Korver Chasing Down Third Place All-Time On 3-Pointers
Dec 1, 2018, 5:13 PM | Updated: 5:53 pm
Kyle Korver #26 of the Utah Jazz shoots in Game Four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at Energy Solutions Arena on April 25, 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Lakers won 108-94.(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It’s no secret that Utah Jazz wingman Kyle Korver can shoot the rock. After a sluggish start to the season in which the Jazz ranked near the bottom of the league in 3-point shooting, the 37-year old was acquired in a trade to inject some long-range shooting and floor spacing into the offense.
Kyle Korver tallies 14 PTS off the bench in his @utahjazz season debut! #TeamIsEverything pic.twitter.com/kj6Zm5gJvZ
— NBA (@NBA) December 1, 2018
Korver is currently the active leader in 3-pointers made and is fourth all-time behind some of the NBA’s greats with a total of 2,242 made threes. If he continues at his career average of two made 3-pointers per game, he should continue to rise up the rankings and have a shot at becoming the league’s all-time 3-point shot maker, if only briefly albeit.
The Path To The Top
At a rate of two made threes per game, it’ll take Korver 20 more games to tie Jason Terry for third all-time in 3-point makes with 2,282. His next three would give him third place outright.
There are significant jumps between third and second place all-time. The league’s second all-time 3-point shot maker is Reggie Miller. With a total of 2,560 makes, it will mathematically take Korver 159 games to reach that total, which is about two more seasons of games.
A little throwback in light of today’s news.
Kyle Korver set an NBA record by shooting 53.6% from 3 during the 2009-10 season.#LegendaryMoments | @budweiserusa pic.twitter.com/RAKuQU1Zhy
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 29, 2018
Finally to ascend to the top of the list and surpass Ray Allen as the league’s 3-point make king, Korver will need to maintain his career average for 366 more games to hit the 2,973 3-pointers made total. That’s about four and a half more seasons of NBA basketball. By then, Korver will be coming up on his 42nd birthday and be a 22-year NBA veteran. It’s not impossible, but it’ll be extremely difficult.
Curry Should Get There First
What complicates Korver’s pursuit of the record is the man who is second in active players for 3-balls made, Stephen Curry.
Curry has played in much fewer games than Korver, with only 637 games under his belt to 1,121 by Korver. He also makes threes more frequently than Korver, with a 3.4 threes per game average. At that rate, Curry will pass Allen for the all-time record and pass Korver along the way, in 230 games, which is a little less than 3 seasons away.
So while it would be exciting to see Korver reach the lofty heights of becoming the NBA’s all-time 3-point maker, it’s probably not going to happen. That doesn’t mean that Jazz fans can’t enjoy all the benefits that come with having a dangerous weapon from deep on the floor. The Jazz’s win over Charlotte on Friday is evidence of what can happen when good shooting is contagious.
