This is a bold statement. Stockton and Hornacek shot over 50% combined as a backcourt for 6 straight years. Hornacek shot the 3 as good as Curry as well during that stretch. That's off the top of my head and it was during the defensive era of the NBA as well. Curry/Thompson neither have ever shot over 48%. Curry gets a lot of higher % looks at the hoop than Hornacek ever did. That's a great backcourt but I'd not say their the best ever at shooting so easily. Before Horacek went to Utah he was part of another backcourt I'd put up against Curry/Thompson in shooting. Kevin Johnson and him were amazing as well for a few years. I coach AAU ball and I put on Hornacek shooting drills for the kids to watch. Best form and release I've ever seen. In a long time of watching the game Hornacek may be the best pure shooter I've ever seen. Korver/Curry/Hawkins/Rice all have had stretches close but if he was open he hurt you every time.
I disagree. You really can't compare FG% of players who score around 15 ppg to a player who scores close to 25 ppg. Curry and Thompson carries that team's scoring load with a combined 45 ppg, and they get a lot more attention from their opponent's defense. You really think Stockton or Hornacek can pull off some of the shots that Curry takes on a nightly basis? The kid is unconscious.
By the way, career stats Stockton --- 13.1 PTS --- 38.4 3P% --- 82.6 FT% Hornacek --- 14.5 PTS --- 40.3 3P% --- 86.8 FT% Curry --- 20.9 PTS --- 44.0 3P% --- 90.0 FT% Thompson --- 17.5 PTS --- 41.8 3P% --- 84.6 FT% Sorry but there's really no comparison
Shooting % is shooting %. Scoring is different. You said "best shooting". Curry makes some amazing shots but those guys just hit boring shot after boring shot. Curry is lot funner to watch but if to average about 38 as a back court shooting over 50% in the defensive era of the game is flat out amazing considering that neither got a lot of easy looks at the basket. We will see if Curry and Thompson can do this a few more years.
I think you are the one confusing scoring with shooting. I said "the best shooting backcourt." FG% can be affected by layups, dunks, etc. 3P% and FT% can not; just pure shooting. Would you say Shaq was a great shooter because he shot 60 FG%? Please back up your claims with numbers.
Why not compare the primes to the primes. They were both between 8 and 14 years in the league when they were averaging 37 as a tandem on a team led by Karl Malone and shooting over 50%. Comparing 19 and 14 year career numbers to guys in their early 20's isn't really a fair comparison. Thompson and Curry, if they play that many seasons, will have lower % shooting years toward the end of their career. It always happens. Did you ever see them play?
Well I could certainly pull up stats from their primes but it won't help your case, because they shot WORSE in their primes, and shot BETTER later in their careers (as most shooters do) Stockton (age 25 to 28) --- 34.0 3P% --- 83.9 FT% Hornacek (age 25 to 28) --- 40.0 3P% --- 86.6 FT% So it is fair to assume that Curry and Thompson will get better as shooters as their careers progress. And yes, I've been watching the NBA since the first 3-peat of the Bulls.
In addition what separates Curry as the best shooter ever is his ability to create his own shot. Most high 3pt % shooters are spot up shooters. Curry creates most of his 3s himself with elite ball handling and ability to shoot off the dribble.
Also, as great as Stockton was, 3 out of his 7 40+ 3P% came during the shortened 3pt line. Even Jordan was able to shoot over 40% during that time.
I don't mean this in a snarky way at all, but this isn't nba2k. You have to take into account that you are comparing players in their prime to players careers. So what i mean is, Stockton/hornacek played a number of years past their primes and it lowered their averages. Also, its a different era. PG's back then weren't all about scoring first. Many people believe that past PG's from the 80s and 90s would have a field day in todays game. All that being said, I kinda agree with you, I don't think they have passed stockton/hornacek YET. They are on pace though.
I'm sorry but that is incorrect. Stockton and Hornaceck, along with other great shooters like Ray Allen and Reggie Miller, had their most efficient shooting seasons in their 30's. Their efficiency as shooters peaked at around 32-35 years old. So it's only fair to assume that Curry and Thompson will develop into even better shooters as they mature. Also, Stockton and Hornacek were pretty bad shooters coming into the league. In his first three years, Stockton shot 18.2%, 13.3%, 17.9% from behind the arc. Hornacek shot 27.9%, 29.3%, and 33.3%. Curry's first three years? 43.7%, 44.2% and 45.5%. It's not even close, and shows how much more natural talent Curry has as a shooter. Stockton/Hornacek worked on their craft and became great shooters in their own right, but Curry just has God-given talent.
You completely missed my point.. Johns best years he was putting up 17pts a game. Hornaceck was 20pts a game. You are taking a body of work of one group and comparing it to the PRIME years of another. They haven't suffered from the drop off of their skills. Stockton and Especially Hornaceck got more efficient because they were no longer the focal points and took less shots later in their career. Less shots usually equals better % for great shooters.
I'm kind of confused. Are you arguing that they were better or worse than Curry/Klay? Because don't your arguments support Curry/Klay? Argument: Being the focal point of the offense makes you less efficient. Curry is the #1 option. Klay is the #2 option. On the Jazz, Karl Malone was the #1 option. Argument: Less shots = higher %. Stockton's career high in FGA is 11.9. Career high in 3PA is 2.8 during the shortened 3pt era. Excluding the shortened line, it was 2.5. Hornacek's career high in FGA is 15.7. Career high in 3PA is 3.2. Both Klay's and Curry's career low in 3PA is higher than both Stockton's and Hornacek's career highs. Curry in his rookie season alone attempted more FGA than Stockton's career high. Klay did the same by his sophomore season. Curry in this past 3 seasons attempted more FGA than Hornacek's career high. Klay attempted more this past season.
@thkthebest said it best and you are just repeating what I said earlier in this thread. You really can't compare FG% of players who score around 15 ppg to a player who scores close to 25 ppg. Curry and Thompson carries that team's scoring load with a combined 45 ppg, and they get a lot more attention from their opponent's defense.
