Many NBA players have certain habits or rituals during different instances of a game. Some have pre-game rituals, while others have post-game rituals, and some simply have a few habits that they can’t get rid of even during the game.
For the Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, it’s to chew his mouthpiece. This is a habit that fans have gotten accustomed to seeing Curry do during games. Most notably, Curry indulges in this habit when he’s shooting free throws.
Since Curry has been in the NBA for a long time and achieved so much success, this habit of his has certainly become iconic. But is it really a good habit? Well, a few years ago, Chef Curry was actually berated by an American dentist for his unhygienic habit of chewing his mouthpiece.
Via HuffPost:
When he’s chewing it like that, he’s destroying the integrity of the mouth guard. So it’s not going to be beneficial for him, it’s not going to protect him properly. He shouldn’t be wearing a chewed-up mouthguard for every game. He should hopefully have more than one. His hands are dirty, right? And if he takes it out with his hands, he’s introducing bacteria from whatever he touched — like the sweaty bodies, basketball, whatever. Imagine how much bacteria that is. And he’s putting it in his mouth.
A lot of kids are seeing him, especially during the NBA Finals shooting with his mouth guard on the side of his mouth. But these guards are expensive, and when parents are buying them or getting them custom-made, kids are just destroying it. The only way to protect your teeth is to keep it in your mouth, and let it stay in your mouth.”
When we look at all the above-mentioned points, it certainly doesn’t look like Curry’s habit of chewing his mouth guard is good.
But once again, by this point in his life, it has probably become an unconscious habit of his. Hopefully, his habit doesn’t get him in any injury trouble or, worse – health issues – in the future.
