Chart: Why Stephen Curry Is So Valuable
Adam Rifkin stashed this in Warriors!
Stashed in: Basketball, Charts!
Cork Gaines explains:
The use of the three-point shot in the NBA has changed dramatically in the last 25 years. As the NBA game has become more about playing good defense, teams need long-distance shooters to survive.
And nobody is as good from downtown as Stephen Curry.
During Larry Bird's last championship season (1985-86) NBA teams averaged just 3.3 three-point attempts per game. And during Michael Jordan's last championship season (1997-98) teams averaged 12.7 attempts per game.
But this season, three-point attempts were at their highest mark ever (20.0) and 21.9% of all points scored came from behind the arc (only 2.6% of points came via 3-pointers in 1985-86). During the regular season, Curry alone averaged 7.7 attempts and 3.5 shots made per game.
Unless the NBA does something to make three-point shots more difficult or worth less, players like Curry are the future of the NBA...
10:39 PM May 03 2013