In a week when Stephen Curry could barely get out of bed, the greatest shooter in basketball history reminded everyone exactly why his name is always the first one carved into any hypothetical NBA Mount Rushmore of shooters.
Curry entered Tuesday still recovering from a three-game absence due to illness. He looked drained against Oklahoma City – 11 points in 20 minutes, a 24-point loss, and plenty of speculation about whether he’d even travel for the second night of a back-to-back in San Antonio.
Not only did he travel… he detonated. Curry erupted for 46 points in a 16-point comeback win over the Spurs, including 22 in the third quarter alone on 5-for-7 shooting with three triples. He followed that with another scoring outburst, giving him 95 points in two nights at San Antonio – a blistering reminder that no slump, no sickness, no defensive scheme can keep him quiet for long.
As the Warriors snapped their six-game road losing streak and pushed back above .500, the league spent the week debating something Curry settled years ago: Who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of NBA shooters? And Steph himself once weighed in.
Curry’s shooter Mount Rushmore – straight from 2014
Back in 2014, during an interview with Warriors TV, a rising-star Stephen Curry – still just five seasons into his career and fresh off setting the single-season record for most made threes (272) – was asked who would make his personal Mount Rushmore of shooters.
His answer was honest, thoughtful, and a little bit sentimental. “I’m a little biased, obviously, so it would be Dell Curry in there somewhere, but you’ve got Reggie Miller, definitely Ray Allen and I put Steve Kerr up there because of how clutch of a shooter he was. He didn’t get a lot of volume, but he was a knockdown shooter and he’s the career percentage leader.”
Curry’s picks: Reggie Miller, one of the original cold-blooded snipers. A killer in big moments. Ray Allen, the all-time leader in threes at the time – and the king of clutch playoff makes. Steve Kerr, not high-volume, but the most accurate shooter in league history and one of the great pressure performers. And finally, Dell Curry: the family bias he willingly acknowledged – but Dell was a legitimate marksman.
Who could be included in the list?
Even in 2014, Curry’s list was well-rounded: two all-time great volume shooters, the NBA’s most accurate specialist, and his father – who belongs in far more shooter conversations than he receives credit for. Who could replace Dell? Nash? Someone else? If sentimental value is removed, there’s a strong case for Steve Nash, who shot 42.8% from deep and made 1,683 career threes – ranking among the most efficient high-volume shooters ever.
Names like: Klay Thompson, Kyle Korver, Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic might also enter the discussion depending on criteria. But the truth is, Curry’s 2014 list wasn’t about a definitive ranking – it was about honoring the foundational shooters who shaped the NBA landscape he would soon redefine.
The Inevitable Truth: Curry is the new standard In 2014, Curry was an emerging star. In 2025, he is the standard. The debate today isn’t whether Curry belongs on the shooter Mount Rushmore. It’s whether he is the entire mountain. And this week – after a long illness, after questions about his availability, after a sluggish return – he dropped 95 points in two games and single-handedly ended a Warriors skid.
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