Stephen Curry

Curry with the Golden State Warriors

**Wardell Stephen "Steph" Curry II** (born March 14, 1988) 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 was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. During the 2012–13 season, he set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a regular season with 272. The next season, Curry and teammate Klay Thompson set the NBA record for combined threes in a season with 484 as the pair were given the nickname the "Splash Brothers". In 2014–15, Curry eclipsed his own record by knocking down his 273rd three-pointer on April 9, 2015, finishing the regular season with 286 three-pointers and was named MVP after leading the Warriors to a franchise-record and NBA-best 67 wins on the season. In 2015 Curry led the Warriors to their first NBA championship since 1975.

## Early Life

Curry was born in Akron, Ohio, but grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. Curry comes from an athletic family. His father Dell played professional basketball in National Basketball Association (NBA) mainly with the Charlotte Hornets, while his mother, Sonya played volleyball at Virginia Tech. His younger brother, Seth, is also a professional basketball player and his younger sister, Sydel, plays college volleyball at Elon University.

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.

## High school career

Curry attended Charlotte Christian School in Charlotte, North Carolina. At Charlotte Christian School Curry was named all-state, all-conference, and team MVP while he led his team to three conference titles and three state playoff appearances. He finished his senior season by shooting over 48% from three-point range. Despite the success Curry had in high school, the then 6'0, 160-pound senior did not receive any scholarship offers from major-conference schools. Since Curry's father played for Virginia Tech and is in their Hall of Fame, Curry wanted to play for the Hokies, but the Hokies only offered him a place as a walk-on. Curry chose Davidson College, a school that had not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1969.

## College career

**Freshman season**

Before Curry even played one college game, head coach Bob McKillop said at a Davidson alumni event, "Wait 'til you see Steph Curry. He is something special." In his first collegiate game, against Eastern Michigan, Curry finished with 15 points but committed 13 turnovers. In the next game, against Michigan, he scored 32 points, dished out 4 assists, and grabbed 9 rebounds. Curry finished the season leading the Southern Conference in scoring with 21.5 points per game. He was second in the nation among freshmen in scoring, behind only Kevin Durant of Texas. Curry's scoring ability helped the Wildcats to a 29–5 overall record and a Southern Conference regular season title. On March 2, 2007, in the Southern Conference tournament semi-finals against Furman, Curry made his 113th three-pointer of the year, breaking Keydren Clark's NCAA freshman season record for 3-point field goals.

Curry eclipsed the school freshman scoring record with his 502nd point against Chattanooga on February 6, 2007. On March 15, 2007, Davidson marched into the NCAA tournament as a 13 seed set to play Maryland; despite Curry's game-high 30 points, Davidson lost 82–70. At the end of his freshman season, Curry was named Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, SoCon Tournament MVP, and selected to the SoCon All-tournament team, All-freshman team, and first team All-SoCon. He was also honorable mention in Sports Illustrated's All-Mid-Major. After the season ended, he was selected for the USA team to appear at the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championships in which he averaged 9.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 19.4 minutes, helping team USA to a silver medal finish.

**Sophomore season**

In his sophomore season in 2007–08, Curry had grown to his adult height of 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and again led the Southern Conference in scoring, averaging 25.5 points per game while adding 4.7 rebounds per game and 2.8 assists per game. He led the Wildcats to a 26–6 regular season record, and a 20–0 conference record. As a result, Davidson earned its third straight NCAA Tournament bid.

On March 21, 2008, Davidson matched up with seventh seeded Gonzaga. Gonzaga led by eleven points early in the second half but Curry went on to score 30 points in the half to push Davidson to their first NCAA Tournament win since 1969, 82–76. Curry ended the game with 40 points while also going 8-for-10 from 3-point range. On March 23, Davidson played second seeded Georgetown in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Georgetown, ranked eighth nationally, entered the game as a heavy favorite after an appearance in the Final Four in 2007. Curry managed just five points in the first half of the game as Davidson trailed by as many as 17 points, but his 25 second-half points led Davidson to a 74–70 comeback victory.

