Warriors’ Steph Curry celebrates 10-year anniversary of his career-defining shot

On this day 10 years ago, Steph Curry had one of his career-defining moments.

As Curry rehabs from a right knee injury that sidelined him for nine straight games during a season derailed by Jimmy Butler’s ACL tear, it’s a stark reminder of how lucky we are to still be able to watch him play.

During the 2015-16 NBA season, the Warriors won a whopping 73 games en route to securing the championship and laying the foundation to become the league’s modern dynasty.

Amid that stunning run, one regular season game stood above the rest.

It was February 27, a day the Warriors had circled on their calendar. Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green played with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook against a Thunder team widely considered their biggest threat to the title.

Curry, who had led the Warriors from NBA greats to champions in 2015, was on his way to becoming the greatest shooter of all time.

This game helped cement his legacy.

With 8.4 seconds left in overtime and the score at 118, Westbrook missed a pull-up jumper. Andre Iguodala caught the rebound and threw the ball to Curry as the seconds ticked off the clock. Instead of calling a timeout, Warriors coach Steve Kerr let things unfold organically.

It was the perfect setup for Steph Curry’s magic.

Curry took three dribbles and barely crossed the half-court line before firing a 30-foot three-pointer over the outstretched arms of Andre Roberson.

With 0.6 seconds left, the ball zoomed through the net.

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Announcer Mike Breen famously exclaimed, “They have a timeout, decide not to use it. Curry, right in the center… BANG! BANG! Oh, what a shot by Curry!”

Curry ran off the court. He jumped. He raised his arm into the air. He rocked. He even danced.

It was a deep outpouring of joy from a player who put his name on the map for being the best in the world at those moments. At times when the stakes were highest. At times when the pressure reached a peak.

That shot immediately became a mainstay on the NBA’s all-time highlights list.

Curry was a mile away from the basket. Roberson nearly had his view of the rim taken away. It was a breathtaking display of perfection under the most impossible circumstances, the epitome of what makes Curry so much fun.

Green called the shot “absurd.”

Thompson added, “He has the longest range I have ever seen.”

Everything about that moment was immediately etched into the history books, from Breen’s emphatic call of the piece to the drama of the shot, which to this day still induces chills upon rewatch.

It was Curry’s 12th 3-pointer of the game, tying Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall for the most threes in a game at the time.

And with that 46-point performance, Curry became the first player in NBA history with at least 10 made 3s in consecutive games. (Just two nights earlier, he had 10 three-pointers and 51 points against the Magic.) It was his third straight 40-point performance en route to his unanimous MVP campaign.

To make things even more theatrical, that shot came on the heels of Curry missing about six minutes in the third quarter due to an ankle injury. When Curry returned, he helped the Warriors come back from a twelve-point deficit in the fourth quarter and send the game into overtime, delivering one of the most memorable regular-season games in NBA history.

Over the past decade, we’ve become accustomed to moments like this from Curry.

There was his barrage of three-pointers in the gold medal game at the 2024 Olympics. There was his dagger with just under two minutes left in Game 4 of the 2022 Finals against the Celtics, which was one of the defining moments of his Finals MVP run. There was his game-winning 3 at the buzzer against the Rockets in January 2022.

Curry is defined by shining in those moments. He is the master of the flow state. He is perhaps the most exciting superstar of all time, able to suspend time, distance and the limits of what is considered possible.

And that shot against the Thunder 10 years ago epitomized that phenomenon perfectly.

The 37-year-old Curry is still capable of making impressive shots every night. He hasn’t slowed down. He became the oldest point guard to be named an All-Star starter earlier this month. Heck, he’s still averaging 27.2 points on 46.8% shooting, 3.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.

Curry will be available until at least early March. But on the anniversary of one of the best regular season shots in NBA history, are greatness deserves to be celebrated.

Curry has redefined the way the game is played. He transformed every square inch of the playing field into a danger zone. He led the Warriors to four championships in eight years. And he did it with his signature effervescence.

Curry is unlike anyone we’ve ever seen.

And we will never forget such moments.