Stephen Curry has established himself at the zenith when it comes to his three-point shooting. For the record eighth time in his career, he stands at the top with the most number of 3-pointers for the season. His former teammate Donte DiVincenzo, who has grown as a shooter by leaps and bounds, quipped that he will catch up to the greatest shooter in basketball history. However, with around 20 games left in the season, it looks highly unlikely.
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DiVincenzo is currently third on the three-point list sinking 184 shots, 82 away from Steph’s 266. On the eve of the match-up between the Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks, Stephen Curry revealed Donte DiVincenzo’s texts to him.
Curry told ‘The Athletic’ that the Knicks guard sent him messages crediting the Warriors sharpshooter for his incredible surge as a three-point shooter. At the same, he also engaged in a playful jab, as Steph added,
“He told me he was trying to chase me down on the 3-point list,”
As someone who shares a close relationship with the New York Knicks guard, Curry keeps a tab on his three-point progression. He added that upon reading the stat sheet of the improved shooter’s numbers, he let out a “damn”.
There is a huge reason why the Knicks guard is on the rise. He modified his shooting mechanics as per Curry’s adjustments and learned to rise above fundamentals. In the conversation with ‘The Athletic’, a confident Donte DiVincenzo stated,
“I used to think feet squared, shoulders squared, release and everything had to be aligned and everything. And I get he’s[Stephen Curry] almost an anomaly. But what’s so much different is as long as his shoulders are good, he doesn’t care about anything else.”
Surely, this change in the shooting approach has catapulted the sixth-year player’s ascension. He is no longer just a defensive threat with occasional shooting but can hurt shooting from the deep in a myriad of ways. The former Warriors guard truly blossomed in the company of the humble operator. Moreover, being in the elite company of elite shooters such as Luka Doncic and Klay Thompson speaks to his amazing sniping journey.
Donte DiVincenzo’s long-range numbers speak for themselves
Donte DiVincenzo is tallying a career-high 13.9 points per game and has made a career-high 4.9 out of 10.9 attempts from the field. From the three-point line, the guard has buried 3.2 shots on 7.6 attempts, shooting 41.6% from the deep, which are all career-high numbers.
Apart from the 2023-24 season, the 2020-21 season remains the only one where he tallied double-digits scoring with 10.4 points per game. It was the last season with the Warriors, where he elevated his shooting as a bench player, making 2.1 shots on 39.7% from the floor. His shooting percentage has increased by 15% since his rookie year.
While his game has seen incredible growth this season, DiVincenzo showed flashes of brilliance in his third season with the Bucks. He hit the two 3-point per game mark for the first time in his career.
With 184 three-pointers this season, the 2018 draftee has surpassed the career-high mark of 150 he set last season. However, in the previous seasons, he lacked the flexibility in his shot that he currently possesses, taking a page out of Curry’s book.
