Stephen Curry is without a doubt one of the best players in NBA history. His record speaks for itself: He has won four NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors, been named MVP twice, and made too many three-pointers from wayyyyyyy beyond the arc to count.
Curry once described himself as “the undersized, scrawny kid that was just trying to make it” before he became well-known.
The story of Stephen Curry’s rise to basketball superstardom is told in the new documentary “Stephen Curry: Underrated,” which debuts in a few theatres on Friday, July 21 and is currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Curry, 35, tells TODAY.com that the “Underrated” moniker is “very authentic” to his life story. This includes the time when he was a high school athlete who wanted to play for an ACC school but ended up at Davidson College, a small Division I institution in North Carolina, where he was raised. He started his “Underrated” tour for high school players several years ago after discovering that he was passed over by prestigious colleges.
“The underrated mindset was always a part of how I approached things and with developing my work ethic, appreciation, and gratitude for every opportunity and level that I got to play,” he claims. I’ve kept that in my DNA ever since, so.
Although he admits that his current resume would not suggest he is underrated, he continues, the mindset is “always a part of who I am, what made me different and unique, and to instill that in other people along their journeys is the nature of what we’re trying to do.”
Curry claims the concept for the film, which was co-produced by his Unanimous Media company, “Black Panther” and “Creed” director Ryan Coogler, and was directed by Peter Nicks, first came to him in the year 2018 as he and Davidson were preparing to commemorate their incredible and miraculous run to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. Curry, who averaged 32 points per game throughout the tournament, experienced his breakthrough at that point.
In part, he claims, the movie serves as a “cool kind of timepiece” of his three years spent studying at Davidson, which he calls “truly special.” The closeness he has with Davidson was highlighted last year when, 13 years after being chosen in the NBA draught, he graduated from the university with a degree in sociology.
Stephen Curry at the height of his Davidson career
In addition to revisiting his college years and early basketball career, his objective was to create a documentary that is motivating, uplifting, and instructive — even for himself. He appreciated hearing about his professional journey “through the stories of my coaches, teammates, people from the Davidson community, and people that saw me grow up in Charlotte.”
Because you kind of hear from other people’s perspectives on how impactful it was, he continues, “Even I learned a lot about my own story.
His parents, who both have sporting backgrounds, play a significant role in his story. His mother, Sonya Curry, was a former volleyball player, and his father, Dell Curry, was a shooter for the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA in the 1990s. They encouraged Curry and his siblings—brother Seth is an NBA player—and taught them the value of perseverance and hard work in achieving their objectives.
“My mother was a strong believer in just running your own race. For example, there is no need to evaluate yourself against others. Curry reflects, “Like, what’s for you will be for you. “They were very consistent with that message growing up, and it helped, especially for me, to know that I was good enough.” I was dealing with the shadow that my dad’s NBA playing cast on me.
NBA champion Stephen Curry (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Curry hopes the film conveys a similar message to his three children with wife Ayesha Curry: Riley, who turns 11 this week; Ryan, who is 8; and Canon, who is 5. Riley, Ryan, and Canon all have birthdays this week.
He hopes that this inspires people to believe that they can succeed in whatever endeavour they set their minds to. “Once more, they are capable, good enough, and made specifically for whatever gift they have to offer the world. We’ll be there for them throughout to support them.
Curry promises that Ryan and Canon will watch “Underrated” as soon as it becomes available. Riley, however, has seen it and enjoyed seeing pictures of her father when he was younger.
“She was just laughing at all the pictures and videos when I was young — no facial hair and just a whole different demeanour,” he recalls. And I believe that was her favourite part because, “she’s 11 now so there’s almost — some of the earlier footage of when I started playing basketball is really almost the same age, and I think finding that connection of what Daddy looked like as a kid made (Riley) laugh a good amount.”