Stephen Curry appearance to be on track to win his fifth free throw title entering the final day of the season. After the Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz, Klay Thompson snatched it from him. Thompson went 5-5 to finish the season at 92.7% to Curry’s 92.3% and the two-time MVP was a bit upset.
“I’ll see if they rewrite law or not,” Curry said. “I don’t know what 125 free throws is, what that standard is, but he did it.”
By making those five free throws, Thompson made 127 shots for the season. To qualify for the premiership title, a player must score 125 points and Curry said they never had a single conversation about the matter before the match.
“I didn’t know anything until when ‘What Raymond [Ridder] told me today,” Curry said. “I know I was there percentage-wise, almost all year. I think [Damian Lillard] was there, too. But I didn’t know Klay wasn’t eligible until the last game, and he did.” all year, so good for him.”
“He didn’t know either,” Curry revealed. “So he said, ‘Oh, that’s great,’ and that was the whole thing story. He didn’t even realize he was receiving a small plaque or a trophy or something. I gave it to Jordan (Poole) when he got it. I guess Klay missed this whole ceremony because he didn’t know there was a trophy there for the top stats guy. So the trophy was a surprise for him. I hate losing,” Curry said. “Absolutely not. But I guess I’m extremely proud of my teammates.”
This is the second time Curry asked his teammates to take the free throw title from him. Jordan Poole did it on the final day of the 2021-22 season, just like Thompson did here. If Curry wins twice, he will tie Rick Barry for second with six titles. Bill Sharman holds the all-time record with seven.
While Curry is unlikely to catch Sharman now, he is the all-time leader in free throw percentage at 90.98 %. The 36-year-old is just one of three players over the age of 90, along with Steve Nash (90.43%) and Mark Price (90.39%).
Can Stephen Curry deliver? Another masterpiece before Kings ? Like last year, the Warriors and Sacramento Kings face off in a playoff game. In 2023, it’s Game 7 of their first-round series, while in 2024, it’s Game 9 meeting. Game 10 of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Curry scored 50 points in Game 7 to lead the Warriors to victory, and I wouldn’t bet on him delivering another exceptional performance on the night Tuesday. The 10-time All-Star has averaged 31.0 points per game in the four meetings between the teams this season and will welcome the opportunity to silence the home crowd once again.
Quant in Thompson, he had a hard time during this elimination. game last year, when he was 4-19 from the field. He is in much better shape mentally and physically now, so I would back the 34-year-old to have a better performance this time.