Image via Complex Original
Saying Steph Curry is a great basketball player is the understatement of understatements. We don’t all sing “Steph Curry with the shot” for nothing. In fact, not only was he the Most Valuable Player of 2015 but he’s also now been on the All-Star team two years in a row, made the All-NBA team on more than one occasion, won an NBA Three-Point Shootout, and earned two gold medals. And he’s still not slowing down.
In fact, after receiving his championship ring on opening night, the NBA's reigning MVP proceeded to drop 40 points on the New Orleans Pelicans, a feat no other MVP athlete has ever accomplished in a season-opening game.
He played golf with the President, got kids to start wearing Under Armour sneakers, and taught America how to Nae Nae with his daughter—all while being considered one of the greatest shooters in NBA history.
In honor of his tremendous (and still young) career, we decided to take a better look at this underdog-turned-All-Star. From knowing all the words of “The Princess Diaries” to a senior thesis on tattoos to wanting Denzel Washington to play him in a movie, these are 30 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Steph Curry.
Kevin Durant once thought he was white.
"I told Steph this. I was about 10 years old and our AAU team drove down to Charlotte to play and there was this one—I thought he was white—this yellow kid, right? I'm just being real now, right? Where I come from, we don't see the light skin guys where I come from, it's all like guys like me."
KD just keeping it truthful.
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His celebrity crush is a combination of Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock.
Interesting answer from a 27-year-old. Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock have an average age of 49.5—both easily old enough to be his mom.
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The first sneaker he saw growing up that he “had to own” were Nike Shox.
Under Armour is probably not too excited to hear about this, but at least he's original. Shox may not get the internet going nuts in 2015 like Jordans do, but to say they weren't hot when they first dropped would be a lie.
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He starred in a Burger King commercial when he was little.
Before Steph Curry was a household name, his father was one. Dell Curry (Sr.) was known a player for the Charlotte Hornets and the Toronto Raptors, and was known by NBA fans long before his son was winning MVPs. In fact, they both starred in a Burger King commercial together. The commercial has since been turned into an NBA Encouragement Video featuring a young Steph Curry warming up with his dad before a game in 2000.
He wears number 30 to honor his dad.
Think of it as passing the torch. Steph’s number is in honor of the man who brought him to where he is today...as well as the man who literally created him. In his MVP acceptance speech Steph even teared up when thanking his dad:
“To be able to follow in your footsteps means a lot to me. This is special.”
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He once said if he played in the NFL his position would be "second-string punter."
Unlike LeBron, nobody's dying to see Steph step onto an NFL field.
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"Stephen" is actually his middle name.
Though you might have forgotten that Dell Curry’s name is actually Wardell, you’ll be surprised to know that so is Steph’s! That’s right. Full name: Wardell Stephen Curry II. If you’re still unsure, check out his Insta name.
Like father, like son.
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He first met his wife Ayesha in a church youth group when they were kids.
While many people know that Steph Curry married his college sweetheart Ayesha Curry, what they don’t know is that the two lovebirds actually met in a church youth group as kids in Charlotte. It wasn’t until many years later when Steph was playing college basketball and Ayesha was pursuing an acting career in L.A. that they had their first date. And what did the two love birds do on said date? They drank chai lattes and strolled down the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Funny thing is, Ayesha originally didn’t even want to go on the date with Steph. When he first sent her a Facebook message to meet up, she curved him. To think, we were this close living in a world without Riley Curry!
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His favorite chick flick is "A Walk To Remember."
Sydel Curry, the younger sister of Steph, is a big fan of “The Princess Diaries.” Because she would watch it everyday, your boy knows all the words and is actually a fan, himself. Same thing goes for “A Walk To Remember.” And there’s actually proof of this! Check Twitter, Steph and his sister actually go back and forth tweeting lines from the movies!
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He originally wanted to go to Virginia Tech.
When no big-name basketball schools sent offers to Curry (which was a disappointment since he wanted to follow in the steps of his father and go to Virginia Tech), he decided to go to Davidson which hadn’t gone to the Elite Eight since 1969. That is, until Curry got them there in 2008. The school hasn’t made it past the second round since Curry’s departure.
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He is a huge Carolina Panthers fan.
Steph Curry’s hometown is in North Carolina and he still has roots there. He also often tweets about the Panthers.
