Wardell Stephen Curry II is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and businessman. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and as the greatest shooter in NBA history, Curry is credited with revolutionizing the sport by inspiring teams and players to take more three-point shots. A nine-time NBA All-Star and eight-time All-NBA selection, including four times on the first team, he has been named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) twice, won four NBA championships, and received an NBA Finals MVP Award and an NBA All-Star Game MVP Award.

Curry is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and the older brother of current NBA player Seth Curry. He played college basketball for the Davidson Wildcats, where he set career scoring records for Davidson and the Southern Conference, was twice named conference player of the year, and set the single-season NCAA record during his sophomore year for most three-pointers made. 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 elected MVP by a unanimous vote and led the league in scoring while shooting above 50–40–90. That same year, the Warriors broke the record for the most wins in an NBA season (73) en route to reaching the 2016 NBA Finals, which they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games. Curry helped the Warriors return to the NBA Finals in 2017, 2018, and 2019, winning back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, but falling to the Toronto Raptors in 2019. After missing the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, Curry won a fourth championship with the Warriors against the Boston Celtics in 2022, and was named Finals MVP.

During the 2012–13 season, Curry set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a regular season, with 272. He surpassed that record in 2015 with 286, and again in 2016 with 402. On December 14, 2021, Curry set the NBA record for career three-pointers, passing Ray Allen. For their shooting abilities, Curry and teammate Klay Thompson are often referred to as the Splash Brothers; in 2013–14, they set the record for combined three-pointers made in an NBA season with 484, a record they broke the following season (525), and again in the 2015–16 season (678).

Early life

Curry is the son of Sonya and Dell Curry. He was born in Akron, Ohio at Summa Akron City Hospital, while his father was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his father spent most of his NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets. Dell often took Curry and his younger brother Seth to his games, where they would shoot with the Hornets during warm-ups. The family briefly moved to Toronto, where Dell finished out his career as a member of the 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.

College career

Freshman season

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 first collegiate game, against Eastern Michigan, Curry finished with 15 points but committed 13 turnovers. In the next game, against Michigan, he scored 32 points, dished out four assists, and grabbed nine rebounds. Curry finished the season leading the Southern Conference in scoring with 21.5 points per game. He was second in the nation among freshmen in scoring, behind only Kevin Durant of Texas. Curry's scoring helped the Wildcats to a 29–5 overall record and a Southern Conference regular-season title. On March 2, 2007, in the Southern Conference tournament semi-finals against Furman, Curry made his 113th three-point field goal of the year, breaking Keydren Clark's NCAA freshman season record for three-pointers.

Junior season

After Davidson's loss against Kansas in the NCAA Regional Finals, Curry announced that he would return for his junior year. He stated that he wanted to develop as a point guard, his likely position in the NBA. On November 18, 2008, Curry scored a career-high 44 points in Davidson's 82–78 loss to Oklahoma. He extended a career-long streak by scoring at least 25 points for the seventh straight game. On November 21, Curry registered a career-high 13 assists, to go along with 30 points, in Davidson's 97–70 win over Winthrop. On November 25, against Loyola, Curry was held scoreless as Loyola constantly double-teamed him. It was Curry's only scoreless collegiate game and just his second without double-digit points. He finished 0-for-3 from the field as Davidson won the game 78–48. In Davidson's next game (11 days later), Curry matched his career high of 44 in a 72–67 win over North Carolina State.

Curry surpassed the 2000-point mark for his career on January 3, 2009, as he scored 21 points against Samford. On February 14, 2009, Curry rolled his ankle in the second half of a win over Furman. The injury caused Curry to miss the February 18 game against The Citadel, the first and only game he missed in his college career. On February 28, 2009, Curry became Davidson's all-time leading scorer with 34 points in a 99–56 win against Georgia Southern. That gave Curry 2,488 points for his career, surpassing previous school leader John Gerdy. Davidson won the 2008–09 Southern Conference regular season championship for the south division, finishing 18–2 in the conference.

In the 2009 Southern Conference tournament, Davidson played Appalachian State in the quarterfinals and won 84–68. Curry scored 43 points, which is the third most points in Southern Conference tournament history. In the semifinals, against the College of Charleston, Curry had 20 points but Davidson lost 52–59. Despite lobbying from Davidson head coach Bob McKillop and Charleston coach Bobby Cremins, the Wildcats failed to get an NCAA tournament bid. Instead, they received the sixth seed in the 2009 NIT. Davidson played the third seed, South Carolina, on the road in the first round. Curry scored 32 points as the Wildcats beat the Gamecocks 70–63. Davidson then lost 80–68 to the Saint Mary's Gaels in the second round. Curry registered 26 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in what was his final game for the Wildcats.

