Getty/Thearon W Henderson Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors warms up before playing the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Stephen Curry’s best attribute on the basketball court did not start the year off right. In 15 games in January, Curry averaged 22.3 points on 38.5 shooting, and 33% from downtown. After Draymond Green suffered a back injury in early January, Curry and his teammates had to make adjustments, and that negatively impacted the two-time MVP’s shooting.
Curry has already been dubbed the greatest shooter of all-time, and everyone knew it was just a matter of time before he would snap out of it. In four games this month, Curry is shooting it at a 47.5% clip and 39% from behind the arc. Green has still been out, but the Golden State Warriors have made the right adjustments as a team to help highlight what he does best on the court.
During a recent appearance on the Dubs Talk podcast with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Grant Liffmann, Curry credits two constant individuals that have helped keep him focused out of his shooting slump, and elevate his game to another level.
“Obviously Brandon Payne and Bruce Fraser, the two guys that I work with all year, during the offseason, in season, on my shot, on my workouts, my reps. So there are plenty of conversations around little tweaks or little things they notice that I can focus on and really get out of a shooting struggle, or even highlight how the ball is spinning, the arc and stuff like that.
Brandon goes into a lot of details in terms of the actual shots I’m taking, percentages around the floor, things we work on in the offseason to get ready. We can always fine-tune that stuff so those two guys I listen to, obviously, in terms of if they see or notice something they know how to approach me with that information and not to try and distract and overwhelm me with it, but be timely with that wisdom.”
Bruce Fraser joined the Warriors as a player development coach when Steve Kerr became head coach back in 2014. Fraser played at Arizona with Kerr and has been a constant in impacting Kerr’s success around basketball.
Since his time in the Bay Area, Fraser has focused on improving Curry’s shooting mechanics. Known in his coaching career as working with all-time point guards like Steve Nash, he has been a huge reason as to why Curry has managed to stay consistently as the best shooter in the league.
Payne is an NBA player development specialist, and has been Curry’s personal coach since 2011. He has been an integral part in combining Curry’s natural talent of his quick stroke and his amazing handles to propel him to get more efficient looks from the perimeter.
Steph Curry’s Early Career Ankle Issues Led to a Chance Encounter with Brandon Payne
Curry recalls to ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry how he initially met his development coach Payne.
“One random day I’m in there, and B-Payne comes in and he’s sitting in the front and he says I got some drills while you’re rehabbing. You don’t have to be on your feet, I can keep your ball handling crisp, we can work on hand-eye coordination stuff and you can just sit in a chair the whole time.”
This chance encounter propelled Curry into a relationship that is integral for all the success he has had in his career.
Curry’s early career was marred with constant ankle injuries that never seemed to go away. As many stars tend to turn struggles into positive moments, Curry emphasizes that he would not be as great a player as he is if he had not suffered the constant ankle injuries.
“The ankle stuff was a blessing in disguise. It gave me a new kind of approach to the work that I put in, so it’s kind of crazy.”
Curry and Payne’s relationship now spans over a decade, and much of Curry’s development as a basketball player can be credited to the tips and tricks Payne gives him. Payne has taught Curry the ability to read and react to defenders on the go. As Payne puts it best, “every time the defense takes something away, they’re giving something else up.”