NBA: Stephen Curry is back and raring to go
Dec 04, 2020
New York [USA], December 4 : After spending nine months off the court, doing some meaningful stuff and launching his own brand, Stephen Curry is back on the court.
"I never had a time of not playing games for such a long time," Curry said speaking to media after Golden State Warriors started their training camp with individual workouts on Wednesday.
A league-worst 15-50 record and the COVID-19 pandemic led to a longer than expected break for the Warriors, but Curry was going from strength-to-strength. As restrictions eased, he started playing in scrimmages eventually leading up to 5-on-5 workouts with teammates until last month.
"It was good to kind of shake the cobwebs off and not wait until December to get competitive live-action before playing regular-season games," said Curry.
In an off-season like never seen before, Curry was not only strengthening his left hand, but he kept himself relevant interviewing America's lead expert on infectious diseases, Anthony Fauci, made a virtual appearance at the Democratic National Convention and teed off with Phil Mickelson. And he saw the 'Bubble' too.
"Watching the bubble was weird. It was nice to be a fan for a little bit, but I definitely want to be playing competitive basketball and in games that matter," he remarked.
Unlike a few years back, the Warriors didn't carry the favorites tag, but Curry has a lot of weight to carry as Klay Thompson was ruled out for a second consecutive season. "It is going to be a tough year without him," Curry admitted.
Warriors will look to their number two Draft pick James Wiseman to play a bigger role and Curry knows the 19-year-old will contribute to make them a much better basketball team.
"He has a game that doesn't look like a 19-year-old. He doesn't lack confidence and he knows he belongs here," said Curry of Wiseman.
Curry and the Warriors tip-off the 2020-21 NBA season against the Brooklyn Nets on the road and he knows the anticipation and expectations that will come with the game as Kevin Durant will play against his former teammates for the first time since moving to Brooklyn. Straight from Brooklyn they go to Milwaukee for the Christmas Day game.
"I have to figure out what we're going to do in Milwaukee for Christmas," Curry said with a grin. "But other than that it's going to be pretty awesome just to be playing basketball again. I'm excited. It's going to be here before you know it."
