Steph Curry will go down in history as one of basketball’s greatest players.
The four-time NBA champion, who has been named the league’s MVP on two separate occasions, boasts a string of impressive records that may never be touched.
He has made the most three-pointers in NBA history (3,882 and counting), currently has the all-time highest free-throw efficiency (91%) and also set the mark for consecutive regular season games with at least one 3-pointer (157).
When he retires, Curry will be remembered as basketball’s greatest shooter.
But even at this stage of a storied NBA career that began way back in 2009, he has admitted to taking inspiration from a fellow sporting star – Lionel Messi.
Speaking after the Golden State Warriors were beaten by the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, Curry got candid about how the Inter Miami footballer is helping him maintain his own appetite for success at the age of 36.
“Greatness inspires greatness in many ways. There’s nothing specific you can apply from football to basketball,” he told reporters.
“It’s about longevity, creativity, and (Messi’s) impact on the sport worldwide.
“We appreciate greatness, of course, he inspires you to keep going and to keep doing things your way.
“I have the utmost respect for him for how he takes care of himself both on and off the field. I try to emulate the same.”
Messi, an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, is playing out the final years of his career in the MLS.
The Argentine superstar is still chasing trophies with Inter Miami, and has vowed to bounce back in 2025 after the team crashed out of the playoffs earlier than expected.
And it’s that kind of drive that Curry respects in his fellow athlete.
While the Warriors star has recently admitted that ‘the end is near’ for himself, he has urged the team not to make a ‘desperate move’ to put a contender around him as the trade February 6 deadline approaches.
“Desperate trades or desperate moves that deplete the future, there is a responsibility on allowing or keeping the franchise in a good space and good spot when it comes to where we leave this thing when we’re done,” he said.
“Doesn’t mean that you’re not trying to get better. It doesn’t mean that you’re not active in any type of search to – if you have an opportunity where a trade makes sense or even in the summer free agency [move] makes sense.
“You want to continue to get better. Nobody wants to be stale or be in a situation where you’re passing up opportunities.
“But it doesn’t mean that you’re desperate just flinging assets all around the place just because you want to do something.”
“While we understand we’re getting older and deeper into our careers and allowing some of the young guys to kind of blossom, it doesn’t mean you’re getting desperate.”
Those words prove that Curry is a model superstar.
And while he takes inspiration from someone like Messi, there will be hundreds of up and coming basketball players who will look to him for the same.
