Despite going undrafted in 2013 and being relatively undersized for his position, current Philadelphia 76ers guard Seth Curry slowly carved out a role for himself as one of the NBA’s top shooters.
As a result, it makes good sense that rookie sharpshooter Armoni Brooks — who played with the Houston Rockets in the 2020-21 season — looks up to Curry as someone to potentially pattern his game around.
A 6-foot-3 guard, Brooks shares similarities with Curry in that both are somewhat undersized for an NBA shooting guard, yet neither has much professional history as a primary ball-handler or facilitator at point guard. Thus, for their teams to justify giving up size on the defensive end, they know their value as 3-point shooters needs to be elite.
For Seth Curry, the proof is in the statistics. Over his career, he’s a 44.4% shooter from 3-point range, which is as elite as it gets. Brooks isn’t at that level just yet, but his 38.2% clip as a rookie — on high volume at 7.9 attempts per game — was quite impressive, and he set a record for 3-point makes over the start to any NBA player’s career.
On a recent Locked on Rockets podcast with Jackson Gatlin, Brooks was asked if he watched film of top shooters such as Golden State’s Steph Curry (Seth’s older brother) to pick up some pointers. While Brooks said he does, he then pointed to the younger Curry — who could be a better comparison, since he’s less accomplished as a ball-handler — as someone he would seemingly like to emulate. Among his comments:
I watch a lot of Seth Curry highlights.
They both just move so well without the ball. They really come off screens with great speed, footwork, and balance. Every time they touch the ball, you think it’s a shot.
With them being able to shoot the way they can, hopefully I can reach the shooting capabilities that they have. If I can pick up a few nuances that they have in their game, then I think I can really make a jump.
Enjoyed this reference: "I watch a lot of Seth Curry highlights." Says he moves well without the ball, and comes off screens with great footwork and balance.
Armoni is a sharp guy. I think Seth is an ideal choice for Brooks to try and emulate, given his body type and skill set. https://t.co/7arzqFHsL0
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) May 28, 2021
Brooks should have quite a few opportunities to watch the Seth Curry in the 2021 playoffs, since the 76ers are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and highly likely to advance to at least the second round.
Known best for his quick release, Brooks averaged 11.2 points (38.2% on 3-pointers) and 3.4 rebounds in 26.0 minutes for the Rockets this season. As for Curry, he scored 12.5 points in 28.7 minutes per game with the Sixers, headlined by a blistering 45.0% clip on 3-pointers.
The complete Brooks podcast can be listened to below, as well as via major distributors including Apple, Google, and Spotify.
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