Golden State Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will participate in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night on February 14 in New York, the league announced today. In addition, Curry has been selected to participate in the Degree Shooting Stars.
Curry (23.6 points per game, eighth in the NBA) and Thompson (22.4, 10th) are the highest scoring backcourt duo in the NBA, ranking third (147) and fourth (145), respectively, in three-point field goals made this season. Curry ranks fourth on the NBA’s all-time three-point percentage list (.434), while Thompson ranks 14th all-time (.417) and fourth in the league this season (.446).
Curry, who will start in the NBA All-Star Game for the second consecutive season, is averaging 23.6 points, 8.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.13 steals (second in the NBA) in 33.2 minutes over 47 games (all starts) this season, hitting 48.9 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from three-point range. In last night’s win over Dallas, Curry scored a season-high 51 points—the second-highest scoring output of his career—while hitting a season-high 10 three-pointers to join Thompson as two of only four players in the NBA this season to score 50 points in a game. Curry tallied career highs for points in a quarter (26 in the third) and points in a half (36 in the second) en route to his 51-point night, combining with Thompson to become the first pair of teammates to both register 50-point games in the same season since 1994-95. The two-time All-Star will make his fourth career appearance in the Three-Point Contest (2010, 2013, 2014) and second in the Degree Shooting Stars (2014), where he is paired with his father, 16-year NBA veteran Dell Curry, and eight-time WNBA All-Star Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm.
Thompson, who will make his first career All-Star appearance as a Western Conference reserve, is averaging career highs of 22.4 points, 3.0 assists and 1.24 steals to go with 3.5 rebounds and 32.4 minutes in 46 games (all starts), hitting career marks of 48.1 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from three-point range. On Jan. 23 vs. Sacramento, the 6’7” guard poured in a career-high 52 points, setting an NBA mark for most points in a single quarter with 37 points in the third frame on a perfect 13-of-13 from the field and 9-of-9 from three-point range. The only three-time winner of the Western Conference Player of the Week Award this season, Thompson will be making his first appearance in the Three-Point Contest.
Golden State’s backcourt duo is joined in the Three-Point Contest by Houston’s James Harden, Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, Atlanta’s Kyle Korver, Portland’s Wesley Matthews, the Los Angeles Clippers’ J.J. Redick and the defending champion, San Antonio’s Marco Belinelli.
Curry and Thompson are the first pair of Warriors to be selected to the Western Conference All-Star team in the same season since 1993, when Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin were both chosen, and the first time the team has sent two guards to the annual showcase. The Splash Brothers have helped lead the Warriors to their best start in franchise history with an NBA-best record of 39-8 through the first 47 games of the 2014-15 campaign.
NBA All-Star 2015 in New York City will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. The 64th NBA All-Star Game will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 13th straight year, marking Turner Sports’ 30th year of All-Star coverage, as well as the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night.