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Swimming Legend Michael Phelps, Who Idolized Michael Jordan, Was Mesmerized By Stephen Curry Even Before He Won His First NBA Finals

Published 06/29/2022, 8:00 PM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Stephen Curry has been in the NBA for 13 years now. He made his debut for the Warriors in 2009 after they picked him as the 7th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. If anyone could have known what kind of player he would become, he wouldn’t have been the 7th pick. Steph was that special. Ever since his college days, he had a special skill, and he was a master at it. No secret, it was his shooting.

Steph had this specialty of making everyone his fan at first sight. Because of the form of his shooting, his range, and his accuracy, he really makes one wonder how he really does that. And more impressively, he has been doing that for years now. Steph changed the game for everyone to see as he made three-point shooting a tremendous feature of his game. Just like the rest of us, even a legend from another sport was in awe of a 23-year-old Steph.

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Michael Phelps attended the preseason game between Lakers and Warriors in Shanghai on October 18, 2013. He felt lucky to witness a young basketball sensation live as he showed his excitement with his Facebook post. Greatness recognizes greatness.

Also read: Stephen Curry Left An NBA Fan In Tears With A Bold Gesture Including Doing Janitor’s Work In Her High School

Michael Phelps is a long-time fan of All-Time great Michael Jordan. He has previously said that he wanted to be just like Jordan. MJ was his idol growing up. Phelps himself is one of the greatest swimmers ever, possibly the greatest.

via Getty

So, him being in awe of Steph and acting like a fan shows a lot about the type of impact Steph has on basketball lovers. His impact is unbelievable. One might hate that Steph has kind of changed the game over the years into a more shooting-oriented one. Some might troll him that he “can’t” dunk which he can, he just doesn’t need to. However, no one can deny that he is the best at what he does.

Stephen Curry in front of Michael Phelps and the season forward

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It was not a blockbuster performance from Steph in the preseason game. But he still displayed his three-point shooting as well as a sign of things to come. This was a preseason game before the commencement of the 2013-14 season. Andre Iguodala showed off his versatility as the Warriors won the last game of the 2013 NBA Global Games in Shanghai with a 115-89 win against the Lakers. Iguodala led in assists with 14 while Klay Thomspon led in points with 25 points. Draymond Green, David Lee, and Kent Bazemore were also on the money with impressive displays.

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The 2013-14 season was not the most impressive one for Steph. But in comparison to his first four seasons in the league, he produced his best numbers in his 5th season. Steph scored 24 points per game in the regular season of 2013-14. He also averaged 4.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists. That season was his second playoff appearance. He improved from his first playoff display and he averaged 23 points in 2013-14.

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WATCH THIS STORY: Steph Curry’s best final performances.

Although the Warriors only played 7 games in the playoffs, it was a start of a brilliant phase for both Steph and his team. The next season they would win their first NBA championship and it turned out to be the start of the Warriors dynasty.

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Written by:

Chaitanya Sharma

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Chaitanya is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his engineering from SRM University. Having determined an interest in football and basketball, he was inclined towards having a job in the sports industry.
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Edited by:

Bagavathi Eswaran