The liberation of Stephen Curry is a curious phenomenon, awaiting its fate. We don’t know how it turns out, only that the best nights will be unforgettable.

For the first time in his Warriors career, Curry doesn’t have to worry about sharing shots with anyone on the floor. Monta Ellis is long gone, Klay Thompson is deep into knee rehabilitation, and Kevin Durant has taken his wanderlust to Brooklyn.

Leaving Curry, the best shooter anyone has ever seen, to go absolutely wild. No conscience required.

With the Lakers in town Saturday night, providing the opposition for Chase Center’s first basketball showcase, Curry dropped a charming little hint. The preseason affair was only seconds old when he blithely cast off from 40 feet, unconcerned with two defenders at point-blank range. The shot missed everything, and Curry cracked a smile, but there was some symbolism attached. This is Curry’s offense now, no questions asked, and he’s free to operate as he pleases.

One can imagine a 60-point scoring outburst or more — perhaps before a pack of L.A. celebrities or the sophisticates at Madison Square Garden. Nobody welcomes an artistic canvas like Curry, surely the NBA’s most popular player if you take America’s youth and a massive global audience into account. Just when he completely blows your mind, he delves yet deeper into his well of creativity.

And on those special nights, especially if the Warriors are victorious, Curry can put aside the stigma of regret.

It’s a simple, unavoidable fact that for the rest of his career, Curry will never recapture the feeling of playing alongside Thompson and Durant in such sweet harmony, two championship rings earned and a third denied only by injury. No team ever had three of the all-time greatest shooters on the floor at the same time, and although there might be a kid out there shooting like Pete Maravich or Jerry West, he’ll be arriving well after the Splash Brothers have left their last ripples in the tank.

Here’s the beauty of it: Curry will be fine. He was fine when people dismissed him as a teenage novelty act, softened by a cushy upbringing. He was fine when Ellis was considered the mainstay of the Warriors’ backcourt, when things got painfully awkward in the prelude to Ellis’ departure, and when coach Mark Jackson played Jarrett Jack ahead of him in crucial stages of the 2013 playoffs.

As his NBA reputation ascended and Jackson declared Golden State’s backcourt the best-ever combination of pure shooters, Curry gladly shared that honor with Thompson. He always seemed like the happiest guy in the arena when Thompson went on one of his insane streaks. Curry was fine, as well, when it required sacrifice and introspection to fit Durant into a smooth-flowing offense.

As for the current season ... yikes. Curry will really have to be fine now.

Just as it’s conceivable that Curry averages 35 points a game, putting himself right back in the MVP conversation, there will be nights of utter frustration. With Thompson and Durant out of the picture, opposing defenses will swarm around Curry like bees at a honeypot, especially when there’s a make-or-break shot at hand. Away from the ball, Curry darts around the court with a passion reminiscent of the tireless John Havlicek — and the reward always seemed inevitable with like-minded veterans surrounding him.

Curry now views a roster bereft of Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, two of the smartest and most accomplished players of recent vintage. He won’t savor the comfort of a David West or Andrew Bogut at the blue-collar level of coach Steve Kerr’s halfcourt scheme. He’ll be asked to do more on the defensive end than ever before. And when it comes to Curry’s flair for the spectacular pass — dependent on teammates sharing his fine sense of anticipation — there will be times when such cohesion simply isn’t there.

When the most respected NBA stars head into their 30s (Curry turned 31 in March), they take it upon themselves to teach. On that score, Curry hardly knows where to start.

His primary assignment is to mold D’Angelo Russell into his best possible backcourt partner. The outlook is promising, but that’s a whole new set of angles — mathematically and spiritually — for Curry to incorporate.

He needs to instill confidence in Jacob Evans, a worthwhile project after some jarring first-year experiences. Rookie Jordan Poole has that admirable quality that a shooting guard cannot be taught — he knows that next shot is going in, even if he’s missed the past five — but Poole is hardly a finished product. Alec Burks? Damion Lee? Curry can’t forget about them, either, as they exist on the fringes of the roster.

So Curry will score, and he will lead, and he will teach. Others will lament the boulder-sized obstructions in his path, but not the man himself. As always with the shooter on his private Mount Rushmore, don’t miss the show.

Bruce Jenkins is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: bjenkins@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1