Stephen Curry: Golf obsession, Davidson Cinderella run & road to the NBA | Full Interview @GrahamBensinger
Stephen Curry: Golf obsession, Davidson Cinderella run & road to the NBA | Full Interview  @GrahamBensinger
Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In this 2015 interview, Stephen Curry sits down for one of the most personal and wide-ranging interviews of his career, covering everything from his childhood to his rise as one of the NBA's elite point guards.

Steph opens up about his lifelong love of golf — learning the game from his father Dell Curry at age 10, playing competitively in high school, his near-win at the American Century Celebrity Championship in Lake Tahoe, and the bucket-list round at St. Andrews for his dad's 50th birthday. He also confirms what his wife Ayesha already suspected: yes, he does occasionally think about golf during NBA timeouts.

On basketball, Steph walks through the defining moments that built his game — the painful summer between freshman and sophomore year of high school when he and his dad completely rebuilt his jump shot from scratch, spending weeks unable to shoot outside the paint. He talks about always being the smallest kid on the floor, how that shaped his basketball IQ, and why not trying out for varsity his freshman year remains his biggest regret.

He recalls the recruiting process in detail — his dream of following his father to Virginia Tech, how that fell apart when they only offered a walk-on spot, and how Davidson College became the place where everything clicked. He talks about the Davidson Cinderella run in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the moment his typically stoic father stood up and pumped his fist in the stands, and his mother Sonya going viral on Twitter for her emotional reactions courtside.

Steph also shares deeply personal stories: the Curry household's strict rules growing up (curfew by grade, missing a game for not doing the dishes, no dating without a parent meeting), how he met Ayesha at 14 in a church group, eating chocolate cake he hated just to impress her mom, the elaborate driveway proposal, and what it was like to actually help deliver daughter Riley in the hospital.

He reflects on his NBA journey — the stress of draft night, being picked 7th by Golden State when he had his heart set on New York, his first NBA game starting against Houston, making his first All-Star team, and what it meant to be part of turning the Warriors into a winning franchise. He opens up about the emotional fallout when coach Mark Jackson was fired, and what it meant when Steve Kerr called him personally before the news went public.

Steph also discusses playing for Team USA under Coach K, witnessing Paul George's devastating leg injury up close, and what it's really like to share a court with LeBron James. And in one of the interview's most powerful moments, he describes how a 2013 trip to a Congolese refugee camp in Tanzania with the Nothing But Nets foundation — seeing 60,000 displaced people, visiting a maternity ward, and befriending a kid who still emails him — permanently changed his perspective on life, family, and what really matters.
#interview #basketball #stephencurry

0:00 – Intro: Basketball or Golf? Steph Can't Choose
1:21 – Growing Up Playing Golf with Dell Curry
3:15 – Thinking About Golf During NBA Games
5:41 – Playing St. Andrews for Del's 50th Birthday
6:47 – The Summer Steph Completely Rebuilt His Shot
12:04 – Being the Smallest Kid on the Court
13:46 – Regretting Not Trying Out for Varsity as a Freshman
15:45 – What Makes Steph Elite: Court Vision & Basketball IQ
19:03 – His Mom Sonya's Famous Courtside Voice
20:27 – Trending on Twitter: Davidson's NCAA Tournament Run
21:57 – Growing Up at School with His Whole Family
23:44 – Missing His First Middle School Game Over Dirty Dishes
24:22 – The Curry Household Curfew Rules
26:28 – Meeting Ayesha & Why They Married Young
27:53 – Eating Chocolate Cake to Impress Ayesha's Mom
29:20 – The Driveway Proposal Story
31:58 – Delivering Daughter Riley
32:39 – How Fatherhood Changed Everything
34:13 – Tagging Along to NBA Practices as a Kid
35:42 – Playing One-on-One with Tracy McGrady & Vince Carter
37:08 – The Photo with Don Nelson at the All-Star Game
43:00 – Virginia Tech Rejection & Ending Up at Davidson
47:48 – The Omelet That Helped Him Decide to Enter the NBA Draft
48:49 – Draft Night Nerves & Getting Picked by Golden State
51:39 – First NBA Game
53:03 – Becoming an All-Star & Winning a Playoff Series
54:24 – Mark Jackson's Firing & What He Meant to Steph
57:34 – Steve Kerr's First Call & the New Era
58:32 – Playing for Team USA & Coach K
1:00:54 – Paul George's Devastating Injury
1:02:21 – LeBron James: Bowling at His House & More
1:04:25 – Tanzania Trip with Nothing But Nets & How It Changed Him

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Episode aired in 2015.
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Graham Bensinger |

Stephen Curry: Golf obsession, Davidson Cinderella run & road to the NBA | Full Interview

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