It’s been said that Stephen Curry is the best shooter of all-time. He set the NBA record with 286 made three-pointers last season, leading the league in made three-pointers for the third straight season.
But let’s get granular and see how Curry fairs on different play types that showcase his shooting prowess in a number of different areas.
TRANSITION:
Curry shot an effective field goal percentage of 65.6% in transition. Among players with at least 100 transition plays, that ranked 23rd in the NBA. More than 55% of Curry’s shots in transition came as the ball handler, as opposed to filling a wing or trailing.
OFF A SCREEN:
Curry came off a screen and shot the ball on 139 plays last season. His effective field goal percentage was 60.4%. The only player with a higher effective field goal percentage last season (min. 50 plays) was Kyle Korver. Curry was especially deadly when coming off a screen to his right – a rate 8.5% more efficient than to his left.
CATCH-AND-SHOOT JUMPERS IN HALFCOURT:
Curry shot an effective field goal percentage of 65.2% on catch-and-shoots in the halfcourt. That was sixth in the NBA (min. 100 plays), behind Luke Babbitt, Eric Gordon, Kyle Korver, Chris Paul and Aaron Brooks.
DRIBBLE JUMPERS IN HALFCOURT:
Curry was the best in the NBA on dribble jumpers in the halfcourt (min. 100 plays). His effective field goal percentage was 54.9%. Curry and Kevin Durant were the only players with percentages above 50%.
HAND OFFS:
Curry shot an effective field goal percentage of 67.9% from a stationary hand off, best in the league (min. 25 plays). He shot an effective field goal percentage of 48.9% on dribble hand offs, 26th in the NBA (min. 25 plays).
PICK-AND-ROLL:
More of Curry’s points came in the pick-and-roll than any other play type. His tendency was to utilize a screen and take a dribble jumper. More than 60% of his points in the pick-and-roll were scored this way. Curry shot an effective field goal percentage of 57.0% when taking a dribble jumper off a screen in the pick-and-roll. That was the best in the league (min. 100 plays).
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.