Reggie Miller: 'I'd take down Steph at my peak'
Reggie Miller acknowledges Stephen Curry's greatness (how could he not?), but he's not quite ready to crown him as the best shooter ever.
Miller, who ranks second in NBA history in 3-pointers made, told the New Yorker that he would have beaten Curry in his prime.
"All truly great shooters - Dale Ellis, Larry Bird, Craig Hodges, Chris Mullin - we always believed that we were the best shooters in the world," Miller said. "So, yeah, I'd take down Steph at my peak. Sure, my form wasn't as good as his. But it's all about results, man."
The results are somewhat mixed. Miller is miles ahead of Curry in terms of total makes (2,560 to 1,310), but he lags in 3-point percentage (44.2 to 39.5) and Curry is shooting and making a significantly higher volume of threes over the past three seasons than Miller ever did.
But longevity is the point Miller's trying to make. He believes Curry can become "one of the best ever," but some of Miller's contemporaries from the '80s and '90s have Curry beat.
"He still has a lot of chapters to write," Miller said, "but, right now, you could certainly consider him among the top-five shooters of all time. The streak that Steph has been on since last season rivals the greats of the game.
"It's hard to say he's better than Larry Bird or he's better than Steve Kerr, his coach, because those guys did it for much longer. But for this short a period he's in that group. And he keeps improving. If he can beat his own record for most threes in a season, then you've got to consider him one of the best ever."
Miller's point is fair, and making cross-era comparisons using statistics alone is foolhardy, but it's undeniable that what Curry's doing is nothing short of superhuman. The combined volume, accuracy, and the style of Curry's shooting - that's what makes his current-day pursuits so impressive.
Put it this way: Curry broke his own record for most 3-pointers made in a season with 286 last season. With 119 makes through 23 games, Curry's on pace to hit 426.