Behind The ScenesNBA

361 and counting: NBA Countdown to show all of Curry’s 3’s from this season

Brandon Lowe is one of many ESPN associate producers who worked on NBA Countdown's Steph Curry 3-point shot highlight package. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Lowe/ESPN)
Brandon Lowe is one of many ESPN associate producers who worked on NBA Countdown’s Steph Curry 3-point shot highlight package. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Lowe/ESPN)
What was your favorite Curry 3-ball?

The producers of Countdown’s Curry 3-ball marathon – a sample of which can be seen in the video at the bottom of this post – share the shots they savor:

“My favorite by far was Nov. 11 against the [Memphis] Grizzlies where Steph got a steal, lost his dribble coming across half-court, recovered, put the ball behind his back then heaved up a one-handed three that banked in off the glass. It was one of those shots that you see and go, ‘He’s not human!’”
Brandon Lowe, associate producer

“It would be the half-court shot he hit at the buzzer against the Pacers, especially considering in the same game he drilled a longer shot just after the buzzer which was crazy in its own right. And while the ball was still in the air, Curry started strutting like he knew it was going in, concluding with a celebratory shimmy! That was incredible.”
– Jesse Arendt, associate producer

“My favorite happened Jan. 9, against the Kings in Sacramento. Steph shoots a corner 3. . . turns his back to the hoop while the ball is at peak arc. . . Swish. . . all the while directly in front of the Kings’ bench. Wicked!”
Terrell Bouza, associate producer

“My favorite is definitely the winning 3-pointer against the Thunder on February 27. What a shot to end an incredible game!”
Chris Kopas, associate producer

“The 32-foot, effortless game-winner, single-game record setting dagger versus OKC [Oklahoma City Thunder, Feb. 27].”
Rachel Sampson, associate producer

Stephen Curry is both revolutionizing the game and wowing basketball fans everywhere. Every 3-pointer the “baby-faced assassin” has made this season will be shown on ESPN’s NBA Countdown during tonight’s episode (7 p.m. ET).

All 361 of Curry’s 3-pointers (to date) will be shown in succession, in segments broken down by month, with special graphics and analysis from various ESPN NBA commentators.

In order to compile such a comprehensive package, a team of associate producers including Jesse Arendt, Terrell Bouza, Chris Kopas, Brandon Lowe and Rachel Sampson were tasked with assembling all of Curry’s conversions.

Lowe shares with Front Row just what is was like getting these highlights ready for tonight.

Please explain the process of cutting and compiling these highlights.
Coordinating producer Amina Hussein and producer Lisa James did a phenomenal job at laying out the plan for this show. They assigned each of us specific months to compile. From there, we reached out to NBA Entertainment to obtain clean video of every 3-pointer Steph had hit thus far. Then, it was a process of confirming with our research team and cross-referencing box scores for the 3-point totals per game. From there, we started cutting the highlights. For some months there were extra steps such as gathering sound from broadcasters and announcers on Steph and his historic season or sound from Warriors players themselves.

What type of time commitment was needed for this project?
It could vary by day. It could be anywhere from three-to-four hours each day. We all pitched in to help gather sound since there was so much material to deal with going back to October. Outside of collaborating with the sound gathering, we pretty much handled our months on our own. If I had to make a rough estimate, I would say it took 20-plus hours for each individual piece, so around 100 hours total between all of us.

What was the most tedious thing you had to deal with in the process?
The sheer volume of 3-pointers alone was a bit overwhelming, after a while they all start to look the same, so the process of confirming that you have each unique three from every game without duplicating any of them was tedious.

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