Ranking Stephen Curry's 10 Greatest 3-Pointers

Stephen Curry reached 4,000 career regular-season three-pointers last night, and if you include the playoffs, Olympics/FIBA and college, he's made well over 1,000 more.

We're here to narrow down 5,000-plus to the 10 greatest three-pointers of his legendary career.

The following criteria were given the most weight:

- Difficulty of the shot: The difficulty of the dribble move that led to the shot (if applicable) was also considered.

- Importance of the game: Of course, playoff games were given more weight than regular-season games, but I also considered if Curry's team was facing a series deficit or elimination. Note that an Olympic final was treated like Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

- How clutch the shot was: Time and score mattered here. For example, making a three that puts the Warriors up 10 with about three minutes left is clutch, but it's not even close to as clutch as hitting a game-tying three with three seconds to go.

Honorable Mention

Al Bello/Getty Images

Breaking All-Time 3-Point Record

Curry hit his 2,974th three against the Knicks on Dec. 14, 2021, passing Ray Allen for the most in NBA history. There’s an argument for this shot, his 4,000th three, his 13th three vs. the Pelicans (then an NBA record), his 400th three in the 2015-16 season and other three-point milestones, but the focus of this list was more clutch shots in big moments and/or how amazing the shot/dribble combination was.

Kill Shot in Game 7 vs. OKC

Up seven with under 30 seconds left in the 2016 Western Conference Finals, the Warriors didn't need this shot to hold onto the lead. But as it went through, you could feel the combination of excitement and relief that Golden State had completed a 3-1 comeback to keep its dream season alive. Similar to this shot in the final minute of Game 5 of the 2017 Finals, it punctuated a great win but falls short of the list because it didn't have much of an impact on the game.

Game-Tying Trey in Game 5 vs. Raptors

Facing elimination, Curry hit this game-tying three with 1:22 to go. The Warriors went on to win the game, but the Raptors bounced back to close out the 2019 NBA Finals three days later.

Dagger in Game 1 vs. Rockets

Up two with under 30 seconds to go, Curry took advantage of the Rockets choosing to leave Nene on an island. Curry crossed him up before burying a game-sealing triple in the 2019 Western Conference semifinals.

10. Go-Ahead 3 vs. Gonzaga

Highlight starts at 2:01 in the video above.

This game, and particularly this shot, catapulted Curry into new levels of stardom. 

Tied at 74 with just over a minute left in the 2008 NCAA tournament first round against Gonzaga, Curry canned a wing three. 

Davidson held on for an 82-76 win spearheaded by Curry's 40 points. The Wildcats then stunned Georgetown and Wisconsin before losing a nail-biter to Kansas in the Elite Eight.

Though the shot grades well on the game importance and clutch scales, it's arguably the easiest shot on this list, which keeps it at No. 10.

9. 'Greatest Move I've Ever Seen' vs. Clippers

Perhaps no dribble move better encapsulates the magic of Curry. 

Three Clippers defenders were close enough to poke the ball away. Yet Curry somehow got free of all of them for a sliver of space and knocked down a fadeaway three. 

On the ESPN broadcast from this March 2015 game, Jeff Van Gundy said, "That could be the greatest move I’ve ever seen live."

It settles in at No. 9 because the stakes weren't high, as this was the third quarter of a regular-season game.

8. May I Have This Dance, Delly?

The fourth quarter of Game 5 was the key stretch of the 2015 NBA Finals. 

Curry dominated the period with 17 points, including two threes on Matthew Dellavedova that were preceded by nasty dribble moves. We're going with the second one here that put the Warriors up 10 with under three minutes to go (though the first one had an argument for making the list as well).

Golden State pulled away for a 104-91 Game 5 win and then won Game 6 for its first title in 40 years.

Most of the shots in the top seven were more clutch based on time and score, but the move was too good to leave off Curry’s top 10.

