Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
When the Durant came along in July, I'll never forget the text message that you sent him. Because he kept asking, him and Rich kept asking, "Is Steph okay?" And for people who watch this, you gotta understand like- Before he signed his own- Before he signed. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Before he signed. Yeah, alright. And it blew me away even.
Lead by Example with Bob Myers is presented for the people by Caesars Sportsbook. You bet you get, with Caesars rewards, must be 21 or older. Welcome to Lead by Example. I'm your host, Bob Myers. That sounds good. That sounds good, right? That's my introduction. It's a big thing. There's all these crazy lights in it now. Steph Curry's the guest. How you doing? I'm doing fantastic. Thanks for coming on. Absolutely. I don't think, we've had a lot of, we've never done anything like this.
- Never, no, none of all these high level productions. We've had some good conversations over the last 10 years, but. - Private ones. - Yeah. - What, so what, what a toughest, I met you, what was that your third year, second year? - In between my second and third, yeah. - What was the, I have my answer, but toughest, what's the toughest part of the Steph Curry journey? Like even before NBA.
That's a good question in terms of, I don't know how you look at it in your life because I think the beauty and how I see it is always trying to be in the moment. And so like every season of life you're in, the highs and lows, you feel them. And like you kind of live it hard in terms of what that experience is like, what lessons you learn, what adversity you go through, how you deal with success, how you deal with failure and all that.
So when I look back, it's always hard to kind of rank the experiences, like what's the hardest. 'Cause even right now in the present day, these are hard. To me, obviously the perspective of how blessed we are in life to be doing this as a job and all that and family and all the opportunities you have. There are certain challenges that you're facing now that to me are like, we really need to solve it. But injuries,
The season, kind of around when I met you, when I was going through the ankle problems and stuff, where you get a taste of what it's like to play at this level. You understand how much you get fulfilled by it, how much you love the work. The challenges of trying to figure it out, but the injuries keep you off the court so consistently, so frequently, you start to doubt everything that you poured into your craft and like,
the cloud hanging over, will I even just be healthy enough to get my two feet on the floor and even give myself an opportunity to be like the player that I wanted to be? And that was over a two year kind of stretch off and on where a lot of dark days and a lot of patience, a lot of support from family, people that you trust, you can kind of speak positivity and life into you, confidence into you.
And gave me a great perspective for what's happened ever since because I know how fragile the game is, how fragile life is in terms of nothing's really guaranteed. So immense level of gratitude for everything that's happened since. I remember we were sitting there. I think you were spraining your ankle.
Just walking. Yeah. I mean, it was not... Which is crazy. You never even see that, right? I don't know if I've seen anybody... I don't think I've seen it before or since. Since. I've seen people with bad luck where you're landing on someone's foot or having a freak injury and all that. Yeah.
The one I remember is in San Antonio. That was the wildest one where I got a rebound or I got an outlet pass and I turned to go run and like it just basically went to push off. Yeah. Nobody within. Yeah. And then you just look back like what? I felt like Forrest Gump without the without the big braces. So it was weird. It was a weird time. How did you...
I remember sitting there with you one time, I think we were at the Jackson Center and you had, you couldn't practice and you had your leg, you know, ankle in ice. And I had a thought, I think I said to you, I think I said it. I said, this isn't, this is not, we can't do this anymore. Because remember you were playing and then getting hurt and then trying to, and because of you, who you are, you kept trying. And I remember going, we're done here. Like this is,
Do you remember that or not? I don't know. You may remember it in a different way. The lockout year, because I had another surgery after that off-season. But that was kind of the year and a half kind of mark of how long I've been dealing with. And to your point, there was just rehab every day. There was nothing about basketball. It was just me trying to get on the court and be available.
and just how frustrating that was. I'm sure not only for me, obviously for you, for coach, for the team, like is he playing, is he not? How long is he gonna be out, is he not? Like trying to find any type of expectation or consistency on that front. I remember going on the knife the year before that and then going on the knife the second time, which
It was crazy because you were part of my dad, my agent, and the doctor. There's three different outcomes that could come out of this. You're going to go under and we're going to try to make the right call on whether it's just a cleanup or whether it's a reconstruction or whether it's some other intervention we can have. But these are the three options that we have. You're going to go under when you wake up. We'll let you know what it looks like.
