Stephen Curry Says He Shaped His Game After Steve Nash and Reggie Miller

Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry did not need to look far for a basketball role model.

His father, Dell, spent 16 seasons in the NBA. A career reserve, Dell found his niche as a prolific perimeter marksman. He shot above 40 percent from deep in nine of his last 11 seasons and sits tied for 30th among the league's all-time best shooters from distance (40.19 percent).

With shooting running rich in his bloodline, Stephen has picked up where his father left off and then some. His career three-point percentage (44.63) trails only that of Steve Kerr (45.40). In 2012-13, the younger Curry set the NBA record for most made triples in a season (272) all while converting 45.3 percent of his long-range looks.

But to label this Curry as simply a shooter would be woefully misguided. An explosive scorer (22.9 in 2012-13) and improving distributor (6.9 assists last season), he told ESPN's Chris Broussard that he patterned his game around Hall of Famer Reggie Miller and future Hall of Famer Steve Nash.

Frankly, this explains a lot.

His game has drawn comparisons to Nash's since his days of putting on dizzying displays at Davidson College. Far from being an elite-level athlete in terms of speed and hops, Curry combines tight handles and creativity to frustrate defenders.

The Miller talk might feel new, but really it shouldn't. While the two don't share natural positions, Curry looked very Miller-esque while he was filling the stat sheet as an off-ball sniper alongside Jarrett Jack last season. The offseason arrival of Andre Iguodala promises to keep Curry as an off-ball threat in 2013-14.

If you were creating the ideal offensive guard, giving him Nash's decision making and Miller's cool delivery in the clutch wouldn't be a bad way to start.

That player would be lethal both on and off the ball. He would be unconscious in crunch time, and a contortionist in tight spaces off the bounce or navigating around screens.

That player would look a lot like Stephen Curry. And apparently, that's not by coincidence.

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