Listen Now: Mind the Game - The Stephen Curry Interview

0:00Steve Nash:To all the 92 percenters, we're dropping something in the feed today we think you basketball fans are going to love. All right. If you haven't heard it yet, LeBron James and Steve Nash have an incredible podcast. That's right. It's called Mind the Game. And I'm not going to lie. It's pretty next level. I would assume it would be unbelievable as I am a fan of both of their games. Yeah, this is for students of the game, though. LeBron and Nash are legends. and on Mind the Game, they get into the X's and O's and tactical breakdowns that really help you appreciate the game. Yeah, I mean, when Lombardi James is breaking down plays, you're talking strategy with Steve Nash, you're going to get deep into the brains of two actual basketball geniuses.

0:43Steve Nash:So, I mean, it's pretty much a master class in basketball. And here's the thing. They also talk about mindset, preparation, and the mental side of the game that applies to basketball, football, and your life. Exactly. Whether you're a basketball fan or just someone who wants to understand what it is like to compete at the highest level, this show has got something for you. So do yourself a favor. Go check out Mind the Game. You're going to learn something. I guarantee it. All right. And here's Steve Nash to tell you a little bit more about the show. Hey, 92 Percenters, Steve Nash here. Here's a clip from one of our latest episodes to give you a taste of what LeBron and I get into.

1:20Steve Nash:If you like what you hear, check out Mind the Game wherever you get your podcasts. Or you can watch on YouTube or Prime Video.

1:39Cheers.

1:39Stephen Curry:Doing this way and one this way. Yes, sir.

1:42Steve Nash:Thank you for doing this. It's our first official golf podcast.

1:48LeBron James:Yeah, they heard Mind the Game. They thought the game was basketball today. It was actually not. We say mind the team. I was watching the Bryson DeChambeau.

1:59Steve Nash:Oh, the break 50? Break 50. I mean, I knew you were good. I was losing my mind. I only watched half. You matched him.

2:08Stephen Curry:I watched the whole thing. I mean, that's being kind. As you could, it was my first shot. I lost my mind, too. There's like a little small gallery behind. Oh, there was. That was following us. and so I knew the whole concept I knew it was Bryson it was a week before the Ryder Cup I'm like alright it's dope time and it's the best I think best golf I've played in my life

2:28LeBron James:and it's so funny I was watching one of the holes I don't know what hole it was and you was like I'm gonna give it a little grunt one of his drives and he got him on the drive and you can and Bryson obviously this is what he does like this he's a I can tell in his voice one of the best in the world when they got up to the ball he was like I think that's your ball. He was like, oh, man, I out drove him. It was crazy. He didn't want to give it to me. I think one of the good parts, too, that I was watching, too, and I think Bryson asked you a question like, who's your inspirations? Obviously, in the game that we all love.

3:02LeBron James:Oh, yeah. You mentioned Steve, and you mentioned Reggie. Obviously, Reggie makes so much sense, and it's terrifying to competitors like myself and all the competition over the years. How did that, what made you kind of watch those guys from the beginning? You know, it's funny that I'm sitting across and talking about the life.

3:25Stephen Curry:So, I mean, we all got history in the game, playing against each other and the whole deal. But my rookie year, we played in a preseason game outside in Palm Springs. Indian Wells, Tennessee. Yeah, Indian Wells. It was my first time actually seeing them on the court and to the point of inspiration. Super intimidating. just seeing him across I still do some of your when you're in the starting line or the national anthem the line you just do like the little leg stuff but I still do it I still do it it was like I was watching everything you did from across the court but growing up like I knew I was a pass first type of point guard like my dad had to actually tell me to shoot more nah call Dale Curry right now and he'd tell you they actually had to tell me to shoot more he was like not in this house Not in this house.

4:15Stephen Curry:You ain't going to be there. But I always, like, just loved the creativity. Being, like, I felt like we had similar statures where, as a point guard, being able to, you know, handle being in the trees, getting the ball where you needed to. You saw angles that didn't even make sense. Your change of speed. You could control the tempo. Got everybody involved. Like, there was just something fun about that. That is the way that I, you know, wanted to play. Fast forward to Davidson. and I was a two guard and had to kind of expand. I mean, there was a video of me as a 10-year-old running around with a Reggie jersey just because, you know, I just loved his competitiveness and the way he moved off the ball.

