Stephen Curry points his ring finger during the sixth game of the 2022 NBA Finals.
On Thursday night in Boston, Stephen Curry was crowned NBA champion for the fourth time and took his first Bill Russell award to the most valuable player in the NBA Finals, adding the only missing award to the his future Hall of Fame resume.
As the Warriors celebrate their fourth championship in eight seasons, let’s take a closer look at the numbers Curry posted in his best performance in the finals so far. Here are five numbers you need to know about the final MVP:
1. First player with an average of 30-5-5 and five triples in the NBA Finals
Stephen Curry became only the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 30.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in multiple NBA Finals, joining Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Jerry West.
In the 2019 finals against Toronto, Curry averaged 30.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists as the Warriors lost in six games. Three years later, Curry returned to those highs, averaging 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in Golden State’s six-game winning streak over the Celtics.
Stephen Curry
- 2019: 30.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 6.0 apg (loss)
- 2022: 31.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.0 apg (gain)
Michael Jordan
- 1991: 31.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 11.4 apg (gain)
- 1993: 41.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 6.3 apg (gain)
- 1997: 32.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 6.0 apg (gain)
Jerry West
- 1966: 33.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 5.1 apg (loss)
- 1968: 31.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 5.7 apg (loss)
Lebron James
- 2015: 35.8 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 8.8 apg (loss)
- 2017: 33.6 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 10.0 apg (loss)
- 2018: 34.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 10.0 apg (loss)
Curry adds another layer to this amazing line of statistics, as he is the only player in NBA history to have an average of at least five triples per game in the finals. He achieved this feat for the first time in 2018, but this year he added 5.2 triples to his already amazing 30-5-5 to give him the first 30-5-5-5 final since the introduction of the shot put. 3 points. in 1979-80.
Stephen Curry pierces Dagger 3 to finish off Boston.
2. Offensive effectiveness on / off the court
Stephen Curry led all players in scoring with 187 total points during the six-game series, accounting for 29.7% of Golden State’s 629 total points scored in the finals. To add some context to Curry’s production level, here are the following five players responsible for the outcome of your team’s score:
- Jaylen Brown: 141 of Boston’s 605 total points (23.3%)
- Jayson Tatum: 129 (21.3%)
- Andrew Wiggins: 110 (17.5%)
- Klay Thompson: 102 (16.2%)
- Marcus Smart: 91 (15.0%)
While Curry was on the court, he accounted for 36% of Golden State points, including 41.3% of his triples. But, as we’ve learned throughout this Warrior dynasty, Curry’s impact on the Golden State attack goes far beyond the points he himself notes. His mere presence on the court – “gravity” – draws so much attention from the opposing defense that it makes the game easier for his teammates, providing extra space and a higher percentage of goal opportunities.
As we watched the finals, the Warrior’s attack scored 115.8 points for every 100 possessions in Curry’s 225 minutes on the court. In his 109 minutes off the field, Golden State’s offensive efficiency plummeted to 88.6 points per 100 possessions.
One more note on Curry’s offensive efficiency against the NBA’s top-ranked defense: Curry’s 62.6 actual shooting percentage is the highest of a high-volume guard (minimum of at least 100 attempts). field shot; 43 players qualify) in the history of the Finals. If we include all the positions, Curry ranks ninth out of 86 qualified players.
FINAL PLAYERS TS% FGM-A (FG%) 3 PM-A (3P%) FTM-A (FT%) 1 Stephen Curry 2022 62.6% 66-137 (48.2%) 31-71 (43.7% ) 24-28 (85.7%) 2 Chris Paul 2021 62.2% 55-100 (55.0%) 12-23 (52.2%) 9-12 (75.0%) 3 Michael Jordan 1992 61 , 7% 81-154 (52.6%) 12-28 (42.9%) 41-46 (89.1%) 4 Dwyane Wade 2011 61.4% 59-108 (54.6%) 7-23 (30.4%) 34-49 (69.4%) 5 Michael Jordan 1991 61.2% 63-113 (55.8%) 2-49 (69.4%) (50.0%) 28-33 (84.8%) 6 Stephen Curry 2019 59.8% 53-128 (41.4%) 23-67 (34.3%) 54-57 (94.7%) 7 Magic Johnson 1987 59.0% 66 -122% (54.1%)) 1-2 (50.0%) 24-25 (96.0%) 8 Reggie Miller 2000 58.8% 43-104 (41.3%) 15-40 (37 .5%) 45-46 (97.8%) 9 Stephen Curry 2015 58.5% 54- 122 (44.3%) 25-65 (38.5%) 23-26 (88.5%) 10 Stephen Curry 2016 58.0% 50-124 (40.3%) 32-80 (40.0%) 26-28 (92.9%)
Curry has now recorded four of the top 10 actual shooting percentages posted by a guard with at least 100 field goal attempts in the NBA Finals, but none better than in 2022.
Stephen Curry wins the coveted Finals MVP honors.
3. 3-point shooting final display
Curry entered the 2022 NBA Finals with the most triples record in the history of the Finals, with 121 in 28 games on the championship stage. With those six additional games, he added 31 more to that total, expanding his record to 152. Teammate Klay Thompson (105) and rival LeBron James (101) are the only other players in the history of the United States. Finals with at least 100 triples.
