Though Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are known as the “Splash Brothers” together, it’s the reigning MVP who won the NBA’s three-point shootout on All-Star Saturday Night a year ago and is generally regarded as the “lead” of the duo.
But his teammate and practice companion, Andre Iguodala, says he isn’t even the best shooter within his own backcourt. Though Curry shoots a shade better on a percentage basis from distance than his mate Thompson (45.4% to 42.0%), the margin is close enough where a friendly debate can at least be held by Golden State’s teammates.
One year after initially making his choice, last year’s NBA Finals MVP is standing by his opinion.
Curry did return to the final round of the three-point shootout in this year’s competition, but his score of 23 was bested in the final moments by a scintillating score of 27 from Thompson.
Moments after the competition, Iguodala offered a gentle “I told you so” reminder to his followers:
If y’all look at my IG post exactly a year ago I said the best shooter on the planet got 2nd…. He proved me right this year….
— Andre Iguodala (@andre) February 14, 2016
Here’s the aforementioned Instagram post from February 2015, as proof:
A photo posted by Andre Iguodala (@andre) on
Unfortunately for the rest of the league, Curry and Thompson won’t be competing with each other any longer. Once this weekend’s All-Star break in Toronto ends, they’ll rejoin forces with Iguodala on the now 48-4 Warriors — and the only “loser” will be most of the other backcourts standing in their way.
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for both SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.