Stephen Curry’s pregame preparation is a spectacle unto himself.
What, you didn’t think the reigning MVP was just lazily good, did you? Curry makes world domination look easy, but it’s actually really hard, and he puts in a lot of work so that he can destroy galaxies for 30-plus minutes every game.
Here is some of his dribbling routine….
Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle detailed some of Curry’s out-of-game diligence, paying special attention to his pregame drills that double as moving works of art and must-see spectacles.
Like the rest of us, Golden State Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton is impressed.
Really impressed.
Comparing-Curry-to-a-hippo-that-can-juggle impressed.
From Simmons:
Stephen Curry starts his pregame routine by doffing an imaginary hat to the crowd and finishes by signing autographs for a tunnel of fans chanting “M-V-P.”
In between his opening and closing acts, Curry puts on a 15-minute exhibition of precisely choreographed dribbling, passing and shooting drills that is becoming as much of a must-see spectacle on the road as anything the undefeated Warriors do in an actual game.
“As far as people coming to watch someone warm up, I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton, who played 10 NBA seasons, including 8½ with Kobe Bryant. “It’s like he’s a zoo animal.”
Good on Curry for providing fans, and his interim head coach, with a show before opening tip. And it seems that show, that exhibition, is almost as good as the real thing.
Until you see the real thing.
Watching Curry drain uncontested 40-footers and handle eight balls at a time (I’m lying) as he readies himself for meaningful action is fun. Perception-shattering, even.
But seeing what he does on the floor, in games, against actual opponents, during moments that matter, is what’s most incredible. The shots, the passes, the crossovers, the layups. Everything.
Curry turns almost every regular-season tilt into its own exhibition—into his own personal playground.
And that aspect of his legend doesn’t make him a zoo animal.
It just means he probably wasn’t born on this planet.