Curry’s 31 triples scored the most in a six-game series in the NBA Finals; he broke his own record (25) from the 2015 Golden State title, the first of that dynasty. Jayson Tatum and Klay Thompson tied for the second-largest triple in the 2022 finals with 20 each.
Most 3 in a series of 6 games, NBA finals
- 31: Stephen Curry, Golden State, 2022
- 25: Stephen Curry, Golden State, 2015
- 24: Klay Thompson, Golden State, 2019
Curry dropped just a triple to match his own record in any series of finals; he defeated 32 of them in seven 2016 Golden State games against Cleveland.
While Curry made more total triples in 2016, and made more triples per game in 2018 (5.5) when the Warriors swept the Cavs, Curry has never shot a higher percentage from the 3-point range than in 2022 against Boston. Curry finished the final shooting 31 of 71 (43.7%) from the 3-point range, and this includes his first playoff game with zero triples: he shot 0 of 9 in Game 5 before recovering. with a 6. -for 11 performances in the clincher series.
FINALS 3PM 3PA 3P% 2015 25 65 38.5% 2016 32 80 40.0% 2017 19 49 38.8% 2018 22 53 41.5% 2019 23 67 34.3% 2022 31 71 43.7% Total 152 385 39.5% Average 4.47 11.32 39.5%
The greatest shooter of all time just had his best shooting performance in the NBA Finals, and helped him win his first MVP Finals award.
4. Pull-up shooting
What sets Curry apart from other great shooters in NBA history is his ability to knock down 3-point shots on the move as well as stop out of the catch. Curry’s pull-up dexterity was fully demonstrated during the 2022 NBA Finals, as he led all players with 36 of those cubes, including 23 triples.
To put these numbers in perspective, no other player in this year’s final did more than 13 jump-ups in the series and only five double-digit hits:
- Stephen Curry: 36-75 (48.0%)
- Jayson Tatum: 13-47 (27.7%)
- Klay Thompson: 13-38 (34.2%)
- Jaylen Brown: 12-31 (38.7%)
- Jordan Poole: 12-31 (38.7%)
The disparity with the rest of the field is similar when we focus only on pull-ups 3:
- Stephen Curry: 23-55 (41.8%)
- Jayson Tatum: 10-23 (43.5%)
- Jordan Poole: 8-25 (32.0%)
- Klay Thompson: 4-13 (30.8%)
- Jaylen Brown: 4-9 (44.4%)
Overall, Curry shot 36 of 75 (48.0%) in throws in the finals with an effective field goal percentage of 63.3%. All other players in the final combined to shoot 68 of 210 (32.4%) with an effective field goal percentage of 39.8%.
Curry saved his best pull-up shot of the season for the NBA Finals. During the regular season, he shot 39% from the field, 37.4% from 3, and had an effective field goal percentage of 52.5 in pull-ups. Of the 96 players with at least 200 pull-up attempts, Curry was ranked 10th in effective field goal percentage.
PLAYER GP FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% EFG% Regular season 64 226 579 39.0 156 417 37.4 52.5 Playoffs (pre-finals) 16 55 136 40.4 36 40 40.4 36 4 89 5 6 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 3
During the first three rounds of the playoffs before the finals, Curry shot 40.4% from the field and from a distance of 3 points to get an effective field goal percentage of 53.7% in pull-ups. Of the 48 players with at least 25 pull-up attempts during the first three rounds of the playoffs, Curry was seventh in effective field goal percentage.
During the NBA Finals, that effective field goal percentage increased 10 percentage points more, as Curry finished nearly 12 percentage points more than any other player on the field.
Stephen Curry’s best NBA finals played in four title races.
5. Dominant off screens and switches
One of the key matches to see him enter the 2022 NBA Finals was Curry against Marcus Smart, who had just been named Kia Defensive Player of the Year in the league. When we look at Curry’s offensive tackle data from the series, we see that Smart defended Curry for a maximum of 27:50 and did a solid job of curbing Curry. Smart kept Curry at 25 points with 34.8% shots from the field, including 25.0% from the 3-point range, with as many control losses (six) as assists.
But it was when the Warriors pulled Smart out of Curry with ball screens, which forced numerous changes, that Curry was able to exploit the clashes. Curry made 18 shots, including eight triples in just under 21 minutes of game time against Derrick White. And Curry made 15 shots, including nine of his 31 triples, in just over seven minutes of time against Al Horford.
MATCH MATCHUP MIN PTS AST TOV FGM FG% 3PM 3P% FTM Marcus Smart 27:50 25 6 6 8 34.8 3 25.0 6 Derrick White 20:54 44 6 2 18 52.9 8 47.1 47.1 4 0 6 3 5 62.5 3 Jaylen Brown 7:02 11 2 0 4 57.1 0 0 3 Al Horford 7:16 41 7 2 15 57.7 9 64.3 2 Robert Williams III 5:40 23 5 3 10 40.0 3: 5 2 4 5 10 40.0 3 0 3 2 2 1 6 46.2 3 42.9 1 Payton Pritchard 1:42 8 0 0 3 100 2 100 0 Aaron Nesmith 0:16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nik Stauskas 0:12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Daniel Theis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Below is a game-by-game breakdown of the number of …