That was a really scary experience for sure. But obviously that's the part of the blessing of having people around you that you can trust to know what was going into that kind of decision and all that. And I woke up and it was the least invasive option that came up, base case scenario, which was a relief. But then
that was, that restarted the work that was going to be necessary to get through the recovery process, which is another four to five months, but it's different. I remember sitting at Casa Del Mar, same thing. A spot, yes. Post-surgery. I think I said to you, I said, if you get out of this, which I think we all thought you would then, I think I said, like, can you work on leading this team? I don't know if you remember that. You probably don't remember much of what I tell you, but.
Because remember early on bites I remember but just your presence because like when we traded Monte and we were in Sacramento I remember and coach Jackson pulled me in the hallway he was like you're getting the keys to the team I was like all right and you know he's passionate yeah yeah but I didn't want to ready for the message at the time yeah and then that was that summer kind of the same the same vibe of not only
I mean, obviously you need people to pour a vision into you, I guess, in terms of what you're capable of, what your full potential is. Not just as a player, but as somebody that can impact the locker room in other different ways, impact the organization through leadership, through kind of walking into the accountability, what that means. And thankfully, I've heard this saying now, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Yeah, yeah.
That was a very strong inflection point in my life because you realize what it... You have to be yourself, first and foremost, whatever your personality is. You were saying that you were trying to change who I am, how I approach things, but to realize the opportunity that I had not just be a great basketball player, but to, again, I guess walk into a role of leadership that
wasn't going to be easy, but demanded another level of awareness and commitment, consistency, and kind of wisdom, I guess, in terms of like, what does that actually mean? And figuring it out for myself. It's crazy. You might be the one NBA player that the coach says, it's your team now. I'm handing you the keys. And you go, most NBA players, give me that. Give me those keys. I should have had those a year ago. You're kind of like a gas coach. I mean, that's what you need me to do.
He was good though, Mark. I know you credit him, I credit him, but what did it feel like for him? Because I always tell people one of my favorite parts of who you are is your confidence. Kind of unwavering, not showy, but real, pure, legit confidence in your ability. I think that's so hard for people, no matter how successful they are, to actually have that deep in there. I believe in myself in the midst of a lot. But then he comes along and
takes it to another level with you and publicly compliments you in a pretty big way. And I'm sure privately did it while he was coaching you. What did that do? How did you feel that? How did you process that? The stuff he was saying about you? So there's a... I'm trying to explain it, how I think and how I felt. It scared the hell out of me at first. Really? Because I do have like a... I guess I call it myself a healthy insecurity of...
You said I have confidence and I do. And that's built off my work ethic and the way I approach the game, life and all that. You have to deserve that confidence. But I have a healthy insecurity of understanding. Like when he says me and Klay are the best shooting back court in the league, I would never say that myself. Right. But I believe it. Sure.
But then you're like, "All right, cool. Now what are you going to do about it?" Like going forward, how are you going to prove that to be true? And that insecurity is like what's coming next. You never feel settled in that expectation or whatever the title or the banner they put up or the headline or whatever it is.
It's a weird kind of dichotomy because when I'm out there on the court, I feel like I can do anything. And I have this irrational confidence of the shots I take. Can't tell. The one-handed turnovers and I look up and you and my mom. Yeah, it was great. Shots you take, the way that you play it on it, you get lost in it. That's the confidence I have. But then I never kind of drink the Kool-Aid enough to know.
