SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry became the first National Basketball Association (NBA) player ever to score 4,000 three-pointers on Thursday, extending his runaway lead as the greatest long-range shooter in basketball history in a blowout victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Curry went into Thursday’s game needing just two threes to reach the unprecedented 4,000-three pointer mark, just days after reaching 25,000 career points last Saturday.

Curry, who turns 37 on Friday, took his time before completing the final few steps of his journey towards a scoring milestone which would have been regarded as unthinkable before the four-time NBA champion revolutionized the art of three-point shooting.

The Warriors ace drained his first three-pointer of the night late in the first quarter, coolly finding the bucket from 26 feet to move to 3,999 career threes.

That was one of just three attempted three-pointers by Curry in the first half as the Warriors took a 61-51 lead into the break.

But he then had San Francisco’s Chase Center crowd roaring its appreciation and giving a standing ovation in the third quarter as he finally reached the 4,000 mark, dropping in a bucket from 27 feet with 8min 19 remaining in the period to make it 72-63.

“It was a special moment, obviously to do it at home,” Curry told TNT television after the Warriors’ 130-104 victory.

“It was a weird game — I didn’t get many attempts until the third. But the energy was special,” added Curry, who finished with just 11 points.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr lavished praise on the Golden State shooting icon.

“The guy’s amazing,” Kerr said.

“He seems to break records or set records every week, so we’re used to it. But it’s still special.”

Curry’s three-point haul is the latest achievement in a career that ensures he will be remembered as one of the greatest players in NBA history.

Before Curry’s emergence in the league, no player had ever amassed 3,000 triples in their career.

But the Warriors star has led a dramatic evolution of the three-point scoring record during his 16 seasons in the league.

In 2005, Reggie Miller led the all-time three-point shooting record with 2,560 triples.

Ray Allen would go on to surpass Miller’s record in 2011 before retiring in 2014 with 2,973 threes.

Curry, however, eclipsed Allen’s record seven years later, before reaching the 3,000 mark in December 2021, a feat matched by only one other player — the Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden, who stands on 3,127.

Since Curry passed 3,000 it had been a question of when not if he would reach 4,000.

Whether Curry can reach 5,000 remains to be seen. His existing contract with Golden State runs through 2026-2027, but he said this week he hoped to play beyond that provided form and fitness allowed.

Asked about chasing 5,000 on Thursday, Curry said he had not given it thought.

“I’m in the moment,” he said, “2,974 felt like an eternity ago. But who knows? But now I’m going to stay in the present.”