As the old saying goes, shooters shoot. While that's true of Steph Curry, the Warriors star has and always will do it differently.
You don't become the greatest shooter to ever live by simply doing what everyone else does. By thinking how everyone else thinks. While his work ethic and natural talent helped set him apart as a shooter, Curry's mindset when it comes to shooting and all that comes with the craft might be what has propelled him from questionable draft pick with suspect ankles to NBA legend.
Curry had one of the worst shooting months of his career in January. In 15 games, he shot 38.5 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from 3-point range. It was an extended slump the likes of which Curry had never seen before in his career. Curry appeared to break out of his permafrost during Golden State's final game in January, dropping 40 on the Houston Rockets, including 21 in the fourth quarter.
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In two games in February since the Houston barrage, Curry is shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from deep. So, slump over, right?
That's not how the greatest shooter in history views things, be it slumps or scorching hot streaks. Therein lies the key.
"It's the infinite game to me. So it's not really, 'are you past it?'" Curry said Monday after the Warriors' 110-98 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. "It's just, 'keep shooting,' because you never know what's going to happen. That's how I always approach it. It's never like, when you're hot, shooting 60 percent from three, it's never like, 'oh that's going to last forever,' And every dip, it's not going to last forever.
"So that's how my mindset is. It doesn't really answer your question but that's how I approach it. I never really think about finite endings to any period of the season. It's just a constant through-line of the season and I like that perspective. It helps me just keep moving toward the next play, next shot, next whatever."
Golden State Warriors
Curry's ability to view everything through that infinite prism allows him to stay level whether he's flambeeing the league or trying to thaw out of an uncharacteristic deep freeze. It has allowed him to set the bar at a level no one has ever reached, and then keep raising it.
“It’s the gift and the curse of the bar that you set,” Curry said after dropping 40 on the Rockets. “It’s part of the nature. You get all of the praise when things are going well and, obviously, there’s something to talk about when I don’t meet that level. You try to deal with the frustration when that happens over a consistent period of time. It’s a little new, but it’s keeping me dialed in on how to still impact the game even if shots aren’t falling."
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Greatness in sports is often achieved by the perfect melding of physical talent and mental genius.
It has been clear for a long time that Curry, like other legends before him, is a basketball savant.
Every once in a while he gives us a behind-the-curtain glimpse at how the basketball mind of the greatest shooter in history operates.