The 2021-22 NBA season has been a long one for the great Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. He led the team to a fourth championship in eight seasons and eventually won the MVP award in the Grand Finals. This must be one of his best years in a career full of high tides. The MVP's accolades may have finally put to rest the bitter corners of the internet that were skeptical about Curry's greatness. Equally celebrated: he finally graduated from Davidson College and was named the 2022 Athlete of the Year by Sports Illustrated.
But outside of basketball, Curry has experienced some serious lows — including his association with the FTX scandal. According to the Texas Tribune, he, along with other celebrities who support cryptocurrency exchanges, is under investigation by the Texas State Commission. There is also a class-action lawsuit in Florida that is seeking monetary damages based on the collapse of FTX, according to Variety. Curry may have no one else to blame himself, but he's also experienced many tough moments in his life that he couldn't control.
Believe it or not, there was a time when almost no one wanted Stephen Curry to join their team. Curry graduated from Charlotte** High School in North Carolina and is considered a three-star recruit. According to Yahoo Sports, his 6-foot-1-foot, 160-pound stature is considered too small for an elite college program. Nicknamed "The Babyface Assassin", he also looks too young (from the Bleacher Report). Curry wants to follow his father, former NBA standout Dale Curry, and get into his alma mater, Virginia Tech. The school was willing to treat Stephen as an entourage, which meant that he would have to take a leave of absence for the first year. But Curry knew he could prove his worth right away.
One school that jumped at Curry's chance was the Southern League's Davidson Academy, whose coaches were impressed with Curry's confidence, basketball acumen, and athleticism. Davidson's trust in Curry paid off as he led the nation's freshman class to score, led his underdogs to the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament, and elevated the school's overall basketball program. After he left Davidson in his junior year, the Golden State Warriors selected him with the seventh pick.
At the 2012 Olympics, Stephen Curry was overlooked. Although he was part of the 2010 FIBA World Championship team, he didn't make the Olympic roster two years later, which he called disappointing, according to Mercury News. But Curry seems to have plenty of chances to win an Olympic medal in the next few years.
According to USA Today, in 2016, Curry had the next chance to make the Olympic roster, but he withdrew from consideration due to a sprained medial collateral ligament. Curry said in a statement that he will prioritize preparing for the 2016-17 season.
Since then, Curry has not competed in the Olympics. According to NBC Sports, he once again turned down the opportunity to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In fact, after the Warriors won the 2022 Finals – Curry claimed the MVP title – coach Steve Kerr joked that Curry was missing only one Olympic medal that would not put him on par with the greats. During the Warriors' championship parade celebrations, Curry announced his intention to compete with his coach at the 2024 Paris Olympics (via the Warriors on NBCS), a statement seen as a witty response to the coach's ribs.
In the second half of the 2018-19 season, Stephen Curry struggled with a shooting slump. Sports Illustrated noted that in February, he made just 51 three-pointers from 135 attempts, shooting 378%。His decline appears to have started after the All-Star break—in nine games, he hit just 38 three-pointers in 115 attempts, compared to 46 in the first nine seasons of his careerThe success rate dropped dramatically compared to 5% after rest.
But his production changed dramatically in March, where he shot 51 from three-point range in nine straight games4%。Curry attributes his remarkable improvement to the fact that after years of delaying the decision, he finally put on his glasses. Therefore, it turns out that Curry has cemented his position as a shooting legend with his strength. He has an eye condition called keratoconus, which is a degenerative disease that causes blurred vision to increase over time. It wasn't until 2019 that Curry managed to squint and become a star before deciding to fix his vision problem. Curry didn't realize how lacking he was — and he believed his new exposure led directly to his MVP-worthy stretch in hindsight, where he recorded the second-most three-pointers since 2016.
Throughout his basketball career, Steph Curry has been inspired and warmed to know that his parents sat together in the stands to cheer him on. Dale and Sonia Curry even became regulars at Warriors games — TV cameras showed Dell Curry cheering in a memorabilia version of his son's jersey (via Bleacher Report). But sadly, that era came to an end with their separation in 2021. In an interview with The Ringer, Stephen said it was challenging to see his parents' 33-year marriage end.
