'Steph Curry shot 85% that night': Warriors legend's trainer reveals 4-time champion's most impressive feat and more: Exclusive
Just like he has done in actual NBA games, Stephen Curry frequently breaks his own records in various drills that his personal trainer constructs.
No surprise then on Brandon Payne’s reaction to Curry’s recent admission on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast that he considers himself the greatest point guard of all time.
“I would agree with it,” Payne told Sportskeeda.
In part one of a wide-ranging interview, Payne explains why Curry has the edge over Magic Johnson as the best point guard ever, his optimism on Curry and Chris Paul co-existing and details about his off-season regimen.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interview has been edited and condensed.
Brandon Payne talks about training Steph Curry, compares him with Magic Johnson and looks ahead to his partnership with Chris Paul
What makes Steph the greatest point guard of all time, even over Magic?
Payne: “He’s quite possibly the most skilled basketball player that has ever played. He has the combination with his skill level, his decision-making ability and his level of conditioning. As his career has gone on, he has had increasing level of strength. You have a player that is great at all of those things. On top of that, he happens to shoot it pretty well (laughs). He’s been a winner at a very high level, and he’s a leader. Universally, every teammate that he’s ever had would tell you that they love him. That’s really hard to find. As a leader and communicator, he’s very involved that way. I just think there is a lot to be said for being a great teammate.”
What’s the most impressive thing you’ve ever seen Steph do?
Payne: “Oh man (laughs). I’ve been known to design some borderline unreasonable shooting drills. We had one last week in LA. I had Steph and Trae Young in the gym together. Trae shot it really, really well that night. We had a drill we do where you can’t miss consecutive shots. If you miss consecutive shots, the entire drill starts over again. It’s a long drill, and one that Steph has completed before with relative ease."
"Trae got through the entire drill without missing a point and finished in five or six minutes. But for Steph, this took place at the end of the day when Steph had a full day of meetings and he’s practicing at 9 o’clock at night. Steph Curry was still shooting the ball great at 80 or 85%. But if you miss two in a row at any point, you have to start over. You can shoot it great and still not win."
"About 15 to 20 minutes into it, he’s in the fifth or sixth time trying to get through it. He’s getting to the very end. I looked at him and said, ‘It’s been a long day. If we don’t finish tonight, it’s not the end of the world.’ For the first time ever, he looked at me like, ‘What the hell are you talking about? We’ve never given up on a drill and we’re not going to start tonight.’ So I said, ‘Let’s go and get it done.’ An hour and a half later, we’re still shooting the same drill. But he would not leave until he got it done."
"That’s not the best thing from a shooting standpoint. I don’t like guys shooting too many shots. That could be detrimental. But when you’re the greatest shooter of all time, you let it slide. I told him this after the drill, “After 12 to 14 years working together, that is the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen. The fact you would not give up, even if it took an hour and a half until you finished. That’s the most impressive and toughest thing I’ve ever seen.’"
"He has a toughness that people don’t understand. He’s incredibly tough. He’s maybe the mentally toughest player the game has ever had. Because he’s such a nice guy and he’s approachable, I don’t think that toughness is conveyed a lot of times. But there is a quiet fire and chip on his shoulder and toughness that is hard to match. For him to go through a drill for 90 minutes, that was tough as hell.”
How did the drill work?
Payne: “It’s a five-spot drill. We start on one corner and you have to make four shots. We go corner-wing-top-wing-corner. You have to make four shots a round. In those same five spots, you have to make three coming back and then two going around. To finish it, you have to make at least one [basket] from each spot coming back."
"But you have to do that without missing two in a row at any point. He kept getting to the very end multiple times. Then he had a couple rim out and we had to start over again. It’s a mentally difficult drill. Steph Curry shot the ball 85% that night. It was insane how well he was shooting it. He just kept missing two in a row at the end. So it was pretty incredible that he kept going.”
How is he approaching this offseason knowing that he’s entering his 15h season and that Chris Paul will be on the team instead of Jordan Poole?
Payne: “The approach is the same. He’s won a couple of championships, and that’s really what you’re playing for. There’s a championship mentality. He’s getting better. I watched him play with Chris Paul last week. There was an ease with which he does everything that everybody else finds difficult. That’s the same thing on the court. He’s still getting better. There’s no dropoff coming anytime soon. That also makes him the best point guard that has ever played. He’s continued to find ways to improve. He’s continued to find ways to play the game more intelligently. He’s continued to come up with ways to go up against big, young and explosive players. That also speaks to his greatness.”
What was the dynamic like between Steph and Chris in their off-season work together?
Payne: “It was great. They are two guys that have the same mindset: ‘We’re here to win, so let’s do it.’ I was very impressed with the instant chemistry those guys had. It was fun to watch. There was so much ball movement. For a pick-up basketball game, that was some of the most impressive ball movement I’ve ever seen.”
With Chris’ arrival, what has the focus this offseason looked like with what he’s working on to play on and off the ball?
Payne: “We’ve always done that. I don’t think that necessarily changes as much. The plan of attack is the same: Be better each day. I know it sounds cliché. But it’s what has gotten us to this point. It’s what we believed in. It’s how we’ve approached every offseason. The things that changed is how we load him and what we’re working on with him physically. You base your physical needs off of what happened in the previous season, whether it be small injuries or big injuries. You make adjustments that way. In terms of the philosophy and the goals, that will never change until he retires. Get better every day.
What has stayed the same over the years?
Payne: “How detailed we are with everything and how we use not only the frequency of work, but how we extract improvement out of every single drill we can. A lot of that has to do with just how educated he is about his body and how intensity he is with details. When you can think past the surface level of drills and think to the multiple layers of improvement that you can extract out of drills, it changes who you are as a worker. He’s been that way his entire career. We’re able to get so much out of every single drill because he understands the smaller skills mean a lot. Even if you are missing shots, there are still a lot of things we’re getting better with and it’s working.
What does that do to help him maintain his consistency?
Payne: “The difference between players in any league is so small. Nobody is there by accident. Everybody is there for a reason. It’s those small details that make big differences for you. It’s about understanding your footwork will determine whether you’re shooting a contested or uncontested jump shot. The angles you take are so important when you’re screening. You’re understanding how to read defenders behind them and working through drills where we’re not working on a pattern. We’re working on reaction. That’s what separates him.
Among the rising stars and the new generation being ushered into the NBA, who do you think possesses the same level of dexterity as Steph?
Payne: “The same can be said for all of these young guys: they’re all unique. They have to be true to themselves and true to how they play. Guys have come to me about making really big changes to their jump shot. I say, ‘You don’t have to make big changes. You just have to make adjustments to your shots.’ How you shoot the ball can turn you into one of the 400 greatest players on this planet? That’s why you’re in the league. You can’t completely go away from what got you here. You just have to make adjustments. You can’t compare guys to guys. Everyone is themselves. You can just compare their processes.”
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