Stephen Curry has hit more unforgettable shots than just about anyone in basketball history.
But when asked to choose the most meaningful one of his career, the Warriors icon didn’t name a game-winner at Chase Center or a record-breaking triple from half court.
Instead, he went back to where it all began, Davidson College.
Curry opened up about the moment that changed everything.
“From my eyes, it’s the shot against Gonzaga when I was at Davidson,” Curry said, via Complex. “Everybody has these moments where if things went a different way, in that moment, your life could go a different path. I really feel like that was a difference maker in terms of not just that run that we had, because that was the first round, it was a tie game with just under a minute left. Andrew Lovedale, my big man at Davidson, got the biggest offensive rebound and it was like slow-motion.”
“He got the rebound, pawed it with one hand, threw it to me. I made it and we go up three,” Curry said. “That just started to snowball of what that tournament run was. And then your stardom kind of goes up a little bit and you carry that confidence. Not to say I wouldn’t have been able to figure it out had we lost that game, but that was a big moment that had that shot not gone down, who knows how it would’ve played out.”
16 years ago today, Steph Curry vs Gonzaga!
40 Points (30 in 2nd half)
14/22 Shooting
8/10 Threes
5 Steals“Most people didn’t think we’d make it out of the 1st round. We had that stubborn belief that we could beat anybody in the country.” pic.twitter.com/tzxddlvtSU
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 21, 2024
Curry finished that game with 40 points on 14-of-22 shooting and 8-10 from deep, knocking out No. 7-seed Gonzaga.
“I think about that stuff a lot,” Curry added. “My faith is a big part of who I am. There’s no real rhyme or reason; stuff happens and you’re always grateful and thankful and trying to find the purpose of it. That’s a moment that was in my formative years where you fantasize had this gone a different way.”
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