There’s Stephen Curry, the two-time MVP for the Golden State Warriors and sharpshooter that has led the NBA in three-pointers the past five seasons. Then there’s Brady Heslip.
At least, that’s two-time All-Star Jerry Stackhouse who served as Heslip's G-League coach for the Toronto Raptors during last season’s title run.
Guest appearing on ESPN Zach Lowe’s Lowe Post podcast this week, Stackhouse said Heslip is the best shooter today.
Stackhouse: “I get a Brady Heslip, who I think is probably one of, if not the best shooter in the world.” Lowe: “Wow! Better than Steph Curry?” Stackhouse: “I put him to the test with Steph Curry any day. He’s that good of a shooter.”
There’s a bit of controversy floating around those statements considering Curry is about as unstoppable as they come in any sport. The optics look like a coach puffing his chest but Baylor fans know this isn’t just a bluff- Heslip can shoot and it’s about time the rest of the basketball world remembers that.
At Baylor, Heslip had a career three-point shooting percentage of 43.7. He had a career-year as a senior taking the Bears to the Sweet Sixteen, shooting 46.5 percent beyond the arc and had nine games with five or more triples- numbers that built Curry’s NBA prospects at Davidson.
He didn’t slow down during his entry into the developmental league. In 2014, Heslip hit a single-game record 13-of-20 three-pointers, making up the entirety of his 45 points that night.
As far as the comparison with Curry goes, he topped out at 43.9 percent his sophomore season and finished with a career mark of 41.2 percent from range playing in an inferior conference.
Curry has Heslip beat from inside at the college ranks, having shot 52 percent to Heslip’s 41.4 percent from inside the arc but it’s an area Heslip has shown considerable growth in the developmental league. That could be what Stackhouse has been most impressed with, as Heslip’s three-point game hasn’t backed down at that level.
In his two years on the developmental circuit, Heslip has ramped his two-point shooting percentage by over 12 percent. He has a career mark of 53.6 percent while maintaining a three-point rate of 42.8 percent- just a shade under Curry’s marks in the NBA.
Granted, there’s more to Curry than just his shooting ability but from a pure shooting standpoint, Heslip has always been hard to beat.
With a rousing statement of approval from Stackhouse, Heslip could be on his way to bigger things and work as a three-point specialist much in the same vein as Kyle Korver or J.J. Reddick.
Word is Heslip has been the most impressive player on the Chicago Bulls summer league roster, so the time to prove Stackhouse and Baylor nation right could be right around the corner.
Sic 'em, Brady!
