THE AMAZING RISE OF STEPHEN CURRY,WORLD BEST BASKET SHOOTER

Wardell Stephen “Steph” Curry II was born March 14, 1988. He is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is considered by some to be the greatest shooter in NBA history. The 2015 NBA Most Valuable Player and a two-time NBA All-Star. He is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry, and the older brother of current NBA player Seth Curry.

Curry played college basketball for Davidson. There, he was twice named Southern Conference Player of the Year and set the all-time scoring record for both Davidson and the Southern Conference. During his sophomore year, Curry also set the single-season NCAA record for three-pointers made.

Curry in his Davidson gear

Curry was born in Akron, Ohio but grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina where his father Dell played for the Charlotte Hornets. Curry’s father often took him and his younger brother Seth to his games, where they would sometimes shoot around with his team during warm-ups. As a child, he attended a Montessori school that had been started by his mother, Sonya.

From 2001 to 2002, Curry lived in Toronto during his father’s tenure with the Toronto Raptors, attending middle school as an eighth grade student at Queensway Christian College in Etobicoke, Ontario. There, he was a member of the grades 7 and 8 boys’ basketball team, leading them to an undefeated season.

Curry went to high school at Charlotte Christian where he was named all-state, all-conference, and led his team to three conference titles and three state playoff appearances. The then 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 160-pound senior did not receive any scholarship offers from major-conference schools. Since his father played for Virginia Tech and is in their Hall of Fame, Curry wanted to play for the Hokies, but they only offered him a place as a walk-on player. After receiving scholarship offers from Davidson, VCU, and Winthrop, he chose Davidson, a school that had not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1969.

Personal life

On July 30, 2011, Curry married Ayesha Alexander in Charlotte, North Carolina. The couple has two daughters: Riley (born 2012) and Ryan Carson (2015). They live in Orinda, California.

Curry is a Christian. Curry spoke about his faith during his MVP speech by saying, “People should know who I represent and why I am who I am, and that’s because of my Lord and Savior.” He also said the reason that he pounds his chest and points up is that he has a “heart for God” and as a reminder that he plays for God. On some of his “Curry One” basketball shoes, there is a lace loop scripted “4:13”.It is a reference to the Bible verse Philippians 4:13.

Curry always points to the sky after making baskets in praise of God

Curry’s younger brother, Seth, is also a professional basketball player; while his younger sister, Sydel, plays volleyball at Elon University.

Curry wears the same No. 30 his dad wore while he was in the NBA.

During the 1992 All-Star Weekend, his father entrusted him to Biserka Petrovi?, mother of future Hall of Fame player Dražen Petrovi?, while Dell competed in the Three-Point Shootout. Following the 2015 NBA Finals, Curry gave Biserka one of his Finals-worn jerseys, which will reportedly be added to the collection of the Dražen Petrovi? Memorial Center, a museum to the late player in the Croatian capital of Zagreb.

Golden State Warriors (2009–present)

2009–10 season

The Golden State Warriors selected Curry with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. He subsequently signed a four-year, $12.7 million contract in July 2009. Curry made his NBA regular season debut on October 28, 2009 in the Warriors’ 2009–10 season opener against the Houston Rockets. He started the game and finished with 14 points, 7 assists, 4 steals and 2 turnovers in 36 minutes of play.
On February 10, 2010, Curry got his first career triple-double when he recorded 36 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds. On April 7, 2010, Curry recorded 27 points, 14 assists, 8 rebounds and 7 steals as then-head coach Don Nelson set a new NBA record for career coaching wins with 1,333.
Curry was a contender for the 2009–10 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, but ended up finishing second behind Tyreke Evans. He was one of three unanimous selections to the All-Rookie First Team, alongside Evans and Brandon Jennings. Curry averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.9 steals for the season.

2010–11 season

Curry averaged 18.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.5 steals on the season. During the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend, he won the Skills Challenge. Curry led the NBA in free-throw percentage and set a new Warriors single-season record by shooting 93.4%, passing Rick Barry’s previous mark of 92.4%. He was also the recipient of the 2010–11 NBA Sportsmanship Award.

2011–12 season: Injury-riddled season

Curry had an injury riddled 2011/12 season

In May 2011, Curry had surgery on his right ankle to repair torn ligaments he got from multiple sprains during the 2010–11 season. He was ready to play by the start of the lockout-shortened season with his new head coach Mark Jackson, but he sprained his surgically repaired right ankle during an exhibition game just days before the season started. He still started the season opener vs. the Los Angeles Clippers, but had only 4 points on 2-of-12 shooting.

The next game, Curry had 21 points and 10 assists to lead the Warriors to a 99–91 victory over the Chicago Bulls, but rolled his right ankle and missed the next game. He came back for 3 games and sprained his right ankle yet again on January 4. He returned January 20 for the next 16 games before straining a tendon in his right foot in a game on February 22. On March 5, Curry returned for 4 games before having season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle. The injury-plagued season ended with Curry seeing action in only 26 of 66 games with averages of 14.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.5 steals.

2012–13 season

On October 31, 2012, Curry agreed to a four-year, $44 million rookie scale contract extension with the Warriors. He went on to average 22.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game on the season.

