Stephen Curry's innovative training methods: 5 things to know about his regimen
Stephen Curry, the reigning two-time MVP, is physically unimposing, but his feral skill set renders him an absolute nightmare for the defense. His play has shredded the defensive playbook time and time again by stretching the boundaries of what's feasible and possible on the basketball court.
The best judge of Curry’s ability would probably be Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who was Michael Jordan's teammate back in the day. Of Curry, he said, "Curry has the best skill set I've ever seen in terms of the combination of shooting and ballhandling, along with speed and quickness."
When your skills are being called greater than the greatest ever, you know you've arrived.
There is a whole book of activities which go into training to become an NBA player, this is just a look at some of Curry's training program which stand out. To claim that he owes his entire career to these five reasons would be folly.
What Curry has done is whittle down the process of getting better to concentrate on sharpening his efficiency. How is it that Stephen Curry is able to dominate and annihilate the opposition without being the absolute quickest, fastest, tallest or strongest player? Here's how he does it:
#1 Shooting out the competition
All of the world's coordination, quickness and durability drills won't mean a thing without a jump shot, and Curry has been training his shot under the watchful tutelage of his father Dell Curry.
Curry was born with his share of luck in terms of training facilities and carrying the genes of one of the greatest shooters in the NBA. What Curry has done to distance himself from the crowd is incorporated a work ethic to rival the greats.
Stephen's younger brother Seth recalls how they were trained to develop their form in their formative years. He said "When we were younger, my dad wouldn't let me and my brother shoot from outside the paint. We had to work on our form, then get better at longer distances."
Even Dell probably didn't envision how long those distances would shape up to be. Today Curry focuses on getting in rhythm with an assortment of shots and once he starts to flow, the river runs unchecked. He is less of a Ray Allen type of player who prepares with a meticulous shooting regime, he prefers to sink shots creatively.
His legs are the driving force behind his jumper. He credits core and leg strength for his range. Of his shooting he has said, “Once you get your legs into it, I think from the waist up, every time I shoot it's the same thing.”
Virat Kohli has also remarked the importance of lower body workouts which enable him to draw power for his shots. Great minds do think alike.
Here’s a look at Curry’s pregame training: