Taking note of their physical similarities and small college backgrounds, Warriors point guard Stephen Curry admits that as a youngster he studied Steve Nash, who also played point guard.
Curry’s career with the Warriors has in some ways equaled and eclipsed that of Nash, who retired two years ago after 18 seasons in the NBA.
The latest came Sunday, in 116-108 win over Minnesota, when Curry drilled a pair of 3-pointers to zoom past Nash into 17th place on the all-time list for 3-pointers. Curry boosted his total to 1,687, two ahead of Nash.
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Coming out of Santa Clara, Nash played 1,217 games. Curry, who attended Davidson College, has played 520.
In his role as player development consultant coach for the Warriors, Nash often works closely with Curry. So he was rather pleased at being bumped by Curry, who conceivably could enter the top 10 before the end of the season.
“It’s always fun to see the young guys climb the charts,” Nash said through a team spokesman. “I expect that he will be much higher on that list before he is finished with his incredible career.”
Like Nash, Curry owns two MVP trophies. Like Nash, Curry won his in back-to-back seasons. Like Nash, Curry presides over offenses that lead the NBA in scoring. Nash made eight trips to the All-Star Game, while Curry has made three. Nash won three Player of the Month awards; Curry has won eight.
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Curry has achieved one more goal that eluded Nash: an NBA championship.
1. Ray Allen 2973
2. Reggie Miller* 2560
3. Jason Terry 2181
4. Paul Pierce 2133
5. Jason Kidd 1988
6. Jamal Crawford 1965
7. Vince Carter 1961
8. Kyle Korver 1925
9. Joe Johnson 1864
10. Chauncey Billups 1830
11. Kobe Bryant 1827
12. Rashard Lewis 1787
13. Peja Stojakovic 1760
14. Dale Ellis 1719
15. J.R. Smith 1715
16. Dirk Nowitzki 1707
17. Stephen Curry 1687 (and counting)
18. Steve Nash 1685