What?! What?! What?!
Stephen Curry kept repeating the word to Draymond Green during the waning moments of Game 6 as if he couldn’t believe that he was about to become a champion. But on Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors capped off their sixty-seven win season with a gritty, determined playoff run that broke the mold of traditional championship blueprints. In fact, Stephen has refused to fit the mold given to him his entire life, transcending expectations and reconstructing his game for superstardom in front of naysayers and diehard fans alike. We’d like to congratulate the Golden State Warriors on their NBA Championship and celebrate Stephen’s inspiring journey to this stage.
As a young athlete, Stephen was told he wasn’t big enough, that he wouldn’t be able to play college basketball. Despite leading Davidson to the Elite Eight in 2008, it was much of the same narrative, even after getting selected at #7 by Golden State. They told him he couldn’t. He did. They told him he wasn’t good enough. He was. They said he couldn’t win MVP. Well, he went and won that too. Yet, somehow, all of that pales in comparison to what Stephen achieved in Cleveland — and he’s forced us to flip the script once again. Now, those critics aren’t asking if he’s good enough anymore, no, now the question is: how high can he climb? And that’s why CoachUp loves Stephen Curry — his drive and electricity is infectious, only rivaled by his undeterrable passion.
We love Stephen for being the first in the gym and the last to hit the showers, a dedication manifested in his enduring commitment to private coaching and self-betterment. Above all, we love Stephen for refusing to accept everyone else’s word as gospel, and, instead, choosing to rewrote the whole damn book himself. But make no mistake, it wasn’t easy. Stephen will be the first to tell you that private coaching played a monumental role in where he’s standing today, which is, unequivocally, on top of the world. It was his training that helped him develop a solid fundamental core and instilled the confidence he’d need in order to rise above the noise and skepticism.
From 1-on-1 training to spending countless extra hours in the gym, Stephen’s pledge to the very same ideals that we built our company on means that anybody can elevate their game if they put the time and effort in. For Stephen, it’s never been about being good enough, it’s been about being the best he can be. Here we are, just six seasons into his career and wondering what he has left to prove.
Currently, Curry is 50th all-time in made three-pointers at 1,191, just fifty-four behind his father, Dell, who nailed 1,245 over a sixteen year career. He’s 1,782 behind Ray Allen and trails Reggie Miller by 1,369, two of the best universally agreed upon shooters in league history. This season, Curry set an NBA record for three-pointers made in a season with 286, breaking his own record from 2012 with 272. Even if Stephen only averaged a modest 227 three-pointers a year for the next ten years, his career average per season — excluding the 2011 season that was shortened by the lockout and ankle surgery — would be on pace to smash the record by his fourteenth season in 2022. In comparison, Reggie Miller and Ray Allen played eighteen and nineteen years, respectively.
Or if that’s too conjecture-based, what about Stephen shattering Miller’s playoff record of 58 three-pointers over twenty-two games? They said it was a record that wouldn’t be beaten after Allen missed out (he came close three times with sets of 55, 56 and 57), but then Stephen decided to flip the script again and nailed an incredible 59 threes in just thirteen games. Thirteen. After the Game 6 clincher over Cleveland, Stephen finished with an insane total of 98 over twenty-one games. Obliterated.
To us, those are numbers. But to Stephen? Those are challenges. Those are people telling him that he can’t do it again. They’ll say that those numbers that belong to legends and are reserved for Hall of Famers and folklore alike — but Curry isn’t willing to wait. He’s crashed the party early and often, busting records and disbelievers with every seemingly-effortless flick of his wrist.
To Stephen, there is no untouchable record until he touches it.
We’re so excited to have Stephen join our good friend and CoachUp Ambassador Julian Edelman as a World Champion. Perhaps, now, it is Curry teaching us the lessons. One critic at a time, he’s turned doubters into admirers and worked tirelessly to not just to be good enough, but to be the best. Now, we’re at the close of the 2014-2015 season and nobody should be shocked to find Stephen Curry at its summit, the new king of the NBA.
Stephen has changed the way we look at athletes and taught us that it isn’t the size of our body that matters, but how big the heart is inside of it. Even after all the commercial and athletic success he found this season, it’s Stephen’s continued work ethic and willingness to improve that has set him apart. From grade school ballers to professional superstars, private training has found an invaluable place in our community and it’s here to stay. For now, the ink is drying on a magnificent opener; from records to a ring with an MVP in between, Stephen rewrote everything we thought we knew about basketball.
Congratulations again, Stephen, on another legendary win. We’re proud to have you on our team and we can’t wait to see you continue to transform the game of basketball. And thank you to all of the people who have continued to cast doubt upon Stephen throughout his journey to MVP and World Champion, you’ve given him countless glass ceilings to unapologetically shatter. Once the celebrations end and the parades die down, something tells us that Stephen will be just as eager to start writing his sequel.
Congratulations and Love,
The CoachUp Team
More on Stephen’s journey to become MVP and World Champion.