However, despite Stephen's tendency to be angry with his parents, he remains calm. Millions of people have witnessed this graceful approach after Curry broke the record of NBA legend Ray Allen to become the all-time leader in three-point shooting in the regular season. His parents were at their house in Madison Square Garden to witness the historic accomplishment that Curry had been desperately chasing. But as fans at home (via Twitter) noticed, his parents sat separately. Still, Curry embraced the moment and made sure to celebrate with each of his parents. After hugging his father near the team's bench, he chased his mother into a tunnel in the stadium and gave her a hug as well.
Even though Steph Curry has four NBA championships and two league MVPs, critics are reluctant to include Steph Curry on their list of all-time greats. The main reason, The Ringer says, is his style of play, which doesn't seem to have as imposing as the bullying brand of those taller, physically stronger players. Curry's primary offensive approach is to wear down the defense in a war of attrition, forcing them to attack his court-stretching skills. According to the New York Times, when Curry led the Warriors to multiple championships, critics blamed Curry's defense for being weak or praised Curry's teammates.
In a June 2022 interview, general manager Bob Myers lamented that he and others still had to defend the star (via The Morning Roast). But then Curry won his fourth championship and ended up with the elusive Finals MVP award. Just as Tom Brady silenced critics when he won his seventh NFL title, Curry seems to have done the same with his Finals MVP. However, all the grievances have a benefit: Curry is a fan favorite, and he believes the underdog nature of his game is the reason he looks relevant to the average person, according to GQ. Not being able to jump the highest or be the biggest may not win the favor of keyboard critics, but for those who buy a commemorative jersey it will.
On November 23, 2018, Steph Curry was involved in a tragic car accident involving three cars in California, ESPN reported. On that rainy day, a driver lost control of the car and crashed into Curry's black Porsche, the front bumper falling off. Curry parked his car in the middle and waited for the police to arrive, but luckily, just 10 minutes later, another car rear-ended the Porsche. Thankfully, no one was injured, and Curry took to Twitter to update fans on his condition. Think Curry was very lucky — TMZ Sports got footage showing a crash worthy of a NASCAR highlight.
According to ESPN, Curry was scheduled to report to the Warriors later in the day. But he's been dealing with a groin injury and has no plans to play. After joking that Curry wouldn't miss out on Porsche — because he might have more — coach Steve Kerr told reporters that Curry was a little shaken but did a good job.
Stephen Curry's right ankle has a long history. It has been in trouble for him since at least 2010, notes the Bleacher Report. During the game against the Spurs, Curry sprained his ankle, although he did not make contact with anyone on the floor. This caused him problems for the remainder of the 2010-11 season and forced him to undergo surgery. The following season, Curry suffered an ankle sprain that sidelined him for about two weeks and underwent another surgery. In 2013, he had to miss a few more games due to an ankle sprain. Curry's injury began to evolve into a real threat to his career. In his third NBA season, he played just 26 games, after which his $44 million contract was negotiated through ESPN, with the hope that his ankle won't be an issue in the future. Even general manager Bob Myers was impressed by the strange simple way Curry sprained his ankle, with others joking that his ankle was made of glass.
Curry began to train in different ways to reduce the weight on his ankles. It was successful, but over the next few years, he had occasional ankle problems. In 2016, he missed several playoff games due to his ankle, and in April 2022, he sprained a ligament in his left foot, causing him to miss his last few regular season games, according to CBS.
Ayesha Curry has seen her fair share of cyberbullying, which sometimes leads her husband Stephen to step in and defend her. In 2019, Ayesha appeared on Facebook's "Red Table Talk," where she discussed her marriage with other women in the Curry family. When it comes to women's unwanted attention to their husbands, Ayesha says she finds it difficult to get men's attention. Stephen's female admirers are an uncomfortable topic, but Ayesha says she would find the situation more bearable if she had her own admirers. It was a moment of vulnerability, and perhaps some insecure mothers could relate to it, but she immediately drew criticism. According to Buzzfeed News, internet users ridiculed her and portrayed her desire for attention as selfish. She insisted on her comments on Instagram, where Stephen posted words of support on Instagram stories while shooting at her critics (via Us Weekly).
When Ayesha posted about herself and Stephen's ** on Instagram, she encountered more bullying. The protagonist of this ** is a blonde and blue-eyed Ayesha whose face looks slightly different than usual. (She confirmed in her comments that she used filters.) Derogatory sexual comments accuse her of trying to appear as a white woman. In retaliation, some followers expressed support, including Stephen, who encouraged Ayesha to ignore the haters.