7. Clutch Make in Game 4 vs. Celtics

Highlight starts at 3:14 in the video above.

It’s only fitting that the greatest game of Curry’s career included one of his greatest shots. 

Up by three with just under two minutes to go, Curry hit a triple that put the Warriors up six. 

They held on from there, evening the 2022 Finals at two games apiece. 

Curry finished with 43 points, and the Warriors won the next two games to win their fourth title in eight years.

6. Go-Ahead 3 vs. Serbia

Highlight starts at 3:02 in the video above.

From a stakes perspective, this is arguably the most important shot on this list. 

With the U.S. trailing by two and just under 2:30 to go, Curry nailed his ninth triple of the game. The Americans never relinquished the lead, beating Serbia 95-91 to advance to the 2024 gold-medal game. 

Had the U.S. lost, imagine the uproar of 12 future Hall of Famers coming home without a gold medal. With the weight of the country on his shoulders, he delivered. 

What keeps this shot from being higher is the lack of difficulty. Joel Embiid’s screen had Curry wide open.

5. Three-Quarter-Court Heave vs. Grizzlies

The Warriors led by 13 after the first quarter of Game 6 of the 2015 Western Conference semifinals, but the Grizzlies hung around from there, trailing by just five in the waning seconds of the third quarter.

That’s when Curry hit this ridiculous shot that started a 10-0 run, ending all hopes for Memphis. 

There are several YouTube videos of other long threes that could have featured on this list. The Memphis shot made the cut because it came at such a crucial moment of a playoff series.

4. May I Have This Dance, P.J.?

Highlight starts at 1:07 in the video above.

For my money, this was the best dribble move on this list. 

Curry executed a four-dribble sequence to get a sliver of space on P.J. Tucker and then rainbowed a three that had the Warriors one more blow away from a knockout. 

Klay Thompson provided that moments later, giving the Warriors a 2019 Western Conference semifinals Game 6 closeout win. 

In all, Curry had 33 second-half points, including 23 in the fourth quarter.

3. Sending Game 3 to OT vs. Pelicans

Highlight starts at 0:58 in the video above.

The key to this shot was Curry’s lightning-quick release. Otherwise Anthony Davis would have blocked it. 

In fact, every time I watch the replay, I question how it didn't get blocked.

The NBA later admitted Curry was fouled, so he should've been given a free-throw attempt for a game-winning four-point play.

The Warriors went on to win in overtime before sweeping the Pelicans two days later to advance to the 2015 Western Conference semifinals.

2. Double Bang vs. OKC

When Mike Breen gives you a double bang, you know you’ve done something extraordinary. 

The stage was set perfectly. The greatest shooter of all time getting a good look from about 40 feet with the game tied in overtime. 

It was Curry’s 12th three of the game.  

What hurt this shot's ranking was the game's stakes, as any regular-season shot will pale in comparison to a shot in, say, an Olympic final.

With that said, this was the game of the year in the 2015-16 regular season. Curry (46 points), Kevin Durant (37 points), Russell Westbrook (26 points, 13 assists) and Klay Thompson (32 points) showed out. It felt bigger than a regular-season game.

The Warriors improved to 53-5 before eventually setting the NBA record with 73 regular-season wins.

1. Nuit, Nuit

Highlight starts at 5:02 in the video above.

Going by the main criteria, the OKC game-winner and the Golden Dagger were more or less tied. 

Both shots were extremely tough, the OKC shot was more clutch, and the France shot was on a bigger stage. 

But there are three reasons the Golden Dagger gets the edge. 

First is the level of audaciousness. Curry was double-teamed with Kevin Durant and LeBron James open, and he still decided to take the step-back fadeaway three. 

Second, it can’t be forgotten that he had three threes in the previous two minutes. Something about him making four in a row adds mystique to the final dagger. 

Lastly, the celebration was iconic. Running around the court with the night, night pose while forgetting to play defense…I’ve never seen anything like it.