Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is widely considered to be one of the greatest — if not the greatest — shooters of all time. He’s made the second-most 3-pointers in NBA history, behind only Ray Allen, and he has shattered a plethora of other shooting records in the process. By the time he retires, he will likely hold virtually every shooting-related record.
Steph isn’t the only great shooter in his family, though. His father, Dell, was an extremely effective shooter during his own playing days, as he knocked down over 1,200 3-pointers and shot over 40 percent from long range over the course of his career.
Then there’s Seth Curry — Steph’s brother, and the starting shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers. Seth is in the midst of his first season in Philadelphia, and he’s having a career year when it comes to shooting the basketball. In fact, Seth is on pace to set a shooting record that even Steph hasn’t accomplished. On the season so far, Seth is shooting over 50 percent from the floor, over 50 percent from long range, and 100 percent from the foul line. The man has yet to miss a free throw. On the season, he’s gone 30-for-30 from the charity stripe. If he can keep those marks up for the rest of the season, he would be the first player ever to do so.
Seth’s shooting from all over the floor has been extremely impressive this season, and the good news for Philadelphia is that it has translated to wins, too. The Sixers are 15-3 when Seth suits up, compared to just 3-4 when he’s out. Curry was forced to miss seven straight games after testing positive for COVID-19 last month.
Curry has proven to be an excellent fit alongside Sixers All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Embiid and Simmons’ ability to draw the attention of opposing defenses has resulted in some open opportunities for Curry, while Curry’s gravity, and the fact that defenders shouldn’t leave him to offer help elsewhere, has in turn opened the court up for Embiid and Simmons. As a result, the SIxers look a lot less clunky on the offensive end than they did last season.
While the Sixers are benefitting greatly from Curry’s ability to space the floor, his former franchise, the Dallas Mavericks are clearly missing the sharpshooting guard. After finishing 10th overall in the league in team 3-point shooting percentage last season, the Mavericks are dead last this season. That drop can’t all be attributed to the loss of Curry, but it has certainly played a part.
Seth has largely been forced to live under his brother’s supersized shadow since he entered the league in 2013, but he’s quietly done an excellent job of establishing himself as a great player and a deadeye shooter. Now that he’s playing a key role on a contender, perhaps he will begin to gain a little more recognition.
