Warriors’ Stephen Curry becomes first NBA player to make 4,000 3-pointers, and 5,000 is within his reach

Stephen Curry is already the NBA’s 3-point king. He broke Ray Allen’s all-time 3-point record in 2021, and has since been putting more distance between him and anyone else trying to chase him. On Thursday night, he reached a milestone no one has ever accomplished in NBA history when he made his 4,000th career 3-pointer on a side-step jumper from the right wing in the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings.

Curry entered the night two 3s away from crossing the 4,000 threshold, and took a little longer than expected to hit the milestone shot. Only two players — Curry and James Harden — had even reached 3,000 career triples. Now Curry stands on his own with 4,000 and counting. 

This latest accomplishment by Curry comes on the heels of him surpassing 25,000 points on March 9, making him the 26th player to join the 25K club, and just the 10th player to do it with a single team over their career. At the rate at which Curry puts up points, he’ll surely be knocking on the door of finishing his career in the top 10 in scoring, and he could also reach 5,000 3-pointers when it’s all over, too.

Curry, who will turn 37 on Friday, has two years left on his contract which ends in the summer of 2027, and has expressed interest in playing past his current deal. So let’s say he signs to play another two years, taking him through the 2028-29 season, by which time he’ll be 40 years old. That would give Curry four years to reach 5,000 career 3-pointers made. Natural regression will surely happen, and injuries have popped up for Curry in recent years, but he’s also one of the most well-conditioned athletes in the league. He has to be with all the running around the floor he does to get open from 3-point land.

Given that Curry is getting up there in age, let’s say he averages 60 games over the next four years (he’s averaged roughly 63 games  a season over his entire career). Using that framework, and assuming he plays another four years, he would need to make at least 4.2 3-pointers a game over those 60 games in four years to cross 5,000. 

This is all guesswork obviously, and it will greatly depend on how healthy Curry will be in the next few years, but it’s certainly feasible. And if there is anyone who could reach that uncharted territory, it would certainly be Curry.