NBA

Stephen Curry's 3-Point Record Is One of the Best Records in Any Sport Ever

Curry finished the regular season with 402 threes. How historic was his record-breaking performance?

Last night, Stephen Curry made history.

Curry broke his own record for three-pointers in a single season earlier this year -- way earlier this year -- but was able to hit the 400 mark (he got to 402) in Golden State's record-breaking 73rd win of the season last night.

That's...that's not even human.

The top four seasons in cumulative three-pointers made in NBA history now features only Warriors: Curry three times and teammate Klay Thompson once. Prior to this era of Golden State basketball, the record was 269 by Ray Allen.

Remember, Curry hit his 402nd three-pointer of the season last night.

Four. Hundred. And. Two.

At face value, that certainly seems historic, at least in the context of the NBA. But, really, it may be one of the most historic records we've ever seen in sports.

There are tons and tons of records out there, and subjectively choosing some of them to compare Curry's record to would be unfair. So, instead of coming up with comparisons myself, I found an interesting article written in December over on Sports Illustrated about the 10 best records of all time. And, conveniently for us number nerds, the list was compiled by a group of researchers.

Here's a look at the 10 records, ranked 10th through 1st.

Rank Record League Stat Player
10 Single Game Passing Yards NFL 554 N. Van Brocklin
9 Career Assists NHL 1963 W. Gretzky
8 Career Complete Games MLB 749 C. Young
7 Points in a Single Game NBA 100 W. Chamberlain
6 Career Wins MLB 511 C. Young
5 Season Triple-Doubles NBA 41 O. Robertson
4 Single-Game RBI MLB 12 J. Bottomley/M. Whiten
3 Consecutive Game Hit Streak MLB 56 J. DiMaggio
2 Career No-Hitters MLB 7 N. Ryan
1 Career Intentional Walks MLB 688 B. Bonds


Some of these may be surprising, while others aren't. When sports fans think "record" -- or, at least, when I do -- DiMaggio's consecutive game hit streak and Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game comes to mind. My brain certainly doesn't go to Jim Bottomley's 12 RBI game in 1924, and I generally don't think about Norm Van Brocklin's passing game record in this pass-happy NFL era.

These are the best sports records compiled by researchers, though, and their process for finding the greatest ones ever is much more methodical than mine would ever be.

With that being said, where does Curry's record fit?

Well, in a not-so-scientific-but-very-fun fashion, I figured the simplest way to compare these records was to see how far each one separates from the person in second place. That is, how much better -- in percentage form -- these records are versus the runner-up within the statistic.

Here's a look at the same list as above, but with the percentage difference over second place.

Rank Record League Stat Player Percent Increase  
10 Single Game Passing Yards NFL 554 N. Van Brocklin 5.12%
9 Career Assists NHL 1963 W. Gretzky 57.17%
8 Career Complete Games MLB 749 C. Young 15.94%
7 Points in a Single Game NBA 100 W. Chamberlain 23.46%
6 Career Wins MLB 511 C. Young 22.54%
5 Season Triple-Doubles NBA 41 O. Robertson 32.26%
4 Single-Game RBI MLB 12 J. Bottomley/M. Whiten 0.00%
3 Consecutive Game Hit Streak MLB 56 J. DiMaggio 24.44%
2 Career No-Hitters MLB 7 N. Ryan 75.00%
1 Career Intentional Walks MLB 688 B. Bonds 131.65%


Now, aside from the single-game RBI record -- which was tied by Mark Whiten in 1993 -- each of these records predictably show a pretty massive increase over second place. It's important to keep in mind, though, that I'm not adjusting for era or doing any fancy work here, which is why players like Van Brocklin and Bottomley have their names on this list despite not being all that much better (or better at all) than the player in second. The reason their records are so impressive is because of when they occurred.

Throwing Curry's record-breaking performance in there and re-ranking by how much better the record was versus second place shows that his shooting belongs close to the "best ever" record category.

RankRecordLeagueStatPlayerPercent Increase
11Single-Game RBIMLB12J. Bottomley/M. Whiten0.00%
10Single Game Passing YardsNFL554N. Van Brocklin5.12%
9Career Complete GamesMLB749C. Young15.94%
8Career WinsMLB511C. Young22.54%
7Points in a Single GameNBA100W. Chamberlain23.46%
6Consecutive Game Hit StreakMLB56J. DiMaggio24.44%
5Season Triple-DoublesNBA41O. Robertson32.26%
4Single-Season 3-PointersNBA402S. Curry40.56%
3Career AssistsNHL1963W. Gretzky57.17%
2Career No-HittersMLB7N. Ryan75.00%
1Career Intentional WalksMLB688B. Bonds131.65%


As unscientific as this may be, it's still pretty awesome. 

We witnessed some serious history this season.