4:55Stephen Curry:I didn't know that would be a huge part of my game once I got to, like, how am I going to actually make it to the league type vibe. But that was, your style was like exact. I just tried all the behind-the-back passes, this day, one-handed, left-handed, like all that type of stuff, just seeing the floor a little differently. I felt like he was kind of the model for that.

5:15LeBron James:And what about your pops, too? I mean, obviously the inspiration that you saw every day, but, like, as your pops being a pro itself, anything like you took from his game, like, I mean, the quick release. The quick release was crazy. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

5:26Stephen Curry:Every video you see, I see him in the corner. One, like, here, one dribble, and then the quick release. He had the high Arken release, too. Yeah. I couldn't get that. So it was, like, almost comparison and contrast of, Right, right, right. I want to be a great shooter. I want to have a quick release. but I also have to own my own form. Right. I can't really... It has to go in at the end of the day. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? You got to feel comfortable with what you're doing.

5:48Steve Nash:But did you guys ever talk about it? Like, quick release? Yeah, we talked about that a lot.

5:53Stephen Curry:When I was in high school, changing my form, I used to do, like, the little slingshot situation. And to the point of seeing... When I watched myself on camera, it was like, that thing looks like it takes forever to get up there. But to your point, it went in. But as I got to varsity, I was like, you know, So it's probably not going to let things get swatted to the eighth row. And you was able to dissect that?

6:15LeBron James:No. My dad called it out as I was making that transition.

6:19Stephen Curry:I wasn't with it at first. Because I knew he was going to have to break down all the fundamentals of everything that I felt comfortable with to then master a new form. It felt like it too much. Yeah. It was like, I don't want to do extra credit on the homework. I already know the formula. I got to recreate it. And obviously it worked.

6:39Steve Nash:But I feel like someone who loves shooting, shot a million shots, always obsessed with it, watching you shoot, I think I have a bit of a classic shot. I get it to clay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get it to the pocket and shoot. What I think you brought to the game, and I'd love for you to tell me I'm full of it, is you don't really stop. So you talked about this shot as a kid, to now it's the same shot but up here. I don't really feel like you stop, and if you do, it's like the split second.

7:10Stephen Curry:Only probably on just standard catch and shoot. I always tell people, I would teach clay's form to anybody who said, hey, how do I shoot a basketball? I would pull up a clip of a clay, and that's freaking perfect. Ten out of ten, no notes, right? But to your point, it helped me off the dribble, because it's kind of, I wouldn't call it unorthodox, but it is a one-piece shot that no matter if you're really all the way on balance or just off or if you got it on the right hand, left hand, off the dribble, like whatever it is, I kind of can get it here quick enough that I still have all my power. I don't lose anything through that, so that's helped me, especially at 6 '3", like in the league.

7:53Stephen Curry:No matter who's in front of you, you really feel like I have a chance. As long as I get them to drop their hands a little bit, I can get it up there quick, and I don't want to have any wasted motion.

8:01Steve Nash:Was that by design or was that just happened?

8:03Stephen Curry:That's just how I shot it. There wasn't much thought to that part other than when I was in high school doing that transformation, I guess you call it.

8:11Steve Nash:Because I also feel like that is a part of your range. Is that you, like, instead of stopping and having to use all your legs, you're using it all in one motion. So, like, he just kept backing up.

8:25LeBron James:Where's this going? And it's like a flick. Like, I got an opportunity to see it this, you know, last summer. You know, the first time I was joining forces, I got to see it after practice every day, just like a flick. It didn't matter. You know, certain guys in our league or certain, you know, basketball players all over the world, they have to get a certain pocket in order for them to even get to here. It's like when he touched the ball, by the time he does what he needs to here, it doesn't matter where it's coming from. It can come from here. It can come from here. Quick, quick, quick. And that's a great question.

