Getty Steph Curry celebrates after making a shot against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Steph Curry is ready to put to bed his ghosts of Christmas past.
As the Golden State Warriors prepare for a Christmas Day game against the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns, the team’s star player has opened up about his difficulties in games on December 25. The Warriors became a staple of the league’s marquee slate of games on Christmas, but Curry himself has struggled, putting up his lowest average point total of any day of the year.
This year, Curry is hoping to change that.
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Curry’s Holiday Struggles
As Ali Thanwalla of NBC Sports Bay Area noted, Christmas has been one of the most difficult days of the year for Curry. He has scored well below his career average of 24.3 points per game, putting up his worst output for any given day on the calendar.
“Per Sportsradar, Curry is averaging just 13.1 points in eight Christmas Day games,” Thanwalla noted. “That is the lowest average he has in his career on any day in which he has played at least five games on that date. The next closest is Nov. 21 when he has averaged 16.0 points in five career games.”
Steph Curry has historically struggled on Christmas day.
Over eight games played:
🎄 13.1 PTS
🎄 30.2% FG
🎄 20.4% 3PT
🎄 2.88 TO
Tomorrow he’ll face off against Devin Booker and the top seeded Suns in Phoenix.
Ahead of the December 25 game against the Suns, Curry spoke out about his struggles on the holiday and said he hopes to put the performances in the past.
“I like it because it means you’re one of the marquee teams, only 10 teams playing, so you know they are very selective about who they put in those slots,” Curry said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I personally don’t like it because I haven’t played well. I don’t know. I’m trying to think of my best game. I’ve struggled a lot on Christmas, for whatever reason, so I’m trying to rectify that on Saturday.”
Curry explained that it’s often tricky for him to play on Christmas day, since he’s trying to balance between his responsibilities as a father and as a teammate.
“It is weird, especially on the road, I’ve got three kids and how special of a day and weekend it is so you’re trying to balance being present with them and doing your job, playing the game and staying focused on that,” Curry said.
Curry’s Strong Season
If recent performances are any indication, Curry could be in line for a big game on Christmas. As Thanwalla noted, he has scored at least 30 points in each of the last three Warriors games including 46 in the most recent contest, a 113-104 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thurday. Curry did struggle against the Suns once this year, scoring just 12 points the first time the teams met, but he netted 23 in the rematch later that week.
Mic’d up @StephenCurry30!
Coming off 46 POINTS last game…Steph and the @warriors visit the Suns in an #NBAXmas #1 vs. #2 Western Conference showdown!
Christmas Day, 5 PM ET, ABC
Curry is averaging 27.7 points per game this season and currently sits atop the Kia MVP Ladder. Curry already made history in December by passing Ray Allen to become the league’s all-time three-point leader, and has chance to notch another historic feat on Christmas. Curry comes into the game needing six three-pointers to become the first player in league history to reach 3,000 for his career.
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