One Duke basketball assistant is calling out unnecessary Curry comparisons.
To shoot like Steph Curry certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing. But it’s not exactly accurate when speaking about former Duke basketball star and current Dallas Mavericks guard Seth Curry. No, the younger Curry brother, son of former 16-year NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, just shoots like Seth — no other comparison necessary at this point.
Because at this point, on the list of active leaders in career 3-point percentage, Seth Curry ranks No. 1 at 44.3 percent while Steph sits No. 3 at a measly 43.5 percent.
Interestingly, as a sidebar, Blue Devils comprise 20 percent of the top 20 with JJ Redick’s 41.6 percent at No. 7, Luke Kennard’s 40.2 percent at No. 14, and Jayson Tatum’s 39.9 percent at No. 17.
But back to Seth Curry, the only one in his family playing in the Disney Orlando bubble since his sibling’s squad, the 15-50 Golden State Warriors, wasn’t one of the 22 to receive an invite after putting up the NBA’s worst record prior to the suspension of the season in March (largely due to Steph’s absence in all but five games this season due to a broken left hand).
Evidently, on Thursday evening, Duke basketball legend Nolan Smith, who played alongside Seth Curry as a Blue Devil in the 2010-11 season, took issue with some comments concerning his fellow Brotherhood member’s silky performance during the 40-27 Mavericks’ 108-104 scrimmage win over the 49-14 Los Angeles Lakers.
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Smith, who nowadays helps Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski with recruiting and other coaching duties but whose official title within the program is director of basketball operations, called out the contest’s announcers with the following tweet:
https://twitter.com/NdotSmitty/status/1286458898157903872?s=20
Those “100” emojis from Smith sure are fitting.
After all, Seth Curry finished the night with a game-high 23 points — igniting his team’s comeback in the third quarter — and didn’t miss a shot from anywhere, going 8-for-8 from the field, including 6-for-6 from downtown, and 1-for-1 from the charity stripe. Sizzling, 100 percent.
And the Charlotte native did so in only 15 minutes on the floor (another of Curry’s former Duke teammates, guard Quinn Cook, scored 13 points in 20 minutes off the bench for the Lakers).
This season, Curry’s seventh in the NBA after going undrafted in 2013 and spending a year in what was then the D-League, the 29-year-old has been lights out as a part-time starter for Dallas. He has averaged 12.6 points in 24.5 minutes per game while putting up a career-best 45.3 percent from deep and 56.0 percent from 2-point territory.
An all-time feat now in sight for the Duke basketball product
Granted, Seth Curry’s 84.1 percent from the foul line (84.4 for his career) would need some work to catch Steph’s 90.6 percent across 11 seasons. Oops, apologies to Nolan Smith, for comparing the brothers isn’t necessary anymore seeing that Seth is obviously doing just fine just being Seth.
In fact, if the younger Curry stays anywhere near as hot as he was against the Lakers, then he could one day find himself No. 1 on the list for career 3-point percentage (currently No. 2, a little more than one percentage point behind Steve Kerr’s 45.4 percent).
After two more scrimmages, with eight games remaining before the playoffs begin on August 17, Curry and the Mavericks (seventh in the Western Conference standings) will resume their regular season next Friday at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN when they take on the 40-24 Houston Rockets.
Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Seth Curry plus other news and views regarding all things Duke basketball.