Stephen Curry joined the NBA as a 6ft 2″ guard, weighing 181 lbs. Initially, Steph was regarded as a delicate player who could be pushed around because of his size. Many players tried to rough him up as a way to slow him down. While it worked at times, Curry eventually learned how to hold his own weight against defensive bullies in the league.
Advertisement
A similar instance during the 2016 Playoffs had Steph’s mother Sonya Curry beaming with pride.
No matter how old their child gets, a mother’s instinct to stand up for her children never goes away. But Sonya Curry knows that a mother also has to let her children fend for themselves to survive in this world.
Back in 2016, Stephen Curry was coming off a unanimous MVP season, having just won his first championship the previous year. The Warriors had just posted the league’s best regular season record at 73-9 and were facing the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.
In the very first game of the series, Steph was being guarded by Patrick Beverley. The defensive guard decided to harass Steph on the defensive end right from the start, leading to a scuffle in the opening minutes of the series.
In an attempt to lock up Steph, Pat Bev decided to press the reigning MVP hard, swiping at his handles to force a turnover. But Beverley managed to foul Curry during the contest and the latter fell down on the floor. The Dubs guard immediately stood up and started to throw hands at Beverley before the referee had to intervene.
Reflecting back on the moment, we could see that Sonya Curry was beyond hyped up. She looked upset, but at the same time, she was amped up. When asked about the moment in an interview later on, she said,
“I was cheering for him [Steph] for just standing up because a lot of people still think he’s soft. Instinctively that’s what came out during that was, ‘Dude, way to go, Stephen!'”
Clearly, by holding his ground against Patrick Beverley, Stephen Curry made his mom Sonya proud. Instead of letting Beverley run all over him and dictate how the series will go, the defending champ made things clear from Game 1, and well, the rest is history.