8:57Did you learn that or it just kind of happened?

9:02LeBron James:It's kind of natural.

9:03Stephen Curry:It's kind of just natural. There's always a reset. Like summertime, when you're working on mechanics, my guy Brandon Payne, we'll talk about it. And if I miss two or three in the run, you start looking. I'll know it's because I don't have the ball. Like if we're talking middle of the frame, I don't have it more middle to right. I'm more kind of doing that. You get a little lazy. But I still have to call that out. But then once you get into the game and the flow, there's not much thought to it. But it's interesting because necessity is the mother of invention.

9:36Steve Nash:You kind of invented something. You've gone on to be the greatest shooter of all time by a long margin. Range, accuracy, dexterity, off the move, left, right, leaning in, leaning back. You do it all. But I don't know if you could do that, if you had picture-perfect form. I'm not saying you don't, but you invented a way of going through the zone. Like you said, off the dribble, like it's up. And that gave you more range. And that gave you more dexterity. By the way, it's not really recreatable. I'm not telling kids, hey, it's so good.

10:11Stephen Curry:So Bruce Frazier, we use you as an example a lot when I'm doing a breakdown drill. I do pregame stuff or after practice stuff where to the point of being able to get to my base, He'll bring you up as a demonstration. You have such a solid foundation where... Get your hips down. Get low. You're feeling every part of your foot, your feet, and you're using all of that force to kind of get through.

10:36Steve Nash:Pushing in the ground.

10:37Stephen Curry:That's a foundation you have to have to then build off of that creativity and that looseness up top. So that's part of the natural progression of foundation to confidence confidence to then, okay, now I can experiment a little bit. So maybe it's not necessarily a thought. It's like you hammer that down so much that now I have the ability to say, okay, what's going to help me in the game? Or if I need to stay out of the trees and I can get my range back, that's in there because I have this. And if I always, I still have to go back to that well. We do our stuff at the free throw line where you're doing like the spins and you've got to be in balance.

11:16Stephen Curry:That's your world. That's what I learned. But I also think one of the most impressive things, I know we're here to talk about a lot of things, but the most impressive thing is that you came in, you know, 6 '2", whatever, and obviously super skinny.

11:31LeBron James:Super skinny. You know what I'm saying? Like, I remember, like, super skinny, fresh out of Davidson, super skinny, and obviously you know our league, you know, throughout the course of a season, flights and everything, you know, can be taxing on your body. Yeah. I think one of the most impressive things that a lot of people don't talk about when it comes to you is that the weight and the strength that you've put on and still being able to shoot the ball in that capacity. There's a lot of guys that we've seen come in at a certain weight or a certain body frame and they're told to put on weight or they're told to put on strength and it can affect their shot.

12:05LeBron James:You know, and it's actually no way it could have made it better. But shit, it seems like nothing ever changed. How was that? Like, did that worry you in the beginning? Like, oh, shit, y 'all tell me I got to get stronger now.

12:18Stephen Curry:Funny story. So, like, my rookie year in training camp, so I came in as, you know, a shooter in the draft. Don Nelson was my coach. And going through training camp, or, sorry, summer league started, I think I probably shot, like, low 30s for three in summer league. And then you come into training camp, you know, a couple months later, like, still working, getting through, We were trying to get comfortable with where shots are coming from. And Don Nelson, he went in the weight room because, to your point, I came in 180 pounds maybe. They were trying to get me in the weight room doing all these lifts and stuff.

12:54Stephen Curry:I'm shooting, like, trash in training camp, like, the first week. He walked in there and cussed out everybody in the room. It was like, y 'all are killing the shot. He's lifting too much weight. And to me, I didn't know that as a concept because, like, I always just wanted to get stronger. Like, most of it was just vanity. Like, hey, most. look better in the jersey all these mirrors around here y 'all telling me I gotta look like this I mean I'm trying to look like this I mean I'm trying to look like this I mean I'm trying to look like this I mean I'm trying to look like this

13:17LeBron James:I mean something