Stephen Curry is one of the few superstars who never received “superstar treatment” in terms of getting free throw calls.
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Stephen Curry is one of the most elite point guards in the history of the game. As if there were any doubts earlier, Chef Curry broke the all-time 3-point record this past season and has now established himself as the greatest marksman ever.
Having shifty handles along with an efficient jump shot has helped Curry rack up one of the most distinguished resumes in modern NBA. Since setting foot in the league back in 2009, Steph has been to 8 All-Star games, 8 All-NBA Teams, won 2 scoring titles, 2 MVPs, 4 titles, 1 Finals MVPs, and was also selected to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
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It is solidified that Curry is a superstar. However, despite being a global megastar, The Baby-Faced Assassin doesn’t receive the infamous “superstar treatment”, in terms of getting free throw calls.
Stephen Curry has 2 of the top 3 seasons with the highest PPG and less than 7FTA
Now, Curry gets fouled very often. However, his free-throw attempts per game stat would say otherwise. The Bay Area hero is the only player in NBA history with two 30+ PPG seasons while attempting lesser than 7 free throws per game.
In the 2020-2021 season, Curry put up a staggering 32 PPG and shot only 6.3 free throws per game (career-best). Whereas, in his unanimous MVP campaign, the GSW guard put up 30.1 points on 5.1 free throws per game.
To put it into perspective, other “superstar” guards like Damian Lillard (6.2), Russell Westbrook (6.9), Trae Young (7.4), Luka Doncic (7.6), James Harden (8.7), and a whole bunch of others are averaging more FTA throughout their career than SC30 (4.3).
The only other superstar who faced the same adversity as Curry is LeBron James. This past 2021-2022 season, LBJ averaged 30.3 PPG and attempted only 6 free throws per game.
Highest PPG seasons with less than 7 FTA:
1. Steph Curry 20-21: 32 PPG 6.3 FTA
2. LeBron James 21-22: 30.3 PPG 6 FTA
3. Steph Curry 15-16: 30.1 PPG 5.1 FTAThis also gives Curry the 1st and 3rd lowest FTA for any 30+ PPG season.
Top 5 scorer of all time.
— 8thPickSteph (@8thPickSteph) July 22, 2022
NBA Twitter had their reactions to this stat.
If Steph got free throws he would average 40+ easily lmfao
— ENGINE. (@Stryfen) July 23, 2022
Steph is different cause he doesn’t need FT to score. The league knows if they gave him the FT he deserves he would dominate the league.
— Colt 🏀 (@xChefCurryx) July 22, 2022
Curry could easily average 2-3 points more per game if he’s getting the treatment the other superstars are getting.
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