NBA ALL-STAR MEDIA DAY

February 17, 2024

Stephen Curry

Western Conference

Media Day Press Conference

Q. Battle of the Sexes with Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs was such a big moment for sport back in the '70s. Do you think you and Sabrina could have a similar impact here tonight?

STEPHEN CURRY: We'd hope that this stage and being a first of its kind in basketball, kind of the competition, the road map that Sabrina has ahead of her as an ambassador for the game of basketball, not just women's basketball, but how she handles herself, and just the conversation around promoting the WNBA, the NBA, merging our two worlds, it's going to be fun.

I don't know what's going to come out of it, but me and Sabrina talked about how cool of an opportunity it is to do something that's never been done before in our game. And for her to have a presence on this stage is going to do a lot to inspire the next generation of young boys and girls that want to compete and see themselves in either one of us.

Wherever it goes from there, we know we can kind of plant our flag as doing something really special.

Q. Steph, there's been a lot of talk in recent years about you and KD and LeBron having such extended staying power as the faces of the league in a lot of ways. Do you have any thoughts, as you look at the next generation of young guys, who might eventually take you guys' place in a decade or so when you guys are done playing?

STEPHEN CURRY: There's a lot of guys to pick from in this group of 24 that are here. You see Luka, Ant, Shai, guys that are really coming into their prime, and they're highly decorated already as All-Stars and (All-)NBA guys, but have a perspective, I guess, of what that means within the on-court/off-court opportunities with the doors that basketball opens in that respect.

You've got a lot of talent to choose from in that respect. I think the more you understand the authenticity around it, and like me and Bron and KD, like the guys you named, have done it and tried to do that in our way, where it might look different for different guys. But the league is in pretty good hands when it comes to young talent that I think gets it and understands the magnitude of the platform we all have and will respect it as they come into their own.

Q. Steph, your brother, Seth, is now wearing your father's number, playing for your father's team with your father announcing the game, and also you posted an Instagram story with the proverbial I'm not crying, you're crying. Can you share a little bit about your first thoughts when you first learned of the news and also share a little bit about what's kind of behind the scenes among the Curry family and if there was any banter or if anyone actually cried?

STEPHEN CURRY: It was a surprise, one. I didn't know Seth was on the trading block and whatnot up until probably two days before. The fact he had his homecoming going back to Charlotte, the first game they played, they wore their retro, old-school pinstripe Hornet jerseys, which my pops wore, and like you said, No. 30.

It's funny, my dad said on the broadcast, I don't think anybody asked Seth or my dad what number he was going to wear. He just did it knowing it was an easy decision there. It was cool to see the Curry 30 alive back in Charlotte. Still got a lot of family there, and my dad obviously doing the color commentating for games. It's a family affair, for sure.

We haven't played them yet, so it will be cool. We've got two games coming up against them the second half of the year. I'm excited about those two nights.

Q. Two things quick. The first one, Sabrina said that someone was booing her during her workout yesterday. Can you confirm who that may have been?

STEPHEN CURRY: I can confirm it's the guy you're looking at right now. Trying to apply some pressure, for sure.

Q. Adam Silver, Joe Dumars, they've made it very clear they'd like to see a more competitive game tomorrow. What is the line? It's not Game 7, obviously. How can you make it more competitive but still fun and make sure nobody gets in harm's way or anything like that? How do you navigate all that? How should it be navigated?

STEPHEN CURRY: The first year we did the player draft -- the first year I was the captain up until the game in Chicago, it was the Elam Ending, that was kind of your peak competitive nature that kept everybody on the edge of their seat till the end. I think the guys had a different energy about them and definitely a spirit of competitiveness throughout the whole thing.

Then it kind of got a little quirky with all the draft stuff that was happening. We talked about it a little bit in some of our meetings. It's kind of hard when you're here in the building -- it's very prima donna of us, but you're here four or five hours leading up to the game. It's so different than our normal game day kind of experience, like the way we prepare our bodies and stuff like that. So it's kind of hard to get to a normal level.

I think there's a balance. We've talked about it a little bit. It's just coming with the right energy where everybody knows kind of the speed of the game, physicality of the game, and you can kind of make those adjustments, whether you're starting, whether you're coming off the bench, playing a little bit of defense. And kind of taking it from there wherever the game goes.

I think getting rid of the pre-draft thing where everybody was standing around for however long will help. The East-West stuff, where there's a little more familiarity with your teammates, will help. Like you said, it's not going to be a Game 7. It's not going to be a playoff-type vibe, but it should be somewhere in between.

Q. Your coach has talked about how hard it is to guard these days with the immense talent we're seeing from players as well as some of the rules around defense. I wanted to get your perspective on that. When you look around the league and 60-point games becoming very common, 70 popping up more and more, does anything feel out of balance to you? What's your perspective on the offense-defense balance now in the league?

STEPHEN CURRY: Like you said, talent is at an all-time high in every position. Shooting ability, scoring ability, different combinations that coaches are putting out there, like five-man units where everybody is a threat to shoot the ball. So the game has changed dramatically.

I think there was that week or two-week span, there was a 70, a couple 60s and I don't know what. It was astronomical scoring. That slowed down a little bit.

There's a couple rules, I think, from a defensive perspective -- I know Coach has talked about it a little bit -- where you could favor the defense a little more. I know the conversations the -- what's the group called that makes the rules? -- Competition Committee, thank you, that make those decisions every summer and try to adjust how the game is going, those conversations are always happening.

I like the brand of basketball because everybody who is out there can put the ball on the floor, for the most part, can, like I said, be a threat to shoot. You're going to see a sway toward higher scoring, but I think the cycle of the league, it will reset itself at this point. I don't know how quickly that will happen or what rules will change this summer and the following summer, but I personally like the brand of basketball that's being played because it highlights the amount of talent that we have around the league.

Q. One of the coolest things about this Sabrina Ionescu-Stephen Curry thing is you get to bond with the younger generation that admires you because they saw you and stuff like that. You've been playing with a Brazilian who admired you and now is your colleague. How has it been with Gui Santos, and what have you learned about Brazil with him?

STEPHEN CURRY: Gui is an unbelievable person. He's shown in some short stints out there on the court with us what he's capable of. He's got a bright future ahead of him, and I know he's proud to represent his country.

I've been to Brazil once, and it was way back when I was in high school. I told Gui, when I come back, I'm going to call him, call Varejao, call Barbosa and all the guys I've played with, and hopefully they treat me to a good time.

They're definitely proud to represent their country. Gui is the next in line to do that. It's been cool to watch him grow in the short time he's been with us.

Q. TikTok dances?

STEPHEN CURRY: He hasn't shared that with me as much yet.