Getty/Kavin Mistry Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors gets interviewed after a game against the Timberwolves in San Francisco.
Throughout this season, Golden State Warriors’ superstar Steph Curry has been the one constant throughout the season. The lineup has not always been stable with veterans like Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala coming in and out of the lineup, and the young players still trying to find their footing to establish a consistent role with the team.
Curry has missed just five games this season, most of them due to maintenance days on back-to-back games. With the team now without Draymond Green for an extended period of time, head coach Steve Kerr pointed out notable changes with Curry’s leadership role to the Ringer’s Logan Murdock.
“A lot of times in shootaround, we’ll be going over a scheme or something and maybe an opponent’s head play and I’ll see him pull a young guy aside and kind of whisper to him. And he doesn’t say what he has to say in front of the whole group. He says it privately to guys. He really connects with people one-on-one. He doesn’t ever embarrass anybody. I think he challenges them, but he does it in a way that is very healthy.”
Previously, Curry has showed his leadership skills by leading by example. With domineering guys like Green, Iguodala, and David West in the past, Curry didn’t have to be too vocal in showing his leadership skills. He was literally the quiet Baby-Faced Assassin, just letting his play do all the talking.
“You don’t have to be anybody but yourself,” Curry tells ESPN’s Doris Burke during last year’s Jr. NBA Leadership Conference. “There are a lot of different ways that leadership presents itself. I feel like I have a blend of a couple factors where I try to lead by example, like putting in the most time, having the hardest work ethic, and showing people what it means to be committed to winning and to doing everything you can to get better every single year and not settling. I can show it better than I can say it, and so I know there’s a consistency to that. But I’m also pretty selective when I do speak. I’m not the loudest guy in the room, so when I do say something, hopefully it commands attention and has a presence about it.”
Like Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, Curry has become this generation’s calm and ‘boring’ superstar. Curry doesn’t have the athleticism to throw down powerful dunks to end up on SportsCenter, but his pristine shooting and skills allows him to remain at the top of his perfection.
Curry’s Calm Demeanor Has Helped the Warriors Thrive
Curry has never been the type of person to get in your face and confrontational, like his teammate Green. His calm demeanor is the perfect yin to Green’s yang to provide equilibrium within the team’s chemistry. There is a certain sway when one manages to stay calm and lead by example, similar to replying to someone’s insults with calm responses.
After Kevin Durant tore his Achilles during the 2019 NBA Finals in Game 4, the Toronto crowd started cheering in what was a callous and rude reaction to someone’s misfortunes. Instead of being aggressive and calling the fans out, Curry instead provided a calm, composed response to the mishap.
“I’ve been in this city for…I’ve lived here. Really enjoyed the people and their passion and excitement for not only the game but [they] just enjoy life and they’re nice people. [I’m] very confused around that reaction. That’s not my experience with the people of this city. I commend, obviously, Danny Green and Kyle Lowry especially. I think they were the ones that were kinda signaling to the crowd like, let’s check ourselves a little bit. You understand that this is about an individual and human being and not, oh shoot, he’s out, he’s hurt, we won the championship. That was probably their initial thought and…you hate to see that when a guy’s going through pain like that. Again, that’s not my experience with this city and I just hope that that ugliness doesn’t show itself again as we go forward in the series.”
Curry has never totaled more than two technical fouls in any season of his career. Curry’s ability to stay mellow under tense circumstances makes him tough to root against, and has made him a fan favorite across the world.