January 2, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates with guard Klay Thompson (11) after Thompson made a three-point basket during the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Raptors 126-105. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Mark Jackson won’t be around to see it through but he proclaimed that Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were the greatest shooting backcourt the game has ever seen. That was back in April 2013 after the duo lit up the Denver Nuggets in a playoff game.
Fast forward to the present. Steve Kerr is the coach now and he is benefiting from the duo really hitting their stride this season. On Jan. 23 Klay Thompson scored 52 points against the Sacramento Kings, a new NBA record 37 of which came in the third quarter.
Twelve days later Stephen Curry took his turn at dropping half a hundred on somebody. The Dallas Mavericks were the victims. The 40-18 lead they built early on wasn’t enough as Curry got hot and stayed hot to the tune of a 51 point night.
Fifty point games don’t occur every night in the NBA but they aren’t rare either. They are always noteworthy. Teammates having 50 point games in the same season are a bit rare though.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are 1st teammates with 50-point games in same season since 1994-95. pic.twitter.com/ayXqIupfd3
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 5, 2015
Notice that there are a couple of former Cats on this list as well in Jamal Mashburn and Cliff Hagan.
The NBA has always had great shooters and scorers and always will. More often than not the guys who lead the league in accuracy from beyond the arc tend to lean more toward the mold of a shooter and a spot up catch and shoot type shooter at that. Curry and Thompson have pure strokes as they have proven and are proving in their young careers. They are sons of former NBA players. Dell Curry was one of the best shooters to ever play, Mychal Thompson was a solid big man in his day. So you know they have been well-versed in the fundamentals.
Their degree of difficulty is something else as well. They come off of screens, raise up off of the dribble, step back or stop and pop. You name it and they can do it. They can be off-balance and drifting or perfectly squared up. It matters not. The flow and tempo and freeness that they play with makes them even more fun to watch. Their game against the Atlanta Hawks who were recently cooled off by Anthony Davis is a must see regular season tilt between the best in the Eastern and Western conferences.
Devin Booker is collecting SEC Freshman of the Week Awards like they are going out of style has been drawing comparisons for a while now to, you guessed it, Klay Thompson. Feb 3, 2015; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Devin Booker (1) shoots the ball against Georgia Bulldogs guard Taylor Echols (10) in the first half at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports Both are 6’7″ with deep range. Both are better at getting to the rim than people think. Booker also has a father who is a pretty good player. At some point we will be watching him make a “splash” at the next level too.
