"I think there's probably three of you, there's probably you, Steph and Damian Lillard" - JJ Redick lists 2x All-Star in a category of shooters who could "essentially function on a basketball court if there was a four-point line"
To be named in the same breath as Steph Curry and Damian Lillard today is an honor any point-guard in the NBA dreams of.
JJ Redick, on his podcast "The Old Man and the Three," handed Trae Young his flowers as they talked about how long-range shooters in the NBA capitalize on their shots, stating:
"I want to just nerd out a little bit on three-point shooting. You (Trae) are one of the guys that could essentially function on a basketball court if there was a four-point line. I think there's probably three of you.
"There's probably you, Steph Curry and Damian Lillard but I always say the three of you shoot unconventional shots because both you and Steph in a way shoot a push shot going up, not at the apex of the jump and then Dame shoots a palm ball."
Redick asked Young what was so advantageous about taking forty-footers, despite the shot having the same value, to which Trae responded:
"I think it helps cause guys have to pick me up higher. ... I'm able to throw it to another guy, the driver, who can use that space... usually the guy is not necessarily in the paint or helping at the nail, he's more connected to me... so more driving lanes for everybody."
Trae's point of creating space between the half-court and the top of the key is a crucial part of why long-range shooters like him, Curry and Lillard are especially feared in today's game.
The amount of attention somebody like Stephen Curry draws as soon as he crosses half-court creates enough space on the floor for a drive or a practice three-point shot.
Revisiting Steph Curry's record-setting three-pointer at Madison Square Garden
Stephen Curry's iconic three-point shot at Madison Square Garden allowed him to pass Ray Allen and become the all-time leading three-point scorer in NBA history.
The accomplishment was just the stamp of greatness he needed in his already hall-of-fame career to be absolutely certain that he is the greatest shooter the game of basketball has ever seen.
This angle of Stephen Curry breaking Ray Allen's record 🔥
https://t.co/qao01As5Z2
Curry broke the record with Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, his parents and his coach from his Davidson days, Bob McKillop, in attendance. What Curry has done for the three-point shot is too vast and too impactful to be contained in one article.
However, any NBA fan who has watched basketball within the last ten years knows that Curry, along with arguably the second-greatest shooter of all-time, Klay Thompson, has fundamentally changed the way basketball is played.