James joked that Curry has changed the NBA: Everyone is shooting threes now, and it all started with Stephen.

On November 5th Beijing time, Warriors star Stephen Curry stated that it was only after Trae Young joined the NBA that he became aware of the unexpectedly large influence he had on basketball.

Curry disclosed this while appearing on LeBron James' "Mind the Game" podcast, which is co-hosted by Lakers star James and former NBA player and coach Steve Nash.

During the show, James specifically asked Curry, "When did you suddenly realize, 'Wow, Stephen, what you’re doing on the court is influencing an entire generation of players'?"

Curry responded, "It was when Trae Young entered the league—he was the first player labeled as 'the next me,' even though our styles differ. I had known him since high school... that was probably the first time I seriously thought about, or truly recognized, how big my impact really was."

Curry also mentioned a famous comment from former coach Mark Jackson. In 2015, during an ESPN broadcast, Jackson said Curry had 'ruined the game of basketball' because young players nationwide were imitating his deep three-point shooting style without matching his accuracy.

“Mark didn’t realize at the time that Curry also ‘ruined’ the entire NBA,” James added with a laugh. “Now everyone is shooting threes—everyone! Taking 60 or 50 threes in a game has become normal. It all started because of Stephen, entirely because of him.”

Nash highlighted a milestone shift in Curry’s career during its middle phase: in the 2014-15 season, Curry attempted 646 three-pointers, which jumped to 886 in the 2015-16 season.

“Your three-point attempts increased by 200 in just one season,” Nash said. “Within a single year, you added 200 more threes. After that, the whole league followed suit—Lillard, Klay Thompson all increased their three-point attempts. Now it’s common for teams to have three or four players taking hundreds of threes in a season.”

Curry credited this change to former Warriors GM Bob Myers, saying it was Myers who 'opened the door' for him.

“Regarding 'shot quality,' the league still hasn’t reached a consensus,” Curry said. “Bob Myers was the first to tell me, ‘You should be shooting 15 threes per game.’ I asked him, ‘What? Do you realize how hard it is to get 12 good three-point shot opportunities?’ But he said, ‘Why not? Data shows that 15 threes a game is definitely worth it.’ Indeed, the style of play has since transformed dramatically.”

“It all started with Stephen,” James reiterated, “entirely because of him.”

The podcast began with Nash recalling a preseason night when he defended a young Curry, an experience that convinced him his own career was nearing its end. The conversation then expanded to Curry’s shooting development, the mechanics of his shot, and ultimately the sophistication of the Warriors’ offensive strategies.

At the end of the first segment, the three NBA legends pulled out laptops to review footage from Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, analyzing how Curry and the Warriors used tactics to contain LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The second part of the podcast will be released later. The trio revealed that it will flip perspectives to focus on LeBron James’ standout moments in that classic Warriors vs. Cavaliers matchup—where the Cavaliers ultimately won 93-89.

“By the way, I’ve never been this happy watching this footage,” Curry said as Nash played his highlight reel.