The impact Stephen Curry has had on the NBA and the way basketball is played will be spoken about long after he retires. But as fun as watching the 4 time NBA champion on TV has been for the last decade or so, nothing can come close to wietnessing his greatness from close quarters. Just ask Donte DiVincenzo, who played a season alongside Curry with the Golden State Warriors
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Before the 2022-23 season, DiVincenzo’s career wasn’t going the way he had hoped. Despite being a part of the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2021 championship team, he had found himself without a home just a couple of season later.
He was fresh off a brief tenure with the Sacramento Kings, when an opportunity was presented to him to join the Warriors on the heels of their 2022 NBA title. He knew he would be joining one of the most prestigious organizations in the league. That experience was unlike anything he had gone through up until that point.
“I had a lot of negative feelings about how free agency went,” DiVincenzo said on the Redhead Sports Podcast. “It was basically like a two-way street. Come here, do what we need, and you’re going to get XYZ. It was a fun year of bonding and building relationships with them, knowing that in a year I wasn’t going to be there.”
Everyone on the roster knew DiVicenzo wasn’t going to be there for the long haul. However, that didn’t prevent him from becoming a member of the Warriors family. At the same time, DiVincenzo wanted to take advantage of his situation. After all, not everyone gets the opportunity to play alongside two of the best shooters [Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson] in NBA history.
“Not many people in the world get to play with Steph and Klay. I was going to soak up as much as I possibly could while I was there. The amount of work that those guys put in and how disciplined they are, the focus is off the charts,” DiVincenzo proclaimed.
It isn’t a surprise that Curry and Thompson pour hours into their craft. One doesn’t become an elite three-point shooter by mere accident. It requires an extremely high work ethic to persevere to such heights. “Steph is a different creature,” DiVincenzo noted.
“He’s a different creature when it comes to working out and going full speed. His mindset and his workouts changed how I approached this year in terms of conditioning. There’s nobody more conditioned than Steph going into the season at day one,” he revealed with great admiration for the 8 time NBA All-Star.
It makes sense why Curry goes so hard during his workouts, since it translates directly to his play style. Nobody moves as much as Curry does on the offensive side of the ball. The four-time champion is constantly running across the court and through several screens.
More players should take inspiration from Curry’s work ethic, but it is easier said than done. However, DiVincenzo clearly took a page out of Curry’s book. He would go on to join the New York Knicks the following season and have the best year of his career, averaging 15.5 points per game.
DiVincenzo is now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves and a key figure within their starting lineup. Despite only being with the Warriors for a season, it remains a pivotal reason for his current success.
