Stephen Curry spent a summer in high school changing his shooting form to become the NBA’s greatest shooter

Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter the NBA has ever seen.

The two-time MVP broke his own record for made three-pointers this season, hitting 402 — 116 more than his previous record.

However, Curry’s shooting stroke didn’t always come naturally. A profile on Curry’s shooting from Ben Cohen of the Wall Street Journal in 2014 broke down how Curry’s mechanics, noting that he had to change his shot just so he could have a chance to play in college.

When Curry was in high school he was still shooting from his waist — a common trait among shorter, weaker players who need the power to get the ball up to the proper height, especially from far distances. Curry’s father, Dell, a former NBA player told WSJ, “On every team he ever played on, he was the smallest guy, so he had to find ways to get around that.”

Knowing players at higher levels would block his shot, Curry spent a summer changing his shooting form. He slowly moved his release point higher so that he was shooting the ball above his head. This coincided with a growth spurt that brought him to 6’3″, and suddenly, Curry had a shot that would be difficult to block at any level.

Curry told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard it was “the most frustrating summer.”

Clearly, it was worth the frustration. While there are a handful of players who might shoot better percentages than Curry, nobody does it while taking his volume of threes, nor do they do it from the same distance or off the dribble.

Ray Allen, who holds the record for most made threes all-time even admitted that we’ve never seen anything like Curry.

After Curry exploded for 40 points in Game 4 Monday night in his return from a knee injury, TNT analyst and former NBA player Charles Barkley said the debate over the greatest shooter in NBA history is “in the bag.”

A combination of good genes and hard work helped make Curry the player he is today, and it’s paying off.