Anyone who has felt the three-point fury of Steph Curry could blame the New York Knicks.
By now, the Golden State Warriors point guard’s dominance, impact, and utter destruction of the modern NBA is well-known and then some. The future Hall-of-Famer holds the Association record for most successful three-pointers (a record he’d break against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden) and has been involved in each of the Warriors’ five championships in the new century. He’s set to embark upon a 15th NBA season in the Bay Area this fall.
Curry has haunted the Association for so long that it’s hard to believe there was ever a developmental stage to his career. but it took a while for the Davidson alum to fulfill his true potential after arriving the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. His stats were nothing to scoff at (17.5 points, 5.8 assists in his first three years) but he sought to improve, especially after injuries limited him to 26 games during the 2011-12 campaign.
Speaking with Willie Geist of NBC, Curry marked a visit to Madison Square Garden as the fateful turning point of his NBA career.
“We had a game in New York at the Garden. I scored 54 points but we lost that night,” Curry recalled (h/t @NBA_NewYork). “That game, specifically, just kind of changed the narrative. It was like “OK, we’ve got to take this kid seriously because he’s got game.’”
The game Curry refers to was a nationally-televised February 2013 showdown between New York and Golden State, each of whom was in the midst of a breakout season. Curry played all 48 minutes and shot a jaw-dropping 11-of-13 from three-point range. At the time, that output made up a career-best 54 points for Curry, who has since broken that single-game tally with 62 in a January 2021 win over Portland.
New York, however, eked out a 109-105 victory thanks to its own form of box score excess: as Tyson Chandler pulled in 28 rebounds, complementing a 35-point showing from Carmelo Anthony.
In that season, the Knicks went on to win 54 games and their first playoff series since 2000. Curry’s Warriors ended a five-year playoff drought before falling to the San Antonio juggernaut in the second round, but the shooter had made his prescience felt: in that season, Curry finished with averages of 22.9 points and 6.9 assists, both career-bests at the time. His first championship arrived two seasons later as Golden State disposed of Cleveland in five games.
Curry has been connected to the Knicks from the second he made his NBA arrival: at seventh overall, Curry was one pick away from landing in the Knicks’ sights at No. 8 in the 2009 draft, but Golden State took the victorious plunge instead. New York settled for Jordan Hill, who played 24 games in a single season with the organization.
