Former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson recently made statements about Stephen Curry in which he said the all-world point guard is “hurting the game.” Rather than take offense to his former coach’s misguided attempt at making a solid point, though, Curry is taking the high road.
He wants to believe Jackson was actually paying him a compliment.
Here is a portion of what Jackson said while covering a Warriors game on Christmas Day.
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“He’s hurting the game. And what I mean by that is that I go into these high school gyms, I watch these kids, and the first thing they do is they run to the 3-point line. You are not Steph Curry. Work on the other aspects of the game. People think that he’s just a knock down shooter.”
While many players might take what Jackson said as an insult, Curry, to nobody’s surprise, is choosing to think the best of his former coach.
“After I heard all of what he was talking about, I understand where he’s coming from – that being for the youth of today and how they watch us play or watch me in particular, and they want to go out and try to do the same thing,” Curry said Saturday, per the Contra Costa Times. “It’s all about practice and routine and repetition that can help you get to that point, so you can’t skip that part of the process.
“I wish he would have phrased it just a little bit differently. I think I’m trying to inspire people to see the game differently in a positive way…I get what he was saying. There was a compliment in there. Knowing him personally, I think that’s what he meant.”
Never change, Steph Curry.
In addition to the endless hours of practice endured by Curry, he’s coming into the game with an added bonus of having a genetic predisposition to being awesome at basketball. If you’re looking for proof of this, look no further than old tape of him and his brother Seth effortlessly balling out before one of their father’s games back in the day (watch here).
Most kids have zero shot of successfully duplicating what Curry does on a nightly basis, but that certainly won’t stop them from trying. And, while Jackson did have somewhat of a good point to make, he did make it rather poorly.
Practicing fundamentals isn’t something most young players are eager to do, but if they want to get to Curry’s level that’s the only way to do it. Taking endless three-point shots in games and during their practice time will certainly sharpen up their shot, but it won’t make them world-class ballers.
