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“Didn’t Match With What They Were Looking For”: Steph Curry Reveals the Challenges he Faced as a Kid

Published 08/30/2020, 1:54 PM EDT

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Hearing the name of Steph Curry rings a lot of bells in our minds. He rose from being a lean and short kid in high school to become one of the best players in the NBA. Curry has enjoyed tremendous success in the league, most of it directly coming as a reply to the adversity that he faced as a college basketball player. But, what drove Curry to take up basketball as a profession and the burning desire to scale the top? 

Steph Curry did not find immediate success in the league. He had to get past plenty of roadblocks that hindered his growth to the top. Moreover, the inspiration to play basketball would have obviously come from watching his father. 

Dell Curry played in the association for sixteen years, and claimed the Sixth Man of the Year honors in 1994. He enjoyed a glittering career, which set the way for his sons as well. Thus, it is no secret that Steph followed his dad’s footsteps.

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Curry, who is not participating in the NBA’s restart in Orlando, virtually connected with Kelefa Sanneh, of the New Yorker magazine and author Wes Moore, a couple of weeks ago. While discussing the expectations that he grew up with, the 32-year-old said this: 

“Watching my dad play basketball for a living gave me confidence that I could do it myself,’ Curry said. “But my game and my size and my demeanor and disposition didn’t match with what they were looking for. My last name meant that I was supposed to be somewhere, but everything else didn’t,” he added.

Steph wanted to carve a career for himself just like his father and obviously eclipsed everyone’s expectations. He is the only player to be unanimously voted MVP in the league’s history. Moreover, Stephen Curry will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest shooters ever. 

Steph Curry developed his priceless shooting ability as a kid

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Steph Curry is just so smooth from outside the arc. He has no specific range and can shoot from just anywhere on the court. His tally of 402 three-pointers in the 2015/16 season is a record that never might be broken in the coming years. 

This impeccable quality flowed through Curry, right from his childhood. “When I was eight, nine years old, like, I was the smallest, scrawniest kid on the team. And the one thing I could do is, I could shoot,” Curry said, talking about his long-range shooting.  

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The Warriors star revolutionized the modern game with his 3-point shooting. His thirty, forty-footers are a thing of beauty and a joy for the fans to watch. “The first time I thought about coming across half court and shooting from the logo, it felt natural,” Curry said.

Steph Curry suffered a thumb injury just five games into the current season, leaving Golden State in a bruised state. Without ‘The Splash Brothers,’ the six-time champions dropped down the ranks and record one of the worst regular-season in franchise history. 

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Written by:

Arjun Athreya

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Arjun Athreya is a senior writer at Essentially Sports and has been contributing since early 2020. Having developed an avid interest in sports at an early age, he pursued a Journalism degree and graduated from Madras Christian College. Arjun manages the Golf division and its content, and primarily covers news pertaining to the NBA as well.
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