Curry commends new guidelines discouraging young kids from shooting 3s

Kids from all over the world may be eager to imitate Stephen Curry by hoisting up shots from long distance, but even he doesn't think they should.

The NBA and USA Basketball recently announced new guidelines for youth programs, and one of the recommendations was to discourage children 11 years old and younger from attempting 3-pointers.

The rationale is that, by eliminating threes, children will be encouraged to shoot within a range that's developmentally appropriate, which they'll eventually extend farther away from the basket using proper form and mechanics.

Curry, who's on pace to make the most 3-point shots ever, agrees with the mandate, and said he was brought up with similar rules under his NBA-playing father, Dell Curry.

"My dad had the same kind of mentality of development as I got stronger and bigger," the Golden State Warriors superstar told SI on Monday.

"He wanted me to make sure I didn't sacrifice form and mechanics just to be able to shoot an NBA three before I was ready. I hope there's a principle and importance on the fundamentals of what that means and the work that goes into it. You can't just step into a gym and start jacking them up and feel like you're getting better. I guess I commend the perspective on player development especially at an early age. Hopefully, that's able to build the confidence of those guys who want to be great shooters as they get older."

Curry, 30, has drilled 4.2 threes per game on 42.3 percent shooting this season, and has been climbing up the all-time list in makes, currently sitting seventh with 2,129. The two-time MVP is the only player in NBA history to ever hit more than 200 3-pointers in six consecutive seasons.