Tonight, the Golden State Warriors face the Chicago Bulls, who we last saw getting lit up by Klay Thompson and being on the wrong end of a NBA 3-point shooting record.
This time, we can’t say whether they’ll catch a historic beat down, but it’s Steph Curry who could end up hitting a milestone: with three shots from beyond the arc, Curry could pass Jason “The Jet” Terry.
Stephen Curry is nearing another major milestone #Warriors #Dubnation pic.twitter.com/COZIapBD1K
— Warriors Nation (@SFWarriorNation) January 11, 2019
Curry offered a heartwarming story today about why this milestone would be special to him — he grew up looking up to Ray Allen and Reggie Miller, who would be the only two players ahead of him once he hits that milestone.
Asked Stephen Curry about his placement on the 3-point leaderboard. He needs three tonight to become 3rd all-time
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) January 11, 2019
“For me to be that close, it’s special. The longevity of what those numbers mean, I want to continue to chase them.” pic.twitter.com/NtrGA9aW4Z
But for Warriors fans struggling to keep perspective before a pretty much objectively meaningless game in the middle of an 82-game season, this is also cool because it’s another reminder of how far this team has come.
20 years ago, a godawful Warriors team traded the 10th pick in the NBA draft to the Atlanta Hawks for an aging Mookie Blaylock, who was coming off his sixth straight All-Defensive team selection and had once been an all-star, but was clearly declining. The Warriors bore the brunt of that decline as Blaylock did not make any more defensive teams and never shot over 40% in a Warriors uniform. He was just one more guy during the Warriors’ Dark Ages that made little sense to acquire even at the time.
And who did the Hawks draft with the 10th pick that year? Jason Terry, who made the All-Rookie team that year, made a name for himself as a sixth man, and was a significant contributor to a title team.
It’s just yet another reminder that this team has come a long way from the days when the franchise couldn’t seem to get out their own way to a team that regularly does things that nobody in the history of the game could imagine.
Let’s appreciate that tonight.