How Stephen Curry became the best shooter the NBA has ever seen
The NBA has never seen a player like Stephen Curry.
Curry doesn’t possess the other-worldly athleticism of LeBron James or all-around skill set of Kevin Durant, but his shooting has changed the NBA forever.
The two-time MVP’s ability to shoot from any distance, off the dribble, has forced both defenses and other offenses to change their schemes.
Curry’s rise to becoming the best shooter in the NBA comes from a pattern of hard work and the intense preparation that has paid off immensely.
Here’s some of how he did it.
This story was originally published in 2016 and has been updated.
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So maybe some of of Steph’s skill comes from genetics. His father, Dell, was widely considered one of the best shooters in the NBA when he played.
ESPN’s Tom Friend wrote a profile in 2015 detailing Steph and Dell’s relationship. Dell told Friend that when he played for the Bucks, he and 11-year-old Steph would regularly compete against other NBA players in H-O-R-S-E competitions and the two would consistently win.
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It takes an exceptionally determined person to become, perhaps literally, the best at any one skill.
Curry told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan of his dedication to getting better:
“I don’t think everybody enjoys practicing and lifting and running and doing all that stuff. If you love the game, if you want to appreciate those moments when the lights are on and every shot counts, then you better be prepared for those moments.
“As you evolve, it’s almost like a game within a game. When you get to college, then the pros, everything resets and it’s an equal playing field. You’ve got to figure out how to differentiate yourself. You’ve got to figure out how to get to a certain level and how to stay there. The time you put in is what will determine that.”
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According to Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins, Curry was torching people on the court before he was even in high school. Dell told Jenkins that he once left one of Curry’s eighth grade games early because he was beating the other team so badly.
“I had to get out of there,” Dell said. “I felt bad for the other team. I couldn’t watch what he was doing to those kids.”
Steve Kerr once said: “What goes unnoticed is Steph is a killer. He is an unbelievable competitor. Maybe people are fooled because of the way he looks, or his demeanor. Everything seems to be so easy for him. But he is an absolute killer competitor.”
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Though Curry is now 6-foot-3, he was a late-bloomer. Before he grew he reportedly used to shoot a sort of flick shot that he released from his chest. As his competition got bigger and better, Dell helped Steph change his shooting form so that his release point was above his head. He had to re-learn how to shoot the ball.
Curry told SI’s Chris Ballard it was “the most frustrating summer,” saying:
“I really couldn’t shoot outside the paint for like the first three weeks. All summer when I was at camps people were like, ‘Who are you, why are you playing basketball?’ I was really that bad for a month and a half [before] I finally figured it out.”
Video surfaced a few years ago of Curry practicing dribbling and tossing a tennis ball while wearing blinding glasses. The glasses appear to momentarily go dark, forcing Curry to react quickly when he can see again.
Kerr told Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle, “[Curry] has the best skill set I’ve ever seen in terms of the combination of shooting and ball-handling, along with speed and quickness.”
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If Curry can master the actual physical movements he needs, the rest can come naturally. SI’s Rob Mahoney profiled some of Curry’s behind-the-scenes work, with Curry telling him:
“We do a warm-up drill every day that we practice where we literally work on just pivoting, stepping through, and pick-and-roll footwork. Just break it down, step by step. Those things happen so many times in a game that you might take it for granted — just the coordination it takes to be explosive in certain situations on the floor.
“So we work on that in practice. Outside of that, I just kind of work on footwork in moves that I normally will make in a game, whether it’s dribble moves into shots or the footwork coming off a screen, things like that. You drill that while you’re getting shots up so that you’ll obviously be efficient and make your workouts tough. But staying on top of that simple fundamental makes you a little bit faster, a little bit more creative, a little bit more efficient on the floor.”
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Curry was once an oft-injured guard with questions about his durability going forward after several issues with his ankles.
Curry learned he could take pressure off his ankles by becoming more explosive from his legs, hips, and core. ESPN’s Pablo Torre profiled the exercises Curry mastered in 2016.
“Curry swiftly perfected a yoga pose called the single-leg hip airplane, designed to build balance and core strength. He conquered the hip hinge, the fundamental movement of explosive lower-body exercises, in 10 minutes. He even mastered textbook trap-bar dead lifts, which amplify glutes and hamstrings, during his introductory session with Lyles. Other players typically need a week.
“At first, a willowy Curry could deadlift a pitiable 200 to 225 pounds … By Curry’s second year in the program, his dead lifts could touch 400 pounds — more than twice his body weight and second most on the Warriors behind 6-foot-11, 265-pound center Festus Ezeli.”
Klay Thompson told Torre: “The man was always in the gym. Steph just stuck with the routine. He works on his body just as much as he works on his jump shot.” Curry’s personal trainer, Brandon Payne, added that Curry’s core strength is “second to none.”
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