Stephen Curry


Wardell Stephen Curry II, also known as Steph Curry, is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association, where he plays as a point guard. Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the greatest shooter in basketball history and is credited with revolutionizing the game by popularizing the three-point shot across all levels of basketball.
He is a four-time NBA champion, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, an NBA Finals MVP, and a two-time NBA All-Star Game MVP. He is also a two-time NBA scoring champion, a twelve-time NBA All-Star, and an eleven-time All-NBA Team selection. Internationally, he has won two gold medals at the FIBA World Cup and a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics as part of the U.S. national team.
Curry played collegiately for the Davidson Wildcats, where he was named Conference Player of the Year twice. He set the NCAA single-season record for three-pointers made as a sophomore and led the NCAA Division I in scoring during his junior year. Curry was selected by the Warriors as the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft.
In 2014–15, Curry won his first league MVP award and led the Warriors to their first championship since 1975. The following season, he became the first player to be unanimously voted MVP and led the league in scoring while shooting above 50–40–90. That same year, the Warriors broke the record for most wins in a regular season en route to the 2016 NBA Finals, where they squandered a 3–1 series lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Curry then helped the Warriors win back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, and reach the 2019 NBA Finals, where they fell to the Toronto Raptors in six games. After struggling with injuries and missing the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, Curry won his fourth championship and first Finals MVP award in 2022, leading the Warriors past the Boston Celtics in six games. That same season, he became the NBA's all-time leader in three-pointers made, surpassing Ray Allen.
Curry has the highest career free-throw percentage in NBA history and has led the league in three-pointers made a record eight times. In 2016, he broke his own record for three-pointers made in a regular season, with 402, and made at least one three-pointer in an NBA-record 268 consecutive games from 2018 to 2023.

Early life, family and education

Curry was born on March 14, 1988, at Akron General Medical Center in downtown Akron, Ohio. His father, Dell Curry is a professional basketball player, and his mother, Sonya Adams, is an educator and author. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his father spent most of his NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets. He played with his younger brother Seth on their backyard basketball court in Charlotte. The family briefly moved to Toronto, Canada, where Dell finished out his career as a member of the Toronto Raptors. During this time, Curry played for the Queensway Christian College boys' basketball team, leading them to an undefeated season. He was also a member of Toronto 5–0, a club team that plays across Ontario, pitting him against fellow future NBA players Cory Joseph and Kelly Olynyk. Curry led the team to a 33–4 record, en route to winning the provincial championship.
After Dell's retirement, the family moved back to Charlotte and Curry enrolled at Charlotte Christian School, where he was named all-conference and all-state, and led his team to three conference titles and three state playoff appearances. Because of his father's storied career at Virginia Tech, Curry wanted to play college basketball for the Hokies, but was only offered a walk-on spot due in part to his slender 160-pound frame. He ultimately chose to attend Davidson College, which had aggressively recruited him from the tenth grade.

College career

Freshman season

Before Curry even played in his first game for the Wildcats, head coach Bob McKillop praised him at a Davidson alumni event, saying: "Wait 'til you see Steph Curry. He is something special." In his second collegiate game, he recorded a season-high 32 points and nine rebounds against Michigan. He had 30 points and a season-high 11 rebounds against Chattanooga on December 18, 2006, for his first career double-double. On February 6, 2007, also against Chattanooga, Curry broke the school's 500-point freshman record. He went on to finish with 730 points. He also broke Davidson's single-season record for three-pointers held by Brendan Winters. He led the Southern Conference in scoring at 21.5 points per game, ranking him ninth nationally and second nationally among freshman behind only Kevin Durant of Texas.
The Wildcats finished with a 29–5 record and a Southern Conference regular-season title. On March 2, in the Southern Conference tournament semi-finals against Furman, Curry made his 113th three-point field goal of the year, breaking Keydren Clark's NCAA freshman season record for three-pointers. On March 15, he scored a game-high 30 points in a first-round NCAA tournament loss to Maryland.
At the end of his freshman season, Curry was named Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, SoCon Tournament MVP, and selected to the SoCon All-tournament team, All-freshman team, and All-SoCon First Team. He was also an honorable mention in Sports Illustrateds All-Mid-Major.

