“It came with time and natural progression” – Stephen Curry reveals why he started shooting 40-footers

Curry worked on adding a 40-foot range to his arsenal as a way to keep defense coverage against him guessing on the court.

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry didn’t shoot 40-foot three-point attempts right off the bat. For the first two years, Curry admitted that he wasn’t confident in his ability to shoot from 40 ft. yet but that changed significantly over time. Through consistently putting in the work and the natural progression of his game, Curry developed the skill to shoot from long range by his third year in the league.

“… It came with time and natural progression of my game throughout the years. Then once you hit a couple [shots] through, once you establish that this is where I’m at, that’s a good feeling to have knowing that you can surprise defenses no matter what because it’s hard to defend that shot,” Curry said in his appearance on the “Knuckleheads podcast.”

Curry’s way to adjust against the defense thrown at him

Part of the reason why Curry worked on his 40 ft. three-point attempts was because it was one way for him to keep the defense thrown at him guessing. The more capable he was at shooting from long range, the harder it was for opponents to predict where his shot attempts were going to be. Developing the skill to shoot from deep was also one ways for the 4-time champion to create more space for him and his teammates on offense.

“It became a reaction to how the defense was guarding me like where is the most amount of space and then you have to balance those two because everybody’s got space 28 feet but is that a good shot?” Curry added.

When Curry knows he has the hot hand

The NBA’s all-time three-point king mentioned that he determines whether or not he has the hot hand based on the combination of feeling good, making and finding good shots on the court. Once Curry makes two in a row, he takes another one as a heat check to determine whether or not he indeed has the hot hand. That’s considered a bold move for most players in the league but for Curry, it’s regarded as his best skill on the court.

“Figure when you make two or three in a row, and then you have a ‘heat-check,’ if that goes in you got the hot hand,” Curry told Wbur’s Only A Game in 2014. “I’ve had it plenty of times and you know when it’s going right.”

Curry’s ability to develop a 40 ft. range over time speaks volumes to his greatness and uniqueness as a player. It’s not a common practice in the league today nor was it ever in NBA history. That alone proves why Curry’s an all-time great and a legend who will never be forgotten.