| Trevor Ariza | 109 | 261 | 41.8 |
| Brent Barry | 102 | 245 | 41.6 |
| Stephen Curry | 137 | 330 | 41.5 |
| Steve Nash | 178 | 438 | 40.6 |
| Ray Allen | 385 | 959 | 40.1 |
| Derek Fisher | 285 | 715 | 39.9 |
You may recognize the name at the top of the list from everyone’s favorite TNT studio show, but Kenny Smith indeed has the best high volume 3-point shooting percentage. Current Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek — always known as a prolific shooter and currently known for possibly being on the hot seat — is second, followed by current and former Spurs Danny Green and Bruce Bowen, respectively; Houston sharpshooter Trevor Ariza; NBA TV’s Brent Barry; and Curry.
The major difference between Curry and the players above him on is that Curry is unquestionably the best player on his team, the alpha dog for a squad that won 67 games and reached the NBA Finals. Not even shooting legends Steve Nash and Ray Allen had higher percentages than Curry, although that could change as Curry launches more from downtown over the course of his career.
Curry obviously still has a long way to go to crack the top 10 for made threes over a career, but you can envision him close to the top of the following list of postseason shooting greats.
| Player | Makes | Attempts | Percentage |
| Ray Allen | 385 | 959 | 40.1 |
| Reggie Miller | 320 | 820 | 39.0 |
| Manu Ginobili | 300 | 826 | 36.3 |
| Kobe Bryant | 292 | 882 | 33.1 |
| Derek Fisher | 285 | 715 | 39.9 |
| Paul Pierce | 271 | 762 | 35.6 |
| Chauncey Billups | 267 | 729 | 36.6 |
| Robert Horry | 261 | 728 | 35.9 |
| LeBron James | 242 | 759 | 31.9 |
| Jason Kidd | 236 | 733 | 32.2 |
When you think of playoff shooters, Ray Allen and Reggie Miller should immediately come to mind, and for good reason. Not only have they combined for over 700 made threes in their postseason careers, they did so with two of the three highest percentages on this list. in sneaky fashion, Knicks coach and former Lakers point guard Derek Fisher nailed just under 40 percent of his playoff 3-pointers. Other classic phenomenal shotmakers such as Manu Ginobili, Chauncey Billups and Robert Horry grace this list.
Unlike the previous charts, this list features players who helped lead their teams to Finals appearances. Miller reached one Finals as a player. Paul Pierce helped lead the Celtics to a championship. Kobe Bryant is on this list despite hitting fewer than a third of his threes, and LeBron James has an even lower percentage, dragged down by his poor shooting in this year’s playoffs, which ss addressed here).
Jason Kidd helped lead the New Jersey Nets to two Finals appearances, but he will be the first player in the top 10 to be caught by Curry. Curry’s 41.5 percent shooting from three coupled with the modern NBA offense assures that he will be on this list in fairly short order.
NBA offenses are launching threes and passing up mid-range jumpers like never before. After researching the 20 NBA finalists over the last decade – including this year’s Warriors and Cavs – the trend toward 3-point shooting is impossible to ignore.
| NBA Finalists | Pace Rank | Made 3s | Attempted 3s | Percentage |
| 2014-2015 Warriors | 1 | 10.8 | 27.0 | 39.8 |
| 2014-2015 Cavs | 25 | 10.1 | 27.5 | 36.7 |
| 2013-2014 Spurs | 10 | 8.5 | 21.4 | 39.7 |
| 2013-2014 Heat | 27 | 8.1 | 22.3 | 36.4 |
| 2012-2013 Heat | 23 | 8.7 | 22.1 | 39.6 |
| 2012-2013 Spurs | 6 | 8.1 | 21.5 | 37.6 |
| 2011-2012 Heat | 16 | 5.6 | 15.6 | 35.9 |
| 2011-2012 Thunder | 6 | 7.2 | 20.0 | 35.8 |
| 2010-2011 Mavericks | 17 | 7.9 | 21.6 | 36.5 |
| 2010-2011 Heat | 20 | 6.7 | 18.0 | 37.0 |
| 2009-2010 Lakers | 14 | 6.5 | 19.0 | 34.1 |
| 2009-2010 Celtics | 22 | 6.1 | 17.5 | 34.8 |
| 2008-2009 Lakers | 5 | 6.7 | 18.5 | 36.1 |
| 2008-2009 Magic | 12 | 10.0 | 26.2 | 38.1 |
| 2007-2008 Celtics | 19 | 7.3 | 19.1 | 38.1 |
| 2007-2008 Lakers | 6 | 8.1 | 21.4 | 37.8 |
| 2006-2007 Spurs | 27 | 7.3 | 19.0 | 38.1 |
| 2006-2007 Cavs | 18 | 6.0 | 17.1 | 35.2 |
| 2005-2006 Heat | 12 | 6.1 | 17.6 | 34.5 |
| 2005-2006 Mavericks | 27 | 5.1 | 13.6 | 37.4 |
| Averages | 15.65 | 7.545 | 20.3 | 36.96 |
Both Golden State and Cleveland attempt and make more 3-pointers than any other Finals team over the last 10 years. The only other team in the last decade to reach the Finals while making 10 triples a game is the 2008-2009 Orlando Magic, who beautifully spaced the floor around Dwight Howard but fell to a superior Lakers team.
It also comes as no coincidence that the last two NBA champions, the 2014 Spurs and the 2013 Heat, had the best percentages from three until this season’s Warriors came along. If you look at the averages at the bottom of the list, the pace of play (the estimated number of possessions a team has per 48 minutes) doesn’t really factor into who makes the Finals. But we have reached a point where every championship-level team takes and makes more threes than ever before, and that bodes well for Curry and his Warriors.
Take a look at Curry’s postseason shot chart this season and you will see why he has a good chance to be the best playoff shooter ever.
Over 52 percent of Curry’s shots this postseason have come from the arc, and he has hit 43.7 percent of them. Areas in green mean that his percentages are above the league average, which he is from four of the five 3-point zones. That includes hitting 12 of his 13 left corner threes, which is decidedly unfair.
With his ability to hit shots as his team’s primary offensive player unlike anyone in league history, coupled with the historic frequency of teams attempting 3-point shots, Curry definitely has the ability to become the best postseason shooter in NBA history.
Shlomo Sprung is a national columnist for SheridanHoops who focuses on analytics, profiles and features. He is also the web editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, The Sporting News, Business Insider and other publications. You should follow him on Twitter.