Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Stephen Curry hits his first career game winning buzzer beater against the Houston Rockets.
For some people, it doesn’t feel that long ago when Dell Curry carried Stephen and Dell around as toddlers. Naturally, both of Dell’s sons have been around the game for most of their lives. Father Curry himself was known as a three-point marksman during the 90s. A career 40.2% three-point shooter, Dell Curry was known to be a three-point specialist, something the NBA lacked at the time. It seemed as if he taught both of his sons to shoot before they even could really dribble.
Long before Steph became what he is now with the Golden State Warriors, here is young Curry draining half court shots when the ball was practically bigger than his head.
Steph Curry’s Journey to Becoming One of the Greatest Shooters of All-Time
It was not that long ago when he was one of the younger players on the team with Jarret Jack mentoring him. Nicknamed the ‘Babyface Assassin’, Curry always was known to light up the basket even at his days with Davidson. The one thing that held him back in the beginning of his career were the ankle injuries that kept happening, and the hesitancy for teams to launch as many three pointers as he did. Curry and Klay Thompson officially put the league on notice when they advanced to the second round of the playoffs and put up a fight against the Western Conference champions San Antonio Spurs in the 2012-13 season.
Fast forward to today, Stephen Curry is in his 13th season in the league and after three titles, including five straight trips to the NBA Finals from 2015-19, Curry might as well be known as an elder statesman of the league. Now at 34 years old, Curry is considered to be a veteran in today’s Gen-Z generation league. Much of today’s younger players emulate his game when they were kids trying to perfect their craft in basketball.
Curry Comparing Himself to the Younger Generation of the League
After Curry got back on track with 40 points on 23 shots in Houston, he told ClutchPoints of how surreal it is to be matched up with guys who were over a decade younger than him.
“I was just joking about JK [Jonathan Kuminga], [Moses] Moody, Jalen [Green] their all the same age, they were like 13, 14 when we won our first championship. Being side by side is kind of crazy…[I love] welcoming them and the new generation, that influence and all that but [I will] still not pass the torch too soon.”
The soon to be eight-time All-Star was quick to point out that he still had a lot left in the tank as an athlete. As a prolific shooter as Curry is, there is no way he would simply just hand over the keys to stardom to any up-and-coming superstar. As he showed Monday night, after Kevin Porter Jr. talked trash to Curry, it lit a fire under the Warriors guard and Curry gave one of his best performances in over a month.
Towards the end of the game, Porter Jr. asked for tips and advice from Curry on certain aspects of his game. Porter Jr. revealed to reporters after the game what he asked Curry.
“Making the game easier for myself and for the team,. Mainly on the pick-and-rolls, being able to dissect the defense and the first two of the pick-and-roll defenders.”
Curry’s game will never be as flashy as LeBron James or other high flyers. But his ability to revolutionize the entire league to shoot more perimeter shots more efficiently has vaulted Curry into the elite status as the greatest shooter of all time. When young kids are in the backyard or the local park playing basketball, they may dream about dunking, but realistically most of them see Curry in themselves more than James, the ability to shoot long balls.