Wardell Stephen Curry II is an American professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. Curry has been an integral part of one of the winningest teams in NBA history, securing NBA Finals victories and earning the NBA Most Valuable Player award for his role in the success of the Warriors during his decorated career.
Unlike many of the star players in the NBA today, Stephen Curry did not have a heralded high school career. He played at Charlotte Christian School in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was an all-state performer. But Curry was not a nationally ranked recruit that was sought after by the top programs in the country. In fact, he was only offered a walk-on slot at his desired school, Virginia Tech. Curry elected to take a scholarship to play at Davidson instead, and the rest was history.
Davidson College is a mid-major program in the Southern Conference, with head coach Bob McKillop looking to bring the program to national prominence with the help of Curry. He did exactly that, with Davidson capturing the attention of the college basketball world during Curry’s college career. During Curry’s freshman year, Davidson won the Southern Conference to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, with Curry scoring 30 points in a first-round loss to Maryland.
In his sophomore season, Curry led Davidson to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. After going 20-0 in conference play that season, the Wildcats earned a 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They proceeded to defeat 7th seeded Gonzaga, 2nd seeded Georgetown and third-seeded Wisconsin before falling to top seed Kansas in their region. Curry scored over 30 points in the team’s three victories and earned second-team all-American honors. After the team failed to make the NCAA Tournament in his junior year, Curry decided to go pro.
Stephen Curry was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. His professional career started with the Minnesota Timberwolves selecting Jonny Flynn with the selection before his, with Flynn failing to live up to that billing when compared to the career of Curry.
Curry made a splash as an NBA player right away, averaging 17.5 points per game and shooting over 43% from three-point range in his rookie season. After four seasons, Curry finally made his first NBA All-Star Game appearance in the 2013-2014 campaign in year five. And while Curry was helping the Warriors back to the playoffs on a regular basis by that season, the 2014-2015 campaign is when the team finally reached its full potential.
Golden State hired Steve Kerr to be its new head coach ahead of the 2014-2015 season, with that hiring coming with a new up-tempo style of play to bring out the best in Curry and Klay Thompson. The results were incredible, with Curry earning Most Valuable Player honors for the season and winning his first NBA championship over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Curry averaged 26 points per game in that NBA Finals series en route to his first championship.
The 2015-2016 NBA season got off to an even better start for Curry and the Warriors, as they amassed the most regular-season wins in NBA history. Golden State went 73-9 that season, with Curry setting the record for three-pointers in a season with 402 made three-point field goals. The team tore through the Western Conference in the postseason, but could not win another world championship as they lost the Finals in seven games to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After the loss to Cleveland, the Warriors brought in another accomplished NBA player in Kevin Durant to bolster their roster. The results were incredible, as the team won back-to-back titles in Durant’s first two seasons with the team, even overcoming an ankle sprain that hobbled Curry in the 2018 run to the title. In 2019, the Warriors fell to the Toronto Raptors in the finals, with Durant leaving for the Brooklyn Nets in the ensuing offseason, and Curry resuming his role as the unquestioned leader of the Warriors.
Steph Curry signed a five year, $201 million contract extension with Golden State in 2017. He has amassed over $168 million in career earnings from his NBA contracts thus far, and will have earned over $256 million by the time his current contract is complete. The final two years of his current contract will pay him a combined $88 million, including $45 million in the final season of the deal.
Curry has a shoe deal with Under Armour, along with several other endorsements that make him one of the highest-paid players off of the court in addition to his massive earnings on the court. Also contributing to Curry’s bottom line is the fact that he has his own production company, Unanimous Media.
Stephen Curry was born in Akron, Ohio and is the son of Sonya and Dell Curry, with Dell being remembered for his time in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets. Much of the family’s early life was spent in Charlotte due to Dell’s basketball career. Curry has a younger brother, Seth Curry, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks. He also has a younger sister, Sydel, who is a collegiate athlete on the Elon University volleyball team.
Curry married Ayesha Alexander in 2011, and they have three children named Ryan, Riley and Canon. Now Ayesha Curry, Stephen’s wife is a well-known television personality and author with a focus on culinary content.
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