On this date — May 16, 2016 — Stephen Curry connected on a three-pointer in his 45th consecutive postseason game in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals vs. Oklahoma City to break Reggie Miller’s previous NBA playoff record of 44.
Up to that point, Curry had played in 45 playoff games. So yes, he has made at least one three-pointer in each playoff game in his career up through that day.
But here is the kicker: Curry has played in 112 career playoff games and his streak of three-point shots made in the playoff remains alive to this day, as he has splashed a trey through each playoff game he has ever been in.
Take a look at some of the incredible facts through his playoff career:
In Curry’s playoff games, he has made 470 three-pointers, which equates to 4.2 treys per game, making him the NBA’s all-time leader in both categories. He has also done so with a 40.1 percent shooting percentage. And of all the playoff games he has played in, 103 (or 92 percent) of those includes games with multiple buckets from three-point range.
In fact, 31 of Curry’s playoff appearances he shot 50-percent-or-better from deep, and all of those games included at minimum three treys made.
He is one of three players in NBA history with two-or-more games with at least nine three-pointers made. The others include Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Ray Allen, who made nine shots from beyond the arc in two playoff games in his career, and Curry’s Splash Brother Klay Thompson who logged games with nine and an NBA-record 11 made threes.
As incredible as the numbers are, Curry has had four close-calls in which his streak nearly ended.
- Curry’s playoff record almost needed to restart early in his career when on April 30, 2013, just his fifth playoff game ever, when he started the game 0-for-4 from deep through the first 36 minutes against the Denver Nuggets. But he came back in the fourth quarter with seven points, including one three-pointer, to help the Warriors out-score Denver 31-21 in the fourth. That was not enough though as the Dubs dropped Game 5 of that series 107-100 and bring them down to a 3-2 series advantage.
- Tied 1-1 in the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers, Curry had started the April 24th game 0-for-3 on three-pointers through the first three quarters. Down 75-64 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Curry led a resilient effort with three treys through the final 12 minutes as the Dubs nearly erased the 11-point deficit, but fell just short in a 98-96 loss to send the Dubs to a 2-1 series deficit to the Clippers.
- After capturing a Game 1 win against the Houston Rockets in the 2018 Western Conference Finals, Curry started Game 2 on May 16 by missing his first six attempts from beyond the arc. Though the team was down 95-79, Curry started the quarter by making the team’s first five points in a minute and a half, including his lone trey. The effort was not enough as Rockets won 127-105 to tie the series 1-1
- The Dubs were down 97-96 with just over 3 mins left on June 6, 2018 while facing the Cleveland Cavaliers for the fourth consecutive time in the NBA Finals. Curry had not made a three-point shot yet, but with two and a half minutes left, he made his lone trey of the game. It would prove to be a critical one too as he gave the Warriors a 101-97 lead, and they would not give it up the rest of the game. His three-pointer also set up Kevin Durant’s dagger trey from deep to seal the victory and put the Dubs up 3-0 in the series.
And through his career, there have been just two playoff games Curry has started on the bench. He was returning from injury in both cases, and they were eerily similar in that they were both in the Western Conference Semifinals and he finished with five made threes in each.
The first came May 9, 2016, in the famous “I’m back” game when he finished with 40 points in 37 minutes to send the Warriors up 3-1 against the Portland Trail Blazers. The other came May 1, 2018 when he played 28 minutes and finished with 28 points while going 5-for-10 from deep to put the Dubs up 2-0 against the Pelicans.
Through his 11-year career, Stephen Curry has splashed his way through the playoffs to become a three-time NBA Champion.