PHILADELPHIA — The work. The resolve. The rebounding. The character.
And of course, the shot — that unprecedented, undeniably awesome shot that makes people marvel at Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
“I do marvel, but it’s like every single night,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who recalled similar fascination with a teammate named Michael Jordan. “It’s almost like watching Michael.”
Ask those around Curry, the NBA’s reigning MVP and current “It” player, for superlatives, when they realized this guy was destined to become someone oh-so-special, and you will hear as many reasons, moments or vignettes as there are points affixed to his name in a boxscore.
But just as many tales and anecdotes flow about Curry off the court. Some are stunned by the work ethic, the knack for treating everyone — high and mighty, low and average — the same.
Unless you’re an opponent. Then Curry wants to rip your heart out.
“It’s just his passion for the game, his hard work and how competitive he is,” teammate Klay Thompson said. “A man does not work that hard if he’s not that competitive. But he’s a very well-rounded person. Obviously, he loves to golf, he puts his family and God first. He’s a very easy person to be around because he doesn’t seem like he has a bad day, ever.
“Steph Curry is the ultimate professional. A great leader, a great teammate and just a really good friend.”
The Denver series, 2013
In the playoffs for the first time since 2007, the 2012-13 Warriors were the sixth seed facing Denver in the first round. Andrew Bogut, who arrived injured the previous year and played in just 32 games that season, didn’t need much to realize Curry was special. Then came the playoffs. The Warriors upended the third-seeded Nuggets as Curry averaged 24.3 points, 9.3 assists, 2.2 steals and shot 46.8 percent, including 44.2 percent on 3-pointers.
“He was just hitting some crazy shots and got in a rhythm and flow,” Bogut said. “He had 30-, 40-point games before that series, but in that series he just destroyed Denver. Just the shots he was making when we needed a bucket, he’d go crazy.
“It was a matter of him getting himself healthy. He had a rough start to his career with his ankle. Now he feels good.”
But health was hard to acquire.
The ankle surgeries and the doubts
In his second season, Curry and “sprained ankle” were near synonymous, though he missed just eight games. There was postseason surgery. The following season, 2011-12, brought more injuries and another operation over the summer. Before that second procedure, Curry gave a foreshadowing. After missing three games, he returned in Washington on March 5. He played just 9:18.
And still scored 12 points.
“I remember in Washington he went 5-of-7 but the shots he was hitting were crazy,” Thompson said. “He hit a couple 30-footers like it was nothing.”
Those surgeries drove Curry to excel. Warriors general manager Bob Myers recalled sitting with Curry after that second operation.
“If you look back, it wasn’t always this way for him,” Myers said. “What gets lost about Steph is how hard he has had to work to get better every year. He’s had adversity. … The injury thing was a big hurdle he had to get over. It’s driven him. I don’t know if it’s to prove people wrong. But he has improved every year. It’s a testament to who he is and how he approaches the game. I don’t know what superlatives to use now.”
Pick a superlative, any superlative.
And when he got healthy …
Curry has forged an MVP Award, an NBA championship plus all the ridiculous shooting moments that rival the Manhattan population in numbers.
“His consistency last year, then the playoffs with the amount of big shots he hit defined it for me,” teammate Shaun Livingston said. “A lot of All-Stars are not always capable of carrying their team on their back.”
Curry can.
“I think he’ll end up being one of the greatest of all times. He already has one MVP and one championship,” teammate Draymond Green said. “He’ll end up with multiples of both. He’ll be up there with the all-time greats.”
He rebounds, too
Assistant Ron Adams is regarded as one of the league’s premier defensive minds over his 21 seasons. When Adams was aligned in Oklahoma City, Chicago and Boston, he saw the stuff that keeps opposing coaches fretting to the wee hours.
“I was amazed in defending him how quickly and accurately he could get shots off. Especially off pick-and-rolls,” Adams said. “A case could be made that when you look at the legions or good players who shot the ball in this league, he’s right up there with them, maybe the best.”
But the shot is not what Adams marvels at these days. It’s the 5.3 rebounds the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder produces.
“He is probably one of our more efficient and intelligent rebounders because he has the mentality of seeing how the ball is coming off, where it’s going and going to it. Sometimes he’s just in the fray and gets rebounds against bigger people,” Adams said. “He’s uncanny in his ability and his sensibility of doing that.”
Oh, and Curry’s defense has improved eons, too. That’s what hard work does.
Off the court, he’s too good to be true
In an era where helicopter parents have produced “I, me, mine” children at all levels, Curry is a remarkable blend of talent and humility.
“He is exactly how he comes across. There’s no B.S. with Steph,” Kerr said.
“I think he lies. To be that nice and have the killer instinct he has?” said assistant coach Luke Walton, laughing.
Warriors VP of communications Raymond Ridder provided one telling example.
“In 2013, we thought he was going to make the All-Star team,” Ridder said. “We were in Chicago on a Thursday off-night and TNT unveiled the reserve All-Stars. He didn’t make it. Five minutes later, I got a text message from him: ‘Thanks Raymond for everything you tried to do to get me on the All-Star team.’ Most guys in this league won’t thank the PR guys when they make the All-Star team. He reached out to say thanks even though he didn’t make it.”
So humble — but an on-court killer.
Oh yeah, there’s a swagger
Life became more brutal for opponents when Curry came to the realization of how good he is and the lengths he must go to stay there.
“He’s much more focused now,” said Dell Curry, Steph’s father and former 10-year pro. “He wants to repeat that taste of victory and what it takes to get there. He knows what he’s got to do.”
And he wants you to know he knows.
“My rookie year, I thought, ‘He’s coming into his own,’ ” Green said. “Then the next year he got that swagger where it’s like, ‘I know I’m better than you.’ Once he got that it’s been tough ever since.
“People miss his competitive side. There’s a lot of toughness but that falls under the radar because his game is so pretty.”
That swagger wasn’t always there.
The scouting trip
On Dec. 8, 2007, Kerr, then the Suns GM, went with Suns scout (and current Warriors development coach) Bruce Fraser to Anaheim, Calif., for a UCLA against Curry’s Davidson squad. Davidson got killed.
“He didn’t even have a great game but we looked at each other and said, ‘That guy could be the next Steve Nash,’ ” Kerr said. “He was so skilled with the ball and he was small, but the NBA was trending toward that. That was the first time I saw him live. I just thought, ‘Man, this guy’s going to be special.’ Now I didn’t think he’d be the MVP of the league but I thought he’d be a great NBA point guard.”
Kerr was Jordan’s teammate, so he knows great.
“I played with Michael for almost four years and every night was a show and every night I’d be in awe,” Kerr said. “When it happens every single night and you get to see it, it’s like ‘Whaaat?’
“I don’t take it for granted because what he does, it’s remarkable, but you can see why he is who he is. The way he treats people, the way he works. His modesty, his humility and yet his brash arrogance on the floor. What a great combination.”
For a complete, total package.