The 6-3, 185-pound point guard of the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry, almost totally mirrors my own dimensions. I’m 6-3 and around 180 pounds (yes, I’m skinnier than Steph, or as one Dime reader once noted in the comments, I’m a “Napoleon Dynamite motherf***er.” Steph gets ID’d when he’s out at a restaurant or at the club; I’m five years older than he is, and I still get ID’d for cigarettes. Steph is an all-star and in the running for the No. 3 spot in MVP voting this season. I’m just a basketball blogger that gets winded every time I run some 5-on-5 (don’t smoke kids). We have a lot in common physically, which is what makes Stephen Curry’s NBA trajectory so much more remarkable.
As part of Curry’s campaign with Degree Men to #DoMore, I was afforded 10 minutes to talk with Steph about his journey from an unheralded high school senior to one of the best players in the NBA today.
Here are some highlights from our chat, and there’s video of our entire conversation by phone on the second page. Enjoy, because I certainly did.
On his various hijinks with coach Mark Jackson, including their recent shooting contest and the time Steph put him on the #DunkCam:
Steph: “He’s still got a little bit of game, but his trash-talking game is at an all-time high. So after practice, he loves to get all the players riled up, saying that he’s the best at whatever the topic or the theme of the day is. That particular day [of their shooting contest] he caught me at the right time: I had just taken the ice off my shoulder. I was still feeling confident I could beat him, but he got the best of me that day. That’s kind of a snippet of what every day is like. There’s some kind of competition, some debate or something going on where he thinks he’s the best.
“[Followup on the Dunk Cam] My former teammate, Kent Bazemore, and myself and Draymond Green, we were all in the back of the bus after we got off the plane, and kind of came up with the idea and the execution. Made sure everybody knew their role when they got off the bus. I was the set-up man and then I was the finisher. Obviously Draymond was the alley-oop tosser and Kent was the goal basically, so flawless execution. He hates — he took in stride and had fun with it, so it as a good time.”
On the NBA’s proposal to possibly add a 4-point line:
Steph: “It was available, I’d probably shoot a lot of them. But I don’t know how that would would look on the court. If [the court] would have to be bigger or wider, technically how far the 4-point shot would be; how it would affect spacing and play-calling and all that. But pretty sure in transition, if I got a rebound and pushed it up, I’d probably pull up from wherever that line was once or twice a game.”
On the sleeved jerseys, which have been criticized by players, but which Golden State debuted for the first time last year:
Steph: “I don’t prefer it. If we had the option between the sleeved jersey and the traditional one hanging up in the locker, I’d definitely pick the traditional one first. But my mentality, long-sleeve, short-sleeve, turtleneck, I feel like I can go out and shoot the ball well. I remember seeing LeBron [James] talking about it, tugging on his arm, his shooting arm or what have you. It just depends on what people feel, but I prefer traditional, but I’m not gonna hate on ’em [sleeved jerseys].”
Click page 2 for the full interview…
Find out about Steph’s journey to the NBA, his paternalistic rivalry with his father, former Charlotte Hornets sharpshooter and current color commentator for Bobcats games — Dell Curry, Steph’s propensity for getting ID’d when he’s trying to order an alcoholic beverage, and a lot more…
What do you think?
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