Stephen Curry Is Getting the Calls, and It's No Accident
Stephen Curry is an anomaly. He pulls opposing players into his orbit based on the threat of his shooting and exerts gravity over the entire floor as he darts around on offense. In terms of forcing other team's coaches to make adjustments, Curry might be the most impactful player since Shaquille O'Neal, whose mix of size and nimbleness had never been seen before or since.
But unlike O'Neal, who often coasted on his ability to dominate physically, Curry works hard to get better every year. He's gotten stronger, added moves off the dribble, English off the backboard and pushed his range to the parking lot. He's opened his eyes wide on the court and made himself a threat defensively.
And this year, the 6'3" two-time MVP is outdoing himself yet again.
"Why do y'all wanna ask me about that?" Curry said after the Warriors' late-October win over the visiting Toronto Raptors, adding a healthy roll of the eyes.
During the first six games of the season, the career .902 free-throw shooter pushed the limits of his own prolificacy by going perfect from the line.
"Every shot I take, especially at the free-throw line, I feel like it's going in," he said.
He finally missed, on a technical free-throw attempt in a loss to Detroit on Sunday. Before that shot caromed off the rim, he had made 52 straight since the end of last season.
Curry's free-throw accuracy is old hat. He's been remarkably accurate from the line since his Davidson days, having received a private, years-long indoctrination into the art of shooting from his father Dell—one of the best to ever do it.
During Steph's second NBA season, he shot a career-high 93.4 percent at the line, which led the league. Curry is third all-time on the free-throw-percentage list behind former Warrior Mark Price and current Warriors player-development consultant Steve Nash. But his nearly unblemished FT conversion rate is just one amid myriad statistical aberrations.
The 6'3" guard hasn't always earned free throws like this. In 2010-11, he attempted just 3.1 free throws per contest. By his second MVP season in 2015-16, Curry's free-throw attempts had increased to 5.1 per game. That year, he won the scoring title, but it was thanks to his three-point shooting (he made 402 threes, obliterating his own single-season record of 286 from the prior season). Curry's trips to the line ranked 26th in the league—rather odd for a scoring champion.
Both DeMarcus Cousins and James Harden took 10.2 foul shots per game that year, doubling up the MVP. But when Curry's game produced just enough trips to the line to keep defenses honest and help the Warriors realize his three-point threat, it resulted in a year for the ages. That season, he led the NBA in percentage at 90.8.
Two seasons later, he is seeking out even more contact and weaponizing his historic accuracy from the line by using his three-point threat to probe defenses and get going downhill at a higher rate. Currently, Curry is averaging a career-high 7.2 free-throw attempts per game. His 65 attempts rank fifth-highest in the league.
"Obviously, the strength of my game is to be able to … create space to knock down shots," he said. "But the way teams have been defending the drive it's been pretty consistently open."
He's picking his spots now better than ever and staying under control in the lane. Per NBA.com, he's driving 7.2 times per game, up from 6.4, 6.3 and 5.7, respectively, over the last three years. On those drives, he's shooting 56.5 percent and getting to the line 1.6 times per game (before Thursday's game, and up from 1.4 free throw attempts in 2015-16).
Most of the growth in Curry's free-throw prowess is sourced from movement off the ball. NBA.com data show the Warriors have increased the number of off-ball screens set for Curry, featuring them in 22 percent of plays involving the point guard (up from 14.8 percent last year), prior to Thursday's game. On those plays, Curry's free-throw frequency has gone from 7.1 percent to 17.5 percent over the years, increasing his points-per-game on those plays from 4.0 in 2016-17 to 6.9 in 2017-18.
Further, this season Curry is cutting more than ever (4.9 percent of plays with a 22 percent free-throw frequency). His points-per-game off-cuts have increased from 1.3 to 1.9.
Granted, Curry's assists are down slightly, and his shooting numbers from the field have varied. But through this year's small sample size, he's taking and making more free throws per game than John Wall and James Harden.
"See where he is after 20 games," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. "I think he'll end up around seven [free throws made]. That would be my guess, just because I think he's physically stronger and he's getting into the paint at a really high rate."
Kerr's projection would have ranked Curry seventh in the league in free throws made last season.
Curry is also dabbling in a fun game with the officials when it comes to selling contact.
"I haven't gotten great at it," he said. "[Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser] thinks that there's times that I can let the ref know what's going on, but it's hard for me to always be in that mindset, because … I'm trying to get my shot off. I'm trying to play basketball the way I've played it my entire life.
"I understand how most people who are in that double-digit [free-throw] attempts per game—how they get it done."
Refs may be noticing Curry's zeal. In the early part of the season, he is getting fouled 5.0 times a game, up from 3.5 last year, per NBA.com, prior to Thursday's game in San Antonio.
"Getting there more often is going to really help our game," Kerr said, noting that getting the opponent into the bonus allows Golden State to set up on defense more effectively. "I think everybody on our team likes to see him aggressive and getting to the line."
Once already this season, Curry's aggression has boiled over. Late in the 111-101 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 21, he flung his mouthpiece in frustration after a no-call following a drive to the basket. He was subsequently fined $50,000 by the NBA and has since apologized for his reaction.
He shot (and made) 13 free throws in that game and had 37 points on only 17 field-goal attempts. In the loss, Curry had an offensive rating (ORtg) of 155 in 30 minutes, meaning when he was on the floor, the Warriors scored at a pace of 155 points per 100 possessions. The highest ORtg for a single season ever is Tyson Chandler's 133.4 from 2014-15.
Given that Curry is still taking over 10 three-pointers a game, his combination of volume and efficiency adds a dynamism to the Warriors offense that bigs like Chandler and DeAndre Jordan (last year's ORtg leader) cannot sniff.
Curry has taken the next step in his offensive evolution. Give him space and he'll make you pay from 23'9". Play him close and he'll find his way into the paint. Now that he's drawing more contact, the NBA's most accurate free-throw shooter has a chance to also become its most productive.
And that will help his team win games.
"I know if I get fouled, I'm most likely going to convert those for the points. I understand the value of that," Curry said. "Especially certain momentum swings in games. If you can kill a team's run by getting to the foul line, especially in the playoffs … that's definitely crucial."
Aliko Carter covers the Golden State Warriors for Bleacher Report. All quotes obtained first-hand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @kogitare.
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