Steph Curry: The Babe Ruth of Basketball (and the stats to prove it)
Blasphemous!!! I know! When you think of "the Babe Ruth of Basketball" you inevitably think; Michael Jordan. But stay with me for a minute.
Babe Ruth revolutionized the game of baseball. He took a novelty (the Home Run), and turned into the most exciting and dangerous weapon in the game. The league was not ready for this change and it took some time for it to evolve and emulate. He was so far ahead of 2nd place, and that's the moment the sport changes. He was a blip on the statistical expectation curve.
See where I am going with this?
Steph Curry took a specialized talent (3 pt shooting) and is revolutionizing the game of basketball, turning a once somewhat novelty shot into the most dangerous and exciting weapon in the game. Its not so much that the record is broken by such a large amount (41%; 402 vs 286), its how much better he is than 2nd place (47%; vs 276). And its not that he is only dominant in one area. Like Ruth, he is a great player. 2x NBA MVP (things All Time greats like Kobe Bryant and Shaquille Oneal can not claim). And not only that, like Ruth, his amazing feats translate to actual team wins, actual championships!
Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, Wilt Chamberlain, Dan Marino....Steph Curry. These players took something (HR's, Points, Scoring Average, Touchdowns...3 point shot) and took it where nobody thought possible. See the graphs I provided below showing the progression of the HR leaders, Points leaders, PPG leaders, Touchdowns leaders and 3 pointers leaders and compared to 2nd place. See the spikes with these players (lines in red) . That is what connects these all time greats. That's where the game changes! No I am not saying Steph is as good as Ruth or Gretzky or even Wilt Chamberlain (maybe when his career is over, but not yet). But he is changing the game right before our eyes, in very similar ways that those all time greats did. These players are once in a generation players. They are a blip on the statistical curve. An anomaly that can only be explained as "before their time." Can only be explained as...Greatness. Sometimes the league and others catch up (Ruth, Marino) and sometimes the leagues and rules don't allow for it (Gretzky, Chamberlain). Only time will tell which one Curry is.
Witness Greatness. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
See below graphs (all totals are "annualized" to current amount of games)
All years adjusted for current 162 game schedule
All years adjusted for current 82 game schedule
All years adjusted for current 16 game schedule
All years adjusted for current 82 game schedule
