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Young Stephen Curry Didn’t Believe He Could Play in the NBA Until Reporter Gave Him a Reality Check: ‘What Are You Talking About?’

Published 06/13/2022, 6:00 PM EDT

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Stephen Curry is the best shooter ever in the NBA and there’s no debate. While some fans might think that he’s too confident at times with his shimmies and other celebration, he wasn’t always the confident one. In fact, the former MVP wasn’t even thinking about the NBA until his sophomore year in college.

In one of the episodes of “The Rex Chapman Show”, Stephen Curry joined Rex Chapman and Josh Hopkins via video conference. And they discussed a lot of things, including Curry’s MVP run at the time, his family, etc.

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At one point, Rex Chapman asked Curry when he actually thought that he could make it to the NBA. And Chef said that he had always had a dream about playing in the NBA ever since he was a kid with his dad, Dell Curry, in the NBA. 

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Curry said, “But the honest answer is literally after my sophomore year in college…” 

Stephen Curry about his decision to stay in college for one more year

He revealed he realized he could play in the NBA after Davidon’s elite 8 loss against Kansas. Curry said that they lost the game in the final possession. And said that there was a lot of emotion because it was the last game for the seniors on the team.

Curry continued, “…We’re in the locker room crying. And, the interview started after the game. The first question one of the interview guys asked was like, ‘Yo, are you declaring for the draft?’ I’m like ‘What are you talking about?’ I believe like, I’m not even being funny. It wasn’t even on my radar. After he asked that question I started thinking like, ‘Oh wait, maybe I guess I could like that’d be crazy.’ And then I started to actually analyze the situation…”

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The Warriors’ superstar said that he then started looking at draft boards. And started to realize what he has to add to his game to be a professional. He also disclosed that it is the reason he chose to stay in college for another year to transition to a point guard role. 

‘The Chef’ said that he made the right decision to stay, which helped him to get stronger and look at the game from the perspective of a point guard. And said that it’d have been hard to make in the NBA as a 6’3 shooting guard. He also racked up great numbers in college.

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Fast forward to 2022 and Stephen Curry’s decision has worked out beyond imagination. But it is crazy to think how the best shooter ever has also had self-doubt. And that he needed a reminder about his abilities. Among other things, we also have the reporter to thank for his little nudge. 

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Written by:

Bagavathi Eswaran

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Bagavathi Eswaran is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been playing the game of basketball for more than 20 years now and has also been following the NBA for more than 10 years. After not being able to go pro, this former college player decided to join the IT industry.
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Edited by:

Sreeda U M