Being the best three-point shooter (probably) to ever walk the NBA courts didn’t stop Stephen Curry from putting on an all-time awful performance from beyond the arc, joining Trey Burke, John Starks and Antoine Walker, tying the worst ever 3-point shooting performance in the NBA since 1983.
Curry shot 0-for-11 in the road win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Although he still finished with 19 points and 7-for-23 from the field, the two-time MVP is at a place where he’s no longer everyone’s favorite, and the cute baby face charm has long been replaced with an air of arrogance that’s more annoying than sympathy-inducing. The point of change doesn’t matter, but it’s safe to say most NBA fans were very happy to see Curry look so helpless from where he’s most comfortable.
But Curry only matched history, didn’t break it. Just over two years ago, Trey Burke, when still playing for the Utah Jazz, shot 0-for-11 from 3 in a loss against the Atlanta Hawks. He didn’t have anything else in his performance to console him, as he finished with an abysmal 2-for-19 from the field.
John Starks, who is famous for a historically awful NBA Finals game 7 performance from beyond the arc, makes it into the list thanks to that 1994 game against the Houston Rockets. He shot 2-for-18 from the field, including 0-for-11 from three, missing 3 times in the final minute, with one of those misses including an air-ball. Starks could be celebrated for someone who made the most of mediocre talent, but that game and Reggie Miller taunting him is what he’s usually associated with.
Antoine Walker is the fourth player in the “0-for-11” club, getting there in the 2001-2002 season during a Boston Celtics loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Walker shot 6-for-23 from the field and finished with 15 points. Like Curry, he has two games of at least 10 three-point attempts and none of them made. Curry’s first such game came this season in that weird opening week, that included a blowout loss against the Los Angeles Lakers. Curry shot 0-for-10 from three, finishing with 13 points and 5-for-17 from the field.
Kevin Durant, Curry’s teammate, also has an 0-for-10 performance in his past: In an early 2010-2011 game for the Oklahoma City Thunder, he shot that poorly in a loss against the Los Angeles Clippers. He finished the game with 6-for-24. He’s had some stinkers with the Warriors this season, but not something that bad.
However, the king of 0-for-10 is James Harden, the only player in the last 34 years with 3 such games. One of them came during his rookie season, back in 2009, shooting 2-for-15 against the Los Angeles Lakers, who were coming off one championship and headed towards another. Sounds like eons ago. Harden’s next monstrosity from beyond the arc was in 2013, playing in Houston, shooting a total of 3-for-17 against the Phoenix Suns. Last season, during Houston’s disastrous start, Harden had a 2-for-15 game in a loss at Miami. In all of them he shot 0-for-10 from three point range.
One last tidbit before we sign off: According to Basketball Reference, who have a game score meter to try and put a number of a player’s performance, the worst game for a player who shot 0-for-10 from three or worse, is that infamous Starks game from 1994, posting a -3.4. The best game? Kemba Walker in 2015, not letting his 0-for-10 from three night stop him from scoring 21 points and dishing out 10 assists.