Curry is the most difficult record to break, and he is definitely the three-pointer in history.

On July 30, in the NBA's history scroll, three-pointers have long evolved from tactical embellishment to symbols of the times, and Stephen Curry is the ultimate embodiment of this change. When he surpassed Lei Allen to the top of the historical three-pointer on December 15, 2021, this record was destined to be marked as "Curry exclusive". Now three years later, the Golden State Warriors' totem-level figure has pushed the record to an astonishing 4,023 (as of July 2025), leading second-place Ray Allen by more than 1,400. What's even more shocking is that the 37-year-old Curry still maintains the terrifying efficiency of 4.1 three-pointers per game. At this pace, when he retires, he is likely to freeze the number to more than 5,000 points - this is equivalent to averaging 3.4 three-pointers per game in 20 consecutive seasons in the league. Looking at the current league, there are only a handful of players who can achieve this data in a single season.

**The perfect symbiosis between talent and system**

Curry's greatness is that he not only redefined the boundaries of range, but also subverted the traditional shooting selection logic. Early scout reports questioned that he was "too reliant on outside shooting", but he did not know that this was the evolutionary key of modern basketball. Through sports science data analysis, Curry's career assist rate of three-pointers has dropped from 82% in his rookie season to 54% today, which means that nearly half of the three-pointers come from strong shots with the ball. This "undifferential fire" ability comes from his historically top shooting mechanism - a 0.3-second shooting speed (15% faster than the league average), and a 6.5-foot maximum shooting point (compared to Durant), allowing it to maintain an anti-interference hit rate of more than 38% even when facing a block.

The Warriors' dynasty's innovative systems such as "elevator door tactics" and "split action" have certainly amplified Curry's threat, but what really makes the record difficult to reach is his unique rhythm of "man-ball integration". In the 2023 playoff against the Kings, Curry completed a three-pointer final in 0.8 seconds of receiving time. High-speed photography shows that he has begun to bend his knees 0.2 seconds before receiving the ball. This predictive shooting preparation is hailed as "a violation of ergonomic muscle memory" in the NBA shooting coaching circle.

**The barriers of the times and the desperate gap between latecomers**

Damian Lillard (2567 records), who is closest to Curry, is 34 years old. According to current efficiency, it will take another 7 full seasons to approach; new generation shooters such as Trae Young (1489 records) need to maintain an average of 3.5 three-pointers until the age of 38 - this has not yet considered the damage to injuries. What's even more cruel is mathematical logic: Suppose a player averages 3 three-pointers per game since he was 22 years old (already the top scorer standard), plays 82 regular season games and is not injured in 15 years, and has a total output of only 3,690, which is still behind Curry's current record of 333.

The league even modified the rules to restrict Curry from 2017: "Horse-stair" defense is strictly prohibited, and new "wrist-turning punishment" regulations are added in 2022, but these have stimulated him to develop a more strange way of attack. In the game against the Celtics last season, Curry completed an 8-foot "shot three-pointer" from outside the 8-foot defense. This technique that combines pushing and jumping shots was confirmed by Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser, "the training shooting percentage can reach 61%. Behind the irreplicative nature of cultural genes is the intergenerational revolution of basketball philosophy. Curry's three-point percentage in the early stage of his career accounted for only 43%, but now it has soared to 58%. The "Curry effect" brought about completely reshapes the youth training system. The three-point shooting in the under-12 group of the American AAU League increased by 217% in the past five years. The 2024 youth training outline of the Chinese Basketball Association has included "7-meter-outside shot" in the U10 assessment indicators. This trend of three-pointers in the nation seems to shorten the distance from the record, but actually increases the difficulty of catching up. When all defensive resources are targeted at the outside, maintaining a shooting rate of more than 40% requires an ultimate projection talent than the Curry era.

Nike Sports Science Lab used AI to simulate "record-breaking possibilities": in 1 million virtual careers, only 0.17% of simulated players can break through 4,000 three-pointers before the age of 38, on the premise that "has Curry-level hand-eye coordination ability + Nash-level durability + Ray Allen's career length". In reality, Curry is writing a legend in these three dimensions at the same time - his career attendance rate is as high as 89%, his three-point shooting percentage has exceeded 40% for 12 consecutive seasons, and his effective three-point shooting percentage in the 2024-25 season (73.1%) even hit a career high.

Looking back in 2025, Curry's significance to three-pointers has surpassed the data itself. When the new generation of players regard "logo shot" as a conventional weapon, and when the European League began to use the quarter-point line test, these changes repeatedly confirm the fact: the historical three-point king is not only a accumulation of numbers, but also an epitaph of the era that a subvert has used ten years to carve out for basketball. Maybe someone will challenge this record one day in the future, but that journey that sublimates three-pointers from "tactical choice" to "way of survival" will always belong to Stephen Curry.