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The first time he ever dunked was as an 18-year-old freshman at Davidson.
He doesn't do it often, but Wardell Stephen Curry can still get up to put one down.
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His favorite childhood memory was getting on stage with Kris Kross.
Damn shame nobody got a picture of little Steph with a Bugs Bunny/Taz backwards clothes t-shirt jumping with Kris Kross.
R.I.P. Chris Kelly.
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He claims he has never been caught looking at an adult site.
Image via YouTube
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He once got all his teammates carded at a California Pizza Kitchen.
The year is 2010 and it’s Steph Curry’s rookie season. The setting is Salt Lake City at a California Pizza Kitchen. The Baby-Faced Assassin and his teammates went to eat after catching a movie and when they sat down at the bar. Unfortunately, the bartender didn’t think Stephen was old enough (or even know who he was) and decided to card him along with the rest of his teammates.
Now here’s the funny part—Steph decided to tweet about his experience. Then, low and behold, the bartender came up to Steph and insisted he had a phone call from the bar. It ended up being a fan who just read Steph’s tweet and wanted to confirm if the story was true. And then he asked for Curry to send him some sports memorabilia. Too cliché.
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His worst habit? Candy.
There’s Marshawn Lynch with the skittles, LeBron James with the Fruity Pebbles, and now we can add Steph Curry to the list of players who love junk food. Specifically Maynards (which apparently is a candy company in the UK & Canada).
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He once got so hyped before a game he jumped, hit his head on the ceiling, and needed stiches.
It was before a Christmas tournament game while he was in high school. Cut his forehead open by getting too hype.
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His third-best sport behind baskeball and golf is bowling.
While everyone (including President Obama) knows Curry can hold his own on the golf course, what they might not know is that he can hold his own on the lanes, too.
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His pre-game routine includes eating the same meal, taking a 1.5-hour nap, and writing the same scripture on his shoes.
It also apparently includes freshening up, but we hope most players take showers at some point in the day.
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If an actor were to play him in a movie he'd want it to be Denzel Washington.
Don't worry about if it makes sense. It's what he wants.
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His biggest pet peeve is people who sneeze without covering their nose.
Remember: into your elbow, not your hand!
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His favorite TV show is 'How To Get Away With Murder.'
That’s right. Curry isn’t watching Thursday Night Football. No, he has better things to do. Like watch Viola Davis (who became the first African-American woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series) kill it on the screen as a law professor / criminal defense attorney. Or maybe he just binge watches it on Netflix like the rest of us.
To be determined.
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All his close friends still call him "Wardell."
"...All my close friends call me Wardell, not many people know that [Laughs.], they kind of joke around, call me Wardell."
Get used to calling him by his birth name if you're trying to work your way into the MVP's circle.
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When he first entered the league, the player he wanted to play with the most was Rudy Gay.
At one point he also called Jrue Holiday the most underrated player not on the Warriors. Things may have changed over the past few years, we're guessing.
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His favorite dessert is key lime pie.
He has a weakness for candy but his favorite dessert is key lime pie? Doesn't add up. Key Lime Pie is a dessert for Florida retirees, not 20-something NBA superstars.
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He says the funniest athletes are Nate Robinson and Jarrett Jack.
He also mentions in another interview that Nate Robinson is a 24/7 trash-talker. Nasty Nate is currently without an NBA home, people. Steph needs to step up and help him reach his goal of playing for every team.
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If he could trade places with any athlete it would be Rory McIlroy.
Rory is a young stud golfer who is so rich that $10 million doesn't really mean much to him anymore. Given Steph's affinity for the links—not a bad guy to want to change places with.
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His favorite player growing up was Muggsy Bogues.
Sure, Steph mentions that he started to like Muggsy because he played on the same Charlotte Hornets team as his dad but...you'd think Wardell, Sr. would still be his favorite player, no?
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He began writing his senior thesis at Davidson about the relationship between basketball players and tattoos.
After speaking with a handful of other players, Stephen Curry became interested in the relationship between NBA guys and their tattoos after almost all of them admitted they would not have gotten as many if they weren't in the league. They apparently all felt it would hurt their chances of employment if they didn't play basketball for a living.
Interesting stuff, especially since it's feasible many younger players get tats because their basketball heroes have them. Gonna need Steph to drop that thesis on us sometime soon.
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