On March 28, 2008, Curry led Davidson to another win against third-seeded Wisconsin. Curry scored 33 points as Davidson won 73–56 to advance to the Elite 8. Curry joined Clyde Lovellette, Jerry Chambers, and Glenn Robinson as the only college players to score over 30 points in their first four career NCAA tournament games. Curry also tied Darrin Fitzgerald of Butler for the single-season record for most three-pointers with 158. On March 30, 2008, he set the record, against the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, with his 159th three-pointer of the season. Curry scored 25 points in the game but Davidson lost 57-59, and the Jayhawks went on to win the championship.

Curry finished the season averaging 25.9 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. He was named to the Associated Press' All-America Second Team on March 31, 2008. He also was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Region of the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Tournament, becoming the first player from a team not making the Final Four to do so since Juwan Howard of Michigan in 1994. Curry was nominated for an ESPY in the Breakthrough Player of the Year category

**Junior season**

After Davidson's loss in the NCAA Regional Finals against Kansas, Curry announced that he would return for his junior year. Curry stated he wanted to develop as a point guard as that would be his most likely position in the NBA. On November 18, 2008, Curry scored a career-high 44 points in Davidson's 82–78 loss to Oklahoma. He extended a career-long streak by scoring at least 25 points for the seventh straight game. On November 21, Curry registered a career-high 13 assists, to go along with 30 points, in Davidson's 97–70 win over Winthrop. On November 25, against Loyola, he was held scoreless as Loyola constantly double-teamed Curry. It was Curry's only scoreless collegiate game and just his second without double-digit points. He finished 0-for-3 from the field as Davidson won the game 78-48. In Davidson's next game (11 days later), Curry matched his career-high of 44 in a 72–67 win over North Carolina State.

Curry surpassed the 2000-point mark for his career on January 3, 2009, as he scored 21 points against Samford. February 14, 2009, Curry rolled his ankle in the second half of a win over Furman. The injury caused Curry to miss the February 18 game against The Citadel, the first and only game he missed in his college career. On February 28, 2009, Curry became Davidson's all time leading scorer with 34 points in a 99–56 win against Georgia Southern. That gave Curry 2,488 points for his career, surpassing previous school leader John Gerdy. Davidson won the 2008-09 Southern Conference regular season championship for the south division, finishing 18-2 in the conference.

In the 2009 Southern Conference Tournament, Davidson played Appalachian State in the quarterfinals and won 84-68. Curry scored 43 points, which is the third most points in Southern Conference tournament history.[38] In the semifinals, against the College of Charleston, Curry had 20 points but Davidson lost 52-59. Despite lobbying from Davidson head coach Bob McKillop and Charleston coach Bobby Cremins, the Wildcats failed to get an NCAA tournament bid. Instead, they received the sixth seed in the 2009 NIT. Davidson played the third seed, South Carolina, on the road in the first round. Curry scored 32 points as the Wildcats beat the Gamecocks 70-63. Davidson would then fall 68-80 to the Saint Mary's Gaels in the second round. Curry registered 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists in what was his final game for the Wildcats.

He finished his final season at Davidson averaging 28.6 points, 5.6 assists, and 2.5 steals. He was the NCAA scoring leader and was named a consensus first team All-American. Although he opted out of his senior year at Davidson, Curry stated that he still planned to earn his degree.

