A Graphical Analysis of Stephen Curry
And a Record-Setting Season of Dominance
Daniel Brink
EFFICIENCY IN UNUSUALLY LARGE DOSES
Besides his unusual efficiency in all distances from the basket, Stephen Curry is maintaining this efficiency with an unfathomably high usage rate. Curry averages 20.1 shots per game, 11.1 of which are from 3-Point range - marks good for second and first in the NBA, respectively. Players that shoot the ball this many times are often labeled “volume scoreres,” and traditionally, these players are known to force up some pretty unadvisable, and sometimes unhittable, shots throughout the entire game.
Curry doesn’t.
Volume scorers are called upon by their team because of their unique propensity for scoring at will, but never are they this talented. Truly, Stephen Curry ranks second in eFG% in the league, but he does it while shooting the second most shots in the NBA. That kind of volume-efficiency interaction is something we may never see again in the future of the NBA.
Much of this incredible measure is certainly explained by his atypical 3-Point affinity and excellence. In a record-setting season where Curry made 402 3-Pointers (112 more than the previous record set by, you guessed it, Stephen Curry), he stands light years ahead of every other player in the league in terms of 3-Point volume and accuracy.
And though the 3-Point shot is in many ways what sets Stephen Curry apart from the rest of the league, he’s no slouch when it comes to shooting 2-Pointers either. Although he dominates in 3-Point and effective field goal metrics, he is still performing well above the league average for 2-Point shots in terms of both volume and efficiency.
So, we’ve established that Curry shoots with the second highest efficiency in the NBA, and we’ve established that Curry shoots the most shots in the league. Even an amateur statistican can do that math:
\[TonsOfShots * IncredibleAccuracy = {Points * Points}^{MorePoints}\]
And the league knows this, too. All defenses are locked in on Curry, sometimes throwing two, three, and four defenders at him to try and stop him.