National team career

Curry's first experience with the United States national team came at the 2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, where he helped Team USA capture the silver medal. In 2010, he was selected to the senior squad, playing limited minutes at the 2010 FIBA World Championship (known later as FIBA Basketball World Cup) as the United States won the gold medal in an undefeated tournament. In 2014, he took on a larger role with the team, helping them to another undefeated tournament at the 2014 World Cup and scoring 10 points in the final game. On June 6, 2016, Curry withdrew from consideration for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, citing ankle and knee ailments as the major reason behind the decision.

Legacy

Curry is widely considered to be the greatest shooter in NBA history. He is credited with revolutionizing the game of basketball by inspiring teams, from high school to the NBA, to regularly use the three-point shot. Analysts have referred to him as "the Michael Jordan of the three-point era", saying that he did for the three-point shot what Jordan did for the slam dunk. The Guardian's Robert O'Connell cites Curry's February 27, 2013, game against the New York Knicks, in which he made 11 of 13 shots from behind the arc en route for a 54-point performance, as the start of the three-point era. The era has been referred to as “The Steph Effect” or "the NBA's Three-Point Revolution".

Before Curry, shooting behind the three-point line was more of a novelty, an occasional way of scoring. Catch and shoot players existed, but Curry's success inspired the league to abandon physical play around the basket and to embrace a pace and space and three-point shooting style. The increase in three-point shooting is partly due to NBA teams incorporating it in their attempts to defeat the Warriors or copy the Warriors' style of play, and to young people wanting to imitate Curry's shooting range. Although this has led to players becoming good at or improving their three-point shot, it has also set unrealistic standards because Curry's range is unique. Curry regularly takes shots from between 30 and 35 feet. He shoots 54 percent from this range, while the NBA makes 35 percent of its threes overall and under 22 percent from between 30 and 35 feet. He can make the shots with elite ball handling, off the dribble, and often with an extremely quick release, from anywhere on the court and with one or more defenders on him. Curry said that he is sure coaches tell their high school players that shooting the way he does takes work and time. Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post stated that "coaches have to explain that while Curry's skill set is something to aspire to, his game is built on fundamentals" and that “while the Warriors have become the NBA's gold standard and make all those social-media-bound plays, the root of their success is ball movement.”

Kirk Goldsberry of ESPN opined that "one of the keys to [Curry's] greatness is his range" and that “Curry isn't just the best 3-point shooter ever, he's the best deep 3-point shooter ever.” Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post stated that he "moves around behind the three-point line in an ever-widening arc, sinking long distance shots so cleanly that the net seems to snap like fresh laundry in a breeze" and that a highlight is the "sheer preposterousness of his shots, and the rate at which he is sinking the most far-fetched of them." She said that “in one stretch he hit a mind-expanding 67 percent between 28 and 50 feet.” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr stated that Curry's hand-eye coordination “is as great as anyone I've ever seen.” Jeff Austin of Octagon concluded that Curry “had to develop tremendous strength in his wrists to shoot and maintain that form from 40 and 50 feet.” Goldsberry stated that "no player in the history of the NBA has combined range, volume and efficiency from downtown as well as Curry" and that “Curry's jumper is so lethal that he has become the most efficient volume scorer on the planet.” His range and efficiency drove the developers of the NBA 2K video game series, in which Curry is featured, to worry that his abilities could not be replicated on screen.

Awards and honors

NBA

4× NBA champion: 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022
NBA Finals MVP: 2022
2× NBA Most Valuable Player: 2015, 2016

The only unanimous MVP selection in league history (2016)
9× NBA All-Star: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2022
NBA Western Conference Finals MVP: 2022
2× NBA scoring leader: 2016, 2021
7× NBA three-point field goals leader: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022
4× NBA free-throw percentage leader: 2011, 2015, 2016, 2018
NBA steals leader: 2016
8× All-NBA selection:

4× First team: 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021
3× Second team: 2014, 2017, 2022
Third team: 2018
NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2010
NBA 75th Anniversary Team: 2021
2× NBA Three-Point Contest champion: 2015, 2021
NBA Skills Challenge champion: 2011
NBA Sportsmanship Award: 2011
NBA Community Assist Award: 2014
NBA record for most three-point field goals made in history (3,390)
NBA record for highest career free throw percentage (90.9%, minimum 1,200 attempts)
NBA record for most consecutive seasons leading the league in made three-point field goals (5)
NBA record for most consecutive games (regular and post-season) with a made three-pointer (233)
NBA record for most points scored in an overtime period (17)
NBA regular season record for most three-point field goals made in a season (402)
NBA regular season record for most consecutive games with a made three-point field goal (245)
NBA regular season record for most games with 10+ made three-point field goals (23)
NBA playoffs record for most three-point field goals made in history (570)
NBA playoffs record for most consecutive free throws made (72)
NBA playoffs record for most three-point field goals made in a season (98, tied with Klay Thompson)
NBA playoffs record for most consecutive games with a made three-point field goal (132)
NBA Finals record for most three-point field goals made in history (152)
NBA Finals record for most three-point field goals made in a game (9)
Warriors franchise leader in points (21,000+)
Warriors franchise leader in assists (5,700+)
Warriors franchise leader in steals (1,400+)
Warriors franchise leader in made field goals (7,400+)
Warriors franchise leader in made three-point field goals (3,300+)
Warriors franchise leader in free throw percentage (90%+)
Warriors franchise leader in points in playoffs (3,600+)
Warriors franchise leader in three-point field goals made in playoffs (570+)
Warriors franchise leader in free throws made in playoffs (650+)
Warriors franchise leader in free throw percentage in playoffs (89%+, minimum 400 attempts)
Warriors franchise record holder for most points scored while recording a triple-double as a rookie (36)
Led the Warriors to achieve the highest regular season winning record in NBA history (73–9, 2015–16)

College

2× SoCon Player of the Year (2008–09)
Consensus first-team All-American (2009)
Consensus second-team All-American (2008)
3× First-team All-SoCon (2007–09)
2× SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2007, 2008)
3× SoCon first-team All-Tournament (2007–09)
SoCon Freshman of the Year (2007)
SoCon All-Freshmen Team (2007)

NCAA records

NCAA Division I scoring leader (2009)
Single-season NCAA 3-point field goals made (162, 2007–08)
Single-season NCAA freshman 3-point field goals made (122, 2006–07)

Davidson College records

All-time leading scorer in history (2,635)
All-time leader in three-point field-goals made (414)
All-time leader in 30-point games (30)
All-time leader in 40-point games (6)
Single-season points (974, 2008–09)
Single-season steals (86, 2008–09)
Single-season freshman points (730, 2006–07)

Career statistics

NBA 

Regular season
 

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2009–10	Golden State	80	77	36.2	.462	.437	.885	4.5	5.9	1.9	.2	17.5
2010–11	Golden State	74	74	33.6	.480	.442	.934*	3.9	5.8	1.5	.3	18.6
2011–12	Golden State	26	23	28.2	.490	.455	.809	3.4	5.3	1.5	.3	14.7
2012–13	Golden State	78	78	38.2	.451	.453	.900	4.0	6.9	1.6	.2	22.9
2013–14	Golden State	78	78	36.5	.471	.424	.885	4.3	8.5	1.6	.2	24.0
2014–15†	Golden State	80	80	32.7	.487	.443	.914*	4.3	7.7	2.0	.2	23.8
2015–16	Golden State	79	79	34.2	.504	.454	.908*	5.4	6.7	2.1*	.2	30.1*
2016–17†	Golden State	79	79	33.4	.468	.411	.898	4.5	6.6	1.8	.2	25.3
2017–18†	Golden State	51	51	32.0	.495	.423	.921*	5.1	6.1	1.6	.2	26.4
2018–19	Golden State	69	69	33.8	.472	.437	.916	5.3	5.2	1.3	.4	27.3
2019–20	Golden State	5	5	27.8	.402	.245	1.000	5.2	6.6	1.0	.4	20.8
2020–21	Golden State	63	63	34.2	.482	.421	.916	5.5	5.8	1.2	.1	32.0*
2021–22†	Golden State	64	64	34.5	.437	.380	.923	5.2	6.3	1.3	.4	25.5
2022–23	Golden State	56	56	34.7	.493	.427	.915	6.1	6.3	.9	.4	29.4
Career		882	876	34.4	.475	.428	.909	4.7	6.5	1.6	.2	24.6
All-Star		8	8	27.0	.433	.405	1.000	5.6	5.8	1.4	.3	22.5

Play-in

Play offs
 

College