Sophomore season

In his sophomore season in 2007–08, Curry helped the Wildcats to a 26–6 regular-season record, a 20–0 conference record, and a trip to the 2008 NCAA tournament.
On March 21, 2008, Davidson matched up with seventh-seeded Gonzaga. Gonzaga led by 11 points early in the second half but Curry went on to score 30 points in the half to push Davidson to their first NCAA tournament win since 1969 with a score of 82–76. Curry ended the game with 40 points while also going 8-of-10 from three-point range. On March 23, Davidson played second-seeded Georgetown in the second round, with Curry scoring just five points in the first half of the game as Davidson trailed by as many as 17 points. His 25 second-half points led Davidson to a 74–70 comeback victory. On March 28, Curry led Davidson to another win, against third-seeded Wisconsin. He scored 33 points as Davidson won 73–56 to advance to the Elite 8. Curry joined Clyde Lovellette, Jerry Chambers, and Glenn Robinson as the only college players to score over 30 points in their first four career NCAA tournament games. Curry also tied Darrin Fitzgerald of Butler for the single-season record for most three-pointers with 158. On March 30, he set the record, against the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, with his 159th three-pointer of the season. Curry scored 25 points in the game but Davidson lost 59–57, and the Jayhawks went on to win the championship.
Curry finished the season averaging 25.9 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. He was named to the Associated Press' All-America Second Team on March 31, 2008. He also was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament, becoming the first player from a team not making the Final Four to do so since Juwan Howard of Michigan in 1994. Curry was nominated for an ESPY in the Breakthrough Player of the Year category.

Junior season

Following Davidson's loss in the NCAA Regional Finals, Curry announced that he would return for his junior year. On November 18, 2008, he scored a career-high 44 points in Davidson's 82–78 loss to Oklahoma. He extended a career-long streak by scoring at least 25 points for the seventh straight game. On November 21, Curry registered a career-high 13 assists to go along with 30 points in Davidson's 97–70 win over Winthrop. On November 25, against Loyola, Curry was held scoreless as Loyola constantly double-teamed him. It was Curry's only scoreless collegiate game and only his second without double-digit points. He finished 0-of-3 from the field as Davidson won the game 78–48. In Davidson's next game 11 days later, Curry matched his career high of 44 in a 72–67 win over North Carolina State.
Curry surpassed the 2000-point mark for his career on January 3, 2009, as he scored 21 points against Samford. On February 14, 2009, Curry rolled his ankle in the second half of a win over Furman. The injury caused Curry to miss the February 18 game against The Citadel, the first and only game he missed in his college career. On February 28, 2009, Curry became Davidson's all-time leading scorer with 34 points in a 99–56 win against Georgia Southern. That gave Curry 2,488 points for his career, surpassing previous school leader John Gerdy. Davidson won the 2008–09 Southern Conference regular season championship for the South Division, finishing 18–2 in the conference.
In the 2009 Southern Conference tournament, Davidson played Appalachian State in the quarterfinals and won 84–68. Curry scored 43 points, which is the third most points in Southern Conference tournament history. In the semifinals, against the College of Charleston, Curry had 20 points but Davidson lost 52–59. Despite lobbying from Davidson head coach Bob McKillop and Charleston coach Bobby Cremins, the Wildcats failed to get an NCAA tournament bid. Instead, they received the sixth seed in the 2009 NIT. Davidson played the third seed, South Carolina, on the road in the first round. Curry scored 32 points as the Wildcats beat the Gamecocks 70–63. Davidson then lost 80–68 to the Saint Mary's Gaels in the second round. Curry registered 26 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in what was his final game for the Wildcats.
In his final season at Davidson, Curry averaged 28.6 points, 5.6 assists, and 2.5 steals. He was the NCAA scoring champion and was named a consensus first team All-American. Curry opted out of his senior year at Davidson to enter the 2009 NBA draft, but expressed his intention to complete his degree.
In May 2022, Curry completed his coursework and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. In a ceremony held on August 31, 2022, Curry became the first Davidson graduate to have his jersey number retired and was inducted into the Davidson Athletics Hall of Fame.
In March 2025, Davidson announced that Curry would serve as assistant general manager for basketball programs, alongside alum Matt Berman in an advisory role. They will share insights with student-athletes and create the eight-figure "Curry-Berman Fund" to support both men's and women's basketball, with contributions from Curry, his wife Ayesha, Berman, his sister Erica, and father Don.