Early Life and Hoop Beginnings
Wardell Stephen Curry II was born in Akron, Ohio, on March 14, 1988, to nearly unanimously be claimed as the greatest shooter in basketball history. Raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Curry is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry. With professional basketball all around him, the young Curry grew up and his father’s career afforded him special access to and views of elite basketball that helped mold his future.
College Career at Davidson
The fact that Curry was lightly recruited out of high school probably did not come as a shock to most people. With his slim frame and lack of perceived physicality, he ended up attending Davidson College, a small school in North Carolina. He wasted no time making a statement at that institution. In his sophomore year, he led Davidson to the Elite Eight in the 2008 NCAA Tournament very dominantly, turning many heads nationally. He showed off his incredible ability to shoot and score, which helped him finish his college career as Davidson’s all-time leading scorer.
NBA Draft and Early Years
Curry was selected seventh overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. In his first year as a professional, he turned in an excellent rookie season, where he averaged 17.5 points per game to finish second in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting. Though very promising, his early years were marked by ankle injuries. Even so, he had shots and ball skills that presaged his future supremacy.
Rise to Stardom
The 2012-2013 season really proved to be a breakout season for Curry. With no traces of major injuries, he set a then-NBA record for the most three-pointers ever made in a single season at 272. This basically sealed his status as one of the elite shooters in the game and paved the way for his future success. He and Klay Thompson are known as the “Splash Brothers,” who have built a reputation based on an incredible shooting range and accuracy.
MVP Seasons and Championships
The 2014-2015 season was a record year for Curry. He won his very first NBA Most Valuable Player award, and moreover, he led the Warriors to their first NBA championship in 40 years. In the next season, Curry became the first player in NBA history to be unanimously elected MVP, breaking his own record of 402 three-pointers in a single season. They broke the NBA record with 73 regular-season wins only to lose in the Finals.
Curry and the Warriors would recover to win the next two titles in 2017 and 2018. His impact on the game was immense, for his kind of playing changed the way that the three-point shot came to be used in modern basketball. Teams began putting a premium on three-point shooting all around the league, taking their cue from Curry’s example.
Continued Excellence and Legacy
Even at an advanced age, Curry is still playing at a very elite level. He won his second scoring title in the 2020-2021 season with an average of 32 points per game. He remains at the center of Warriors’ success and is considered one of the key persons in their resurgence to become the dominant force in the NBA.
Off the Court
Apart from what he has done on the court, Curry is a highly philanthropic and encouraging entity within his community. He and his wife do a number of charitable efforts; primarily focusing on education, health, and nutrition through their foundation called Eat. Learn. Play. Curry is also an out-front promoter for social justice and equality.