According to Associated Press News, rapper Nipsey Hussle was killed in an incident in Los Angeles in April 2019. He was only 33 years old. A year ago, Hessler appeared on Steph Curry's YouTube show, "5 Minutes from Home." As they cruised in a car and had a bite to eat, they had intimate conversations about fatherhood, Hussle's creative process, entrepreneurship, and misogyny in rap culture. One of the most heartfelt moments in this episode is Hessler's admission that becoming a father was the best decision he ever made. He added that it is important for him to share his passion with his children so that they are inspired to pursue the life they want.
Curry noted that Hessler's tragic death shortens the efforts Hessler has made within his community, via CNN. Curry also posted a tribute to the rapper on Instagram with a ** of their interview together. In 2021, Curry released an episode dedicated to Nipsey on his podcast "15 Minutes Away from Home" with an unheard conversation with the rapper, originally recorded for a YouTube show. In the extended interview, Hussle discusses his long path to success as an artist and compares his journey to that of Curry (via Hypebeast).
During the 2021-22 NBA season, Stephen Curry experienced a dramatic shooting slump. While his passing efficiency is high, Curry's shooting record is the worst of his career. According to Mercury News, the slump that began in November 2021 and lasted until January saw Curry shoot just 367%。Curry, who hit just eight of his 41 goals in two games against Dallas and Miami (via ESPN), played down his struggles to reporters and said he wasn't trying to overreact (via Twitter). But according to CBS News, the numbers don't lie, and even coach Steve Kerr had to chime in, blaming it on exhaustion at one point and later expressing confidence that Curry will get over it.
For a moment, Curry seemed to have found the source of his troubles and was about to return to his previous state. According to The Athletic, Curry realized that his feet were the problem due to a sudden epiphany, and he quickly improved his technique. His shooting got a brief boost, but his struggles returned a few days later. Despite concerns, he's still competing for the league's MVP title, with the Warriors boasting one of the league's best offense (according to USA Today) and the team going on to win the 2022 Finals.
In August 2022, Stephen Curry revealed that he looked up to NBA legend Michael Jordan as a role model. He watched the documentary The Last Dance and admired that Jordan wouldn't ask his teammates and those around him to do anything he couldn't do on his own. Curry said in an interview that he is trying to emulate this leadership approach in his own team (via Twitter). Jordan's words carry a lot of weight, both for the fans and for the players. As a result, it is difficult for Curry to know that Jordan does not consider him a Hall of Famer. In a 2019 interview with Today, Jordan made a list of players on his ideal catch-and-shoot list, and Curry was clearly left out in the cold. Despite Jordan calling Curry a great player — and saying Curry shouldn't be mad at him for being left out of an imaginary team — the legend says Curry doesn't have what it takes to be in the Hall of Fame. Still. Jordan left Curry open for the possibility of finally getting there.
But Curry was confident in his abilities, and he rejected Jordan's comments, according to SiriusXM NBA Radio. Curry said he wanted to know if Jordan was wrong, adding that if Jordan had been asked about Curry's talent years later, his answer would have been very different. The issue was finally resolved in 2021 when Curry spoke to Jordan during a golf Ryder Cup event. Curry told The Athletic that Jordan called him a Hall of Famer through NBC Sports.
The most intriguing criticism of Steph Curry is at the heart of his legacy – claiming that his game-changing style of play ruined basketball. Curry's career was built on his long-range shooting, and he is now considered one of the greatest shots. In December 2021, he hit his 2,977th three-pointer from depth, breaking the NBA's three-point record, according to Sports Illustrated, but that only added to the frustration of some critics, many of whom were older spectators of the game. Curry made his shot ** like never before, and his highlight reel didn't show his dedication to other fundamentals. He's also reluctant to dunk — it's the bread and butter of some NBA superstars. Most of the criticism boils down to accusations of bad role models: young athletes are taking wilder shots, believing they can get away with it. But not everyone is Stephen Curry.
Even his former Warriors coach Mark Jackson said Curry hurt basketball in some way. Jackson lamented that kids in high school have begun to prioritize three-point shooting over more well-rounded skills, even though Curry himself is very well-rounded. Curry told The Athletic that he has put years of effort into building his style, and he urged young players to respect the process. But Curry, once a good sporter, has always been indifferent to criticism. He told Los Angeles Magazine that bad blood is inevitable, especially for someone who has turned the game upside down.
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