Steph Curry surpassed another impressive round number in the Warriors’ 126-116 Christmas Day win over the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center.
With the 12th point of his team-high 23 on Thursday, Curry reached 26,000 career points, making him just the 22nd NBA player ever to reach that threshold.
Curry, who has made it clear he sees everything, told reporters after the win that he wasn’t aware that he was close to the milestone.
“No, I didn’t know going into it, which is great because those things take care of themselves,” Curry said. “The more you play, the more opportunity you get out there. And it is a special milestone for sure, just, 22 guys in the history of the league.
“You look up and you know there are some other active players still doing it, still climbing the ladder and I’m happy to be a part of that chase to see how far I can get up there.”
After Thursday’s performance, Curry sits at 26,013 career points. Sacramento Kings wing DeMar DeRozan is close behind Curry and should reach the 26,000-point club in the next four or five games.
Next on the NBA’s all-time points list is Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, who sits at 26,071, which means Curry should pass him sometime next week.
The active players ahead of Curry are Kings guard Russell Westbrook (26,638 points), Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden (28,388) and Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (31,201 entering Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers).
Whenever Curry reaches 27,000 career points, he will be the 14th or 15th player to get there, depending on whether Westbrook beats him there.
Only 11 players have scored at least 28,000 points and only eight have gotten to 30,000 points.
No one, not even Curry, knows how much time he has left. But he’s still playing at an elite level, so 4,000 more points isn’t out of the question.
But wherever Curry finishes, he has cemented himself as one of the NBA’s all-time greatest scorers.
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