Curry joins NBA’s 15,000-point club — on a three-pointer, of course

There isn’t a wealth of compelling story lines in midDecember NBA games, with the early drama over and the late theatrics yet to start.

The Warriors appear to be back on track after their November soap opera, with its internal spat and injuries. The Big Men are yet to arrive: DeMarcus Cousins’ debut with the Warriors sounds like it’s still a few weeks off and LeBron James and his Lakers don’t get here until Christmas Day. With their 110-93 win over Memphis on Monday the Warriors moved into a tie with Denver at the top of the Western Conference standings, so the universe seems on its correct course.

So how about a Stephen Curry scoring milestone to liven up things?

On Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies, Curry hit and then surpassed the 15,000point mark for his career. He

became the fifth player in Warriors history to reach that level, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Paul Arizin and Chris Mullin.

He started the game with 14,990 career points. Of course, Curry’s achievement came on a three-pointer.

With 7:36 to play in the second quarter, Curry drained his signature shot to score an even 15,000 points. The team called a timeout right after the shot, and Curry heard the announcement and the ovation.

“It was a cool moment,” he said.

It was a mark he didn’t know was in his sights until the team’s shootaround Monday morning.

“I just found out five minutes ago,” Curry said in the morning. “Any milestone like that is obviously a reminder to appreciate what you’re doing. It’s more encouragement and motivation to keep doing it.

“But I didn’t have this date circled on my calendar.”

And why should he? Fifteen grand is a relative pittance in the scheme of the NBA. The career leader is Kareem AbdulJabbar with 38,387. Curry’s contemporary and rival James is fifth at 31,869.

Curry’s teammate Kevin Durant hit the 20,000-milestone in January, becoming the second-youngest player in NBA history, after James, to reach that number. On Monday, Durant moved past Larry Bird on the all-time scoring list, into the 33rd spot. Durant has 21,806.

So, Curry — who finished the game with 20 points — has a way to go before he’s up there with the league’s scoring legends.

In fact, when a reporter asked after the game if he thought the team relaxed after he got the record, Curry had some fun.

“There was much pressure to get my 10 points,” he said with a heavy sigh. “You could feel the tension in the locker room. I’m glad we pushed through it. I thank my teammates for getting me over the edge.”

Ha ha. But, in truth, everything Curry does is significant. And surpassing 15,000 points is more fun to talk about than a joke gone awry about fake moon landings. As Curry said in his Instagram Live 16-minute streamed chat with astronaut Scott Kelly over the weekend, he was surprised by “the magnitude of the weight (his words) carry.”

Yes, everything Curry does creates a stir.

Head coach Steve Kerr said he wasn’t surprised at all that Curry had no idea he was going to become a member of the 15,000 club.

“He’ll probably be at 16,000 before too long and he won’t be aware of that, either,” Kerr said. “He’s obviously a brilliant player and sets a great tone every night and every day at practice. For the Warriors, he has just changed everything.”

As he gets older, Curry seems to be more and more aware of the historic nature of his achievements. Including joining the Warriors’ elite club.

“Three of those guys are in the rafters,” Curry said, referring to retired numbers.

Chamberlain finished his career with 31,419, currently sixth on the all-time list. Barry finished with 25,279 including his time in the ABA, Arizin had 16,266 and Mullin 17,911. After Monday’s game, Curry remains 138th on the NBA’s scoring list.

Curry remembers his father bringing home the basketball that commemorated Dell Curry’s breaking the 10,000-point barrier, which he achieved in the 11th season of his 16-year career.

“That was my first realization of how hard it is to sustain yourself in the NBA and measure yourself against guys who can put the balls in the basket routinely,” Curry said. “It’s a reminder to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Dell’s 10,000-point basketball is in his trophy room in Charlotte. His son also saves a lot of his own memorabilia, mostly from the Warriors’ championship runs.

“Maybe the message is to keep the one tonight,” Curry said.

“And appreciate it as a reminder of me exceeding my imagination in terms of what I can accomplish in this league.”

Imagination exceeded. With plenty more to come.