There might not be a more influential basketball player this decade than Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry. Beyond the myriad of accolades and titles that have been bestowed upon him over the course of his professional career, the way that Curry plays the game has influenced a generation of young hoopers who now want to rise and fire from another area code.
It’s led to some debate as to whether or not this is good for basketball, with some arguing children are spending their time jacking up threes instead of learning some of the finer details of the game. But regardless of the debate, Curry’s influence on basketball is one that will last forever, something he views as an honor.
Curry was asked his thoughts of this phenomenon after Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse called him a “transformational player” at media availability on Saturday. The Warriors ace responded by saying that he thinks about these sorts of things, but a lot more goes into it than being talented.
“Yeah, I think about it, especially as of late where you have those kind of run-ins with parents or kids or coaches who are developing the next generation of talent,” Curry said. “They kind of have some of the same sentiments around what kids are interested in in the game of basketball, and what they see on TV and what they try to mimic and stuff like that. So it’s kind of a cool experience. I always talk about the work that goes into — everybody sees the finished product these days on social media whenever you see the glitz and glam and what happens out there on the floor, but hopefully they understand and appreciate the countless hours that go into pretty much anybody on this level that is putting on an NBA jersey and the hard work that goes into it.
“So hopefully they’re inspired and motivated that they can feel like they can do some of the stuff that I do or that anybody else does in this league,” Curry continued. “Like Draymond said, you don’t just wake up and accidentally or coincidentally be great at something. You got to put the time in.”
Curry’s getting to the point in his career where his legacy will become a bigger and bigger talking point with each passing year. While his story hasn’t finished being told yet, his impact on the way basketball will be played going forward cannot be stressed enough.