**College Awards & Honors**

* 2× SoCon Player of the Year (2008–2009)
* Consensus first-team All-American (2009)
* Consensus second-team All-American (2008)
* 2× First-team All-SoCon (2008–2009)
* 2× SoCon Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2007-2008)
* 3× SoCon first-team All-Tournament (2007–2009)
* SoCon Freshman of the Year (2007)
* SoCon All-Freshmen Team (2007)

#### **College Records**

* NCAA Division I scoring leader (2009)
* Single-season NCAA 3-point field goals (162, 2007–08)
* Single-season NCAA freshman 3-point field goals (122, 2006–07)

#### **Davidson College Records**

* All-time leading scorer in Davidson College history (2635)
* All-time Davidson College leader in 3-point field-goals made (414)
* All-time Davidson College leader in 30-point games (30)
* All-time Davidson College leader in 40-point games (6)
* Single-season Davidson College points (974, 2008–09)
* Single-season Davidson College steals (86, 2008–09)
* Single-season Davidson College freshman points (730, 2006–07)

### **Golden State Warriors (2009–present)**

#### **Early seasons and injuries (2009–12)**

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. 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. Curry averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.9 steals for the season.

Curry averaged 18.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.5 steals in his second 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. In May 2011, Curry had surgery on his right ankle to repair torn ligaments he got from multiple sprains during the 2010–11 season.

Curry 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 at Sacramento just days before the season started. 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 and 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 #30 and he posed for a photo that was similar to one that Curry did for GQ.[75] 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.

### **2015–16 season (Second MVP and championship loss)**

Curry become the first unanimous voted MVP in the 2015-16 season. He won back-to-back MVPs and eventually broke the record for most games won in the regular season, breaking Michael Jordan and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls's record for most wins in the season, which at the time, was 72-10. Later, Curry and his Warriors broke the record by winning one more game to have the most regular season wins. This was about to be Curry's best season, until they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, lead by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. They have a 3-1 lead in a 7 game series, but the Cavaliers won the championship in the 2016 NBA Finals after winning three games in a row.

## International career

Curry is a two-time gold medalist as a member of the United States men's national basketball team in both 2010 and 2014. He is also a silver medalist with the Under-19 USA team in 2007.

## Player profile

Curry is a 6 foot 3 in (1.91 m) point guard who has established himself as one of the best shooters in NBA history and is considered by some to be the greatest shooter in NBA history and is only the sixth point guard to win the MVP Award. His career averages are 20.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. He has led the league in in free-throw shooting percentage twice (2011, 2015) and three-point field goals made (2013-2015), the first player in the NBA history to do it in three consecutive seasons, and became the fastest player to hit 1,000 three-points and set a record for most threes in the playoffs. Curry has a 44.0% career three-point shooting average, and ESPN.com wrote that "no backcourt in history has rivaled the Splash Brothers in both categories of 3-point volume and efficiency."

Unlike, most pure shooters Curry has creative ball-handling to get past his opponents and pull up for three pointers consistently, while allowing him to space the floor for his team. This makes Curry particularly difficult to defend because he can score comfortably against most players anywhere on the court. He creates scoring opportunities by his ball-handling skills; upon beating his defender one-on-one by his handle so he able to penetrate deep into the paint which leads to easy shots for his teammates.

## NBA Statistics

### **Playoffs**

**NBA career highlights**

* 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

## Personal life

On July 30, 2011, Curry married Ayesha Alexander in Charlotte, North Carolina. The couple have two daughters, Riley (born July 19, 2012) and Ryan Carson (born July 10, 2015). They live in Orinda, California.

Curry wears the same number (#30) his dad wore while he was in the NBA.

During the 1992 All-Star Weekend, his father entrusted him to Biserka Petrović, mother of future Hall of Fame player Dražen Petrović, 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 Petrović Memorial Center, a museum to the late player in the Croatian capital of Zagreb.

## See also

* List of NBA season leaders in three-point field goals
* List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders
* List of National Basketball Association career playoff 3-point scoring leaders
* List of National Basketball Association season free throw percentage leaders
* NBA Most Valuable Player Award
* 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
* List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season scoring leaders

## External links

* NBA.com Profile
* Davidson College player profile
* ESPN player profile
* The Next Step For Steph
* [http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/inte/vide/in

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