Stephen Curry On How Kobe Bryant Gave Him His “Welcome To The NBA” Moment

Stephen Curry reveals how Kobe Bryant gave him his "Welcome to the NBA" moment.

4 Min Read

Credit: Fadeaway World

Kobe Bryant elbowing his way through defenses is a picture that many NBA fans have etched in their memory. Stephen Curry also clearly remembers his first encounter with the Mamba and how he got his ‘welcome to the NBA moment.’

In his rookie season in 2009-10, Curry found himself guarding Bryant and was welcomed by a constant blow of elbows, which Curry thought warranted a call from the referees.

I got switched onto him; he was giving me those body blows with his elbows.. I’m in awe of him.. My naive self is looking at the refs asking for a call like they’re gonna give me a call over Kobe Bryant.” Curry told ‘The Tonight Show’ host Jimmy Fallon during an appearance on their Thursday episode. The onslaught of the elbows only ended when Bryant converted it into a basket.

“Then he caught the ball, did a little left shoulder fadeaway, and just ran down the court. I was like ‘Alright, welcome to the NBA.’” Curry added. Fallon rightly summed it up by saying how it must’ve been really cool to be on the court with your childhood inspiration, but at the same time, it must’ve hurt.

Curry was especially lean and small by NBA standards when he came into the league. Even though he weighed pretty much the same as he does now, he hadn’t developed the build needed to stand tall with the basketball giants.

He still managed to have an impactful season, averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. A few seasons later, the three-point maestro would get a chance to get back at the Lakers legend.

“About three years later, I hit a shot on him, from the top of the key, and that was kind of his passing the torch moment back to me. He kind of gave me a little pat on the way back on court. It was kind of cool to get the initiation and then get the torch pass.” Curry recalled.

The Golden State Warriors’ superstar had a rough journey to success, with his size being a significant question mark, and his ankles getting injured repeatedly. But once he was comfortably settled in the league, he showed fans what he’s capable of.

Last year, as well, he was the anchor around which the American Olympic team rallied, and he did a stellar job of leading them to win the gold medal. But that did not happen without some help.


Stephen Curry Hails Carmelo Anthony For Helping At The Olympics Like A Third Coach

The American Olympic basketball team had Steve Kerr as their head coach, and Mark Few, Erik Spoelstra, and Mark Williams served as the assistant coaches. But Curry reveals that he had some additional help from a Redeem Team member, Carmelo Anthony.

“He was like our third coach over there. He was yelling plays and telling us what to do; he’s Mr USA. He’s played in so many Olympics. It was nice to have his presence.” Curry revealed.

Adding the gold medal to his trophy cabinet meant a big deal to the revolutionary point guard. Getting it done with a storybook ending, beating France in their capital in front of the world to see, will be a moment he’ll cherish for the rest of his life.

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Chaitanya Dadhwal is an NBA Analyst and Columnist at Fadeaway World from New Delhi, India. He fell in love with basketball in 2018 after seeing James Harden in his prime. He joined the sports journalism world in 2021, one year before finishing his law school in 2022. He attended Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, India, where his favorite subject was also Sports Law.He transitioned from law to journalism after realizing his true passion for sports and basketball in particular. Even though his journalism is driven by his desire to understand both sides of an argument and give a neutral perspective, he openly admits he is biased towards the Houston Rockets and Arsenal. But that intersection of in-depth analysis and passion helps him simplify the fine print and complex language for his readers.His goal in life is to open his own sports management agency one day and represent athletes. He wants to ensure he can help bridge the gap in equal opportunity for athletes across various sports and different genders playing the same sport.
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