Stephen Curry

Wardell Stephen Curry II (/ˈstɛfən/ STEF-ən; born March 14, 1988), also known as Steph Curry (/ˈstɛf/ STEF), is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), 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 (MVP), an NBA Finals MVP, and a two-time NBA All-Star Game MVP. He is also a two-time NBA scoring champion, an eleven-time NBA All-Star, and an eleven-time All-NBA Team selection (including four on the First Team). 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 (162) 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 (73) 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 (.911) 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.

Curry was born on March 14, 1988, at the Akron General Medical Center in Akron, Ohio, to Sonya (née Adams) and professional basketball player Dell Curry. 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, 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, who had aggressively recruited him from the tenth grade.

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 (2004–05). 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.