Lonzo Ball Says Warriors' Steph Curry is 'Most Influential' NBA Player of His Era

Lonzo Ball had high praise for Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry.

When asked about Curry potentially being considered the most influential player of his era on Ball's What An Experience podcast, the Chicago Bulls guard agreed (9:20 mark).

"It's actually a great question," Ball said (h/t HoopsHype). "As I’m pondering it, I would have to say yes. Especially the way younger people are playing—even the way the NBA is played now. Warriors and him, they really started all them threes."

It's no secret that Curry's high-volume shooting from behind the arc affected the rest of the NBA, as he initially set a new single-season record with 272 triples during his 2012-13 campaign.

Since then, nine other players have hit at least 272 threes in a single season (via Basketball Reference).

During Curry's first MVP season in 2015, NBA teams averaged 22.4 three-point attempts per game. This year, teams are averaging 37.5 long-range attempts on a nightly basis.

In the Warriors' 2015-16 campaign, they paced the league by attempting 31.6 three-point shots per game while finishing with a 73-9 record (via NBA.com). This year, every single team in the league is shooting at least 31.9 threes each night.

Curry hasn't shown many signs of slowing down during the 2024-25 season, averaging 24.1 points and 6.0 assists while attempting 11.2 threes per game. He's connecting on 39.2 percent of his triples.

As for Ball, he's worked his way back from a knee injury that caused him to miss the past two seasons. In 35 appearances with the Bulls this year, he's recording 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game on 36.6/34.4/81.5 shooting splits.

Ball gave credit for Curry for his impact on the current state of the NBA.