Stephen Curry is Never Satisfied

The road to stardom for NBA superstar Stephen Curry wasn’t easy. Many thought he would never get a chance. Curry’s father, Dell Curry, once walked through an airport and ran into his son’s youth coach, who told him, “Your son’s going to make a lot of money from this game one day.” Dell thought he meant overseas. Stephen was short, frail; his shot was released below his waist, meaning he would get blocked once he competed against bigger and stronger players. There was nothing elite about his skillset.

“I don’t even remember seeing him (during his college recruitment process). I do know when I did see him later, I thought, ‘Man, he is little,’” former North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said.

Dell wasn’t hard on his son or negative. As a former NBA player himself, he knew what it took to play in the league. And at that moment, he hadn’t seen Stephen demonstrate those skills. Since Stephen was a below-average athlete for that level, he needed to alter his game to rise above his weaknesses. Curry changed his shot mechanics, built the strength needed to have unlimited range on his shot, and then worked hard on his conditioning to ensure he would never get tired during a game. When you watch him play today, you might think he’s a natural talent. In reality, the skills he demonstrates can only be the result of countless hours working hard to perfect his craft. 

Curry has that unique trait that all extremely talented people possess: He behaves as if he doesn’t have talent. They have an overachiever mentality — ignoring the praises, knowing their road to achievement comes from doing the work — every single day. They cannot take a day off for fear their talent will vanish. They come to work each day believing unless they give it everything they have, they will fail. This is not an act, but a mindset engrained forever cultivated by past struggles. 

Isn’t it interesting that two of the greatest athletes of this generation, Tom Brady and Stephen Curry, were overlooked out of high school? Neither was supposed to have a great professional career. Yet, both have achieved greatness and still work as if they haven’t won anything. The fuel that relentlessly drives both men is from their past failures.    

People with this quality are never satisfied with yesterday's results; they only know that they must work hard before the competition begins. Curry didn’t get the talent gene from his talented father; he received the “never satisfied gene,” which, in the end, is often more valuable.