Curry at 1 feels right or nah?

Klay opened the 2018-19 season 5 for 36 from three over seven games. Then on October 29 in Chicago he made 14 of them in 27 minutes, still the single-game record.

Larry Bird topped out at 29.9 in 1987-88. Jayson Tatum's 30.1 in 2022-23 is the only 30-point season in Celtics history. Jaylen Brown got to 28.7 last season and then got traded to Philly.

Russell Westbrook wore 0 for four franchises. His first season out of it, wearing 4 in Washington, he still averaged a triple-double, 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 11.7 assists. The number never mattered much.

New Orleans at 47-35 is a bit of a trick. That 2002-03 team was the Charlotte Hornets after the move, Jamal Mashburn made All-NBA, and the league later handed the Charlotte years back to Charlotte.

Hakeem banking one in without even looking at the rim 😳 He was a soccer goalkeeper growing up in Lagos and didn't play basketball until he was 15. The goalkeeping is a big reason his footwork was so good. By 1998 he was 35 and coming off knee surgery, and Houston went out to Utah in five in the first round. Drexler retired after that series.

The 2017 Warriors' only playoff loss was Game 4 of the Finals, when Cleveland scored 49 in the first quarter. Jokic isn't the fix for that quarter. But he replaces Zaza Pachulia in the starting five, and I'm taking 16-0.

Damian Lillard never led the NBA in threes made. Not in a single season of his career, which is how Portland ends up with a never on this card.

Steph Curry made 402 threes in 2015-16. From 1989-90 through 1992-93, not one NBA team made that many in a season. He breaks the league. He just takes a few more hits doing it.

Paul Pierce hitting 30 in green for the first time ☘️ Funny part is he grew up in Inglewood as a Lakers fan and got cut from his high school varsity as a freshman. He passed Larry Bird to become second in Celtics history in scoring behind John Havlicek, and his Finals MVP in 2008 came against the Lakers.

Malik Beasley made 319 threes for Detroit in 2024-25 and started 18 games. He finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting.

John Stockton's assist record survived 21 seasons of Chris Paul. Paul retired in February 2026 with 12,552, second all time, and still finished 3,254 short. That's why Stockton is on this card at 3.

Before 1991, people really did wonder if Jordan could ever win a title Detroit had knocked the Bulls out three postseasons in a row. Then Chicago swept the Pistons in the East finals, some of them walked off the floor before the clock ran out, and the Bulls beat Magic's Lakers in five. That doubt never came back.

Wade's Heat were down 0-2 to Dallas in the 2006 Finals and won the next four. He's the one on this five I'd least want to see. Mine is Jordan, Magic, LeBron, Duncan and Shaq.

LeBron's Decision raised $2.5 million for the Boys and Girls Club, and nobody remembers that part. They remember he waited almost 30 minutes to say it, and Dan Gilbert's letter in Comic Sans.

65 on the Blazers, and the Lakers still needed overtime 😮‍💨 Kobe went 8 of 12 from three that night, and the Lakers had lost seven straight coming in. His next three games went 50, 60 and 50. The only other player with four straight 50 point games is Wilt Chamberlain.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has two MVPs, a title and a Finals MVP, and he's second on my Kentucky pyramid. Anthony Davis won a national title in Lexington, went first overall and won a ring in 2020. Closest top spot I've had to call.

Dominique Wilkins would be a much bigger name if he hadn't played in the same conference as Bird, Isiah and Jordan.

Cade Cunningham was the best player on a 14-68 Pistons team in 2023-24. Two seasons later Detroit won 60 and he was first team All-NBA at 24. He's the one I'm signing.

LeBron taking over a Drew League run 🍿 His 2022 return packed roughly 2,500 people into the gym at King-Drew Magnet High School, which normally holds about 1,300. Fans were lining up that morning for a game that didn't tip until the afternoon. It was a summer pro-am, and people treated it like a playoff game.

Nos. 9 and 10 ended on the same night. April 13, 2016, Kobe took 50 shots and scored 60 in his last game, and up in Oakland the Warriors beat Memphis for win No. 73.