Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history, and he didn’t rise to the top by taking it easy. Author and motivational speaker Tony Robbins spoke about the work Curry has put in behind the scenes on The Iced Coffee Hour podcast.
“Steph Curry in high school never should be in the NBA,” Robbins said. “He was too short. His dad made him correct his shot because he never would have made it. He had to learn to reshoot, which made him terrible. So he put in 500 shots a day every single day, 7 days a week, for his entire life, basically. 2.5 million shots in 15 years, so he can make 3,300 threes and be the best in history.
“You get rewarded in public for what you practice in private intensely,” Robbins added.
Robbins is good friends with Warriors co-owner Peter Guber and has had sessions with the team in the past. He would have gotten a behind-the-scenes look at how Curry operates.
As Robbins pointed out, Curry’s path to becoming the greatest shooter wasn’t anywhere near as smooth as one might imagine. He had to revamp his shot in the summer between his freshman and sophomore seasons in high school, and once spoke at length about it during an interview with Graham Bensinger.
“I was a short kid in high school,” Curry said. “Played JV my freshman year and you noticed the the change in physicality from JV to Varsity and my shot was kind of a fling from my hip kind of a deal and we were talking about it and thinking you got to get that shot off a lot quicker on the varsity level, with taller guys and better defenders and guys that can maybe block your shot.
“And so me being a short kid trying to get my release a little higher so that have more of an advantage when I was out on the floor, and it was a frustrating summer to say the least,” Curry added. “I couldn’t leave the paint for a good month.”
Curry called it the worst summer of his youth from a basketball standpoint. There was a lot he had to relearn.
“I had tendencies with how I shot, and I could shoot pretty well with that form,” Curry stated. “But once we started to change it, you have to really retrain your brain and your muscle memory. And for a month, I literally couldn’t leave the paint because I couldn’t get the strength to shoot it out outside the paint with any kind of consistency. So as a guy that that was what I did, I was a shooter.
“To not be able to shoot the way I wanted to was really frustrating, and kind of had to be patient with it,’ Curry continued. “And finally, I started to get it, it started to click. Would be shooting over my head with a high release, and thankfully, I figured it out just in time for our basketball season the next year.”
Curry may not have been too happy with his father, Dell, at the time, but the change in form certainly helped. His release is especially lightning quick, and he has been causing havoc on the court for over a decade.
Curry is today the NBA’s all-time leader for three-pointers made with 4,212. The 37-year-old has played a significant role in changing the way the game is played and is one of the most influential players ever.
Being so good from deep has also enabled Curry to remain one of the best in business despite his age. He is currently averaging 27.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Warriors in 2025-26. Curry was recently rewarded for his play with a spot in the starting lineup for the 2026 All-Star Game. He is the oldest among the starters.