On February 27, 2013, Curry scored a career-high 54 points in a 109-105 loss to the New York Knicks. He shot 18 for 28 from the field, and 11 of 13 from three-point range. His 11 three-pointers is a single-game franchise-record and trails only the 12 threes made by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall for most threes made in a single game in NBA history. On the final day of the regular season, Curry broke the NBA record for three-pointers made in a single regular season. Curry finished the season with 272 made three pointers; 3 more than previous record holder Ray Allen.

Golden State finished 47–35, earning the sixth seed in the 2013 NBA Playoffs and a matchup with the three seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round. This was the first playoff series for Curry and many of his teammates but Golden State beat Denver in six games to advance to the semifinals to face the San Antonio Spurs. Curry had a playoff career-high 44 points in Game 1 of the series but the Warriors ended up blowing a 16-point lead late in the fourth quarter which resulted in a double-overtime loss. Golden State would go on to lose to the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs in six games.

2013–14 season

On December 7, 2013, in a 108-82 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Curry broke Jason Richardson’s franchise record for most three-point field goals made in a career with 701, doing so in fewer attempts.
Curry made his first All-Star appearance after he was voted by the fans as a starter for the Western Conference. He finished the season averaging 24.0 points and 8.5 assists; both career bests.

The Golden State Warriors finished with a 51-31 record and was the 6th seed in the Western Conference once again. They would face the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. On April 27, 2014, in Game 4 of the series, Curry scored 33 points, including a then playoff career-high seven three-pointers, as the Warriors beat the Clippers 118-97. Curry and the Warriors would go on to lose to the Clippers in seven games in the midst of the Donald Sterling controversy. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the first time.

2014–15 season: MVP and first championship

On January 7, 2015, in a 117-102 win over the Indiana Pacers, Curry made his 1,000th career three-point field goal. He became the fastest player in NBA history to make 1,000 career three-pointers. It was Curry’s 369th game; 88 fewer games than previous record-holder Dennis Scott (457) took to reach the milestone. On February 4, he scored a season-high 51 points on 16-of-26 shooting in a 128-114 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Curry was the overall leading vote-getter for the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, edging last year’s top vote-getter, LeBron James.

On February 14, 2015, Curry defeated teammate Klay Thompson and six others to win his first three-point contest during the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend. Curry also wore sneakers that had Deah Shaddy Barakat’s name on them (one of the victims of the 2015 Chapel Hill shooting). According to his sister Suzanne, Deah Barakat was known for his “love for basketball and anything Steph Curry.” Deah’s number for his intramural basketball team at North Carolina State University was Curry’s No. 30 and he posed for a photo that was similar to one that Curry did for GQ. Curry said that Barakat’s family “did a great job of reaching out to me and making me aware of the details of his life and personality. It was really kind of a cool deal to be able to use the platform yesterday to honor Deah and his family. I’m going to send them the shoes I wore yesterday. And hopefully they know that I’ve been thinking about them.”

On April 9, 2015, Curry knocked down his 273rd three-pointer of the season, topping the mark of 272 he set in 2012–13. He finished the game with eight three-pointers and 45 total points as he helped the Warriors rally to a 116-105 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. On May 4, he was named the recipient of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2014–15 NBA Most Valuable Player, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only MVP winners in Warriors’ franchise history (Chamberlain won the award during the 1959–60 season with what were then the Philadelphia Warriors). Despite only playing 32.7 minutes per game during the season, Curry ranked first in steals per game and free throw percentage, third in three point percentage, and sixth in points and assists per game.

On May 13, 2015, in a 98-78 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 5 of the Western Conference semi-finals, Curry became the fastest player to make 100 three-pointers in the playoffs, reaching the milestone in 28 games. Ray Allen held the previous record at 35. In addition, Curry became the first player in NBA history to have six three-pointers and six steals in a single playoff game. Three days later, in the series-clinching Game 6 victory, Curry made a playoff career-high 8 three-pointers, en route to 32 points, including a buzzer-beater from behind half-court. Curry propelled the Warriors to their first Western Conference Finals since 1976. On May 23, in a 115-80 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, Curry broke the record for three-pointers made in a single post-season with his 59th coming in just 13 games. Reggie Miller set the previous mark of 58 in 2000 in 22 games. Curry went on to lead the Warriors to victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Finals with 26.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.8 steals in the six-game series that the Warriors won 4–2.

Career highlights awards and honours.

NBA champion: 2015

NBA Most Valuable Player: 2015

2× NBA All-Star: 2014, 2015

All-NBA First Team: 2015

All-NBA Second Team: 2014

3× NBA three-point field goals leader: 2013, 2014, 2015

2× NBA free-throw percentage leader: 2011, 2015

NBA Skills Challenge champion: 2011

April 2013 NBA Western Conference Player of the Month

April 2014 NBA Western Conference Player of the Month

November 2014 NBA Western Conference Player of the Month

NBA regular season record for made three-pointers

Warriors franchise leader in three-point field goals made

Warriors franchise record for most three-pointers made in a game

ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete and Best NBA Player (2015)

BET Award for Sportsman of the Year (2015)