That just is going to continue to happen on its own going forward. And you have to kind of continue to prove and double down on that every single day. And that's where the healthy insecurity comes out. Where is that? So you say the healthy insecurity. I've never seen that really. You don't show that much. That's in the work that I put in, though. Even like case in point last year, we were in the finals. Finals, MVP, all that type of stuff.
celebrated, had an amazing night, parade, all that. Three days later, I was really thinking about, you know, when does the work start for next year? Because I was extremely proud of myself and proud of our team and proud of everything we accomplished. Then you're looking like,
It's like the imposter syndrome almost. Yeah. All right, what's going to happen next? Yeah, yeah. Oh, I couldn't. I started thinking about it. Yeah, my really this guy. Is that coming from you or coming from what's around you? That's coming from me. That's you. It's not because now I got to live up to something more because of the expectations of people around me. That's your own thing. Yeah. It might be kind of born through just...
That underdog kind of mentality. Yeah, because you grew up. Yeah. And nothing was ever... I know how to bless life. Yeah, sure. Like my parents played in the league. But you weren't the number one guy. In basketball, everything I had was earned. I was a late bloomer and Davidson and all that. So that underdog mentality is always part of the DNA no matter how much success you have. It's...
It's hard to articulate it because you're all the champs and all the accomplishments and all that. But if you look at it from where you began, it makes sense. Not now. Maybe not now. It's an arc. And I've always maintained that. So that's where I guess the drive comes from once, the gratitude comes from. And then also realizing the amount of people that it takes to do what we do at the highest level. There's awareness and appreciation of that too.
no matter how big the spotlight gets. I asked you a few months ago or a year ago, I said, "Why don't you..." Because I would know. "Why don't you blame people more?" And you told me why. Because your mom said something to you. It's crazy you remembered, "This is why I don't blame. This is a story I remember that it's my response or it's my... That ain't going to get me anywhere." Yeah, it's not going to get you anywhere. The first
It sounds so cliche, but obviously you look at yourself and when something goes wrong, what can you fix first? I don't think that's obvious. I mean, you think that's obvious. To me, yeah. To you, but where did that... So you said, you must have been a certain age and were like, it's not my fault. And somebody was like, no, no. You got to look there first. I don't think that's automatic. It might be to you. Yeah, you can kind of hold people accountable around you. There's tough conversations you got to have. There's...
kind of pushing people along, then your first immediate thought has to be like, "Am I doing everything in my power to control the situation, to bring your best effort and not make it so much about the results?" Rob Markman: Do you remember where you were when your mom said that to you? Or was it not that vivid? It's not that vivid. It's just a constant reminder of the standard of just accountability to yourself.
My middle school was in eighth grade. She helped me out in my first middle school game because I had to do the dishes at the house. And I'm over here talking about like the impact it's going to have on the whole, I'm the best player on the middle school team. I'm like, I have to be there. You're going to make... Yeah, you're hurting them. Yeah, don't hurt the team. Yeah.
And she gives me that look and I know it's falling on deaf ears. And she's like, no, you didn't handle your business. You're going to have to go and explain to them why you're in this situation and all that. And there was like no follow-up question. I felt it. That's one kind of story, but it's mostly like the constant reminder for me and how she raised us that,
You have to control the controllables and most of that is what you do and not be in a situation where you're blaming anybody else or pointing the finger elsewhere. Because there's probably something that you can do first to help the situation.
It's funny, like I don't think many AAU parents now are saying to their kids, like, you can't go to the game. You didn't mow the lawn. You didn't take the trash out. Best player. But that's a... That'd be hilarious. Where so-and-so, the number one recruit, yeah. Gets invited to Curry camp in the summer. He's like, his mom calls. He can't come. He can't come. So I told him. He'd be like, just let him come. Yeah, just give me something. It's funny. I do. I know I kind of just said it, but...
I do know because it's my job. You've never called me and said, what are we going to do? And everybody thinks the last 12 years, or I've been here for 12 years now, have been all perfect. And that's not. We know that's not true. I would have expected at one point or another, and not even been upset for you to say, I think one time you might have said, what is the plan? But that's the closest you got to
Whereas a lot of other people would have been way ahead of that deal. Is that is it were you more are you more patient because you had already had success or is that just you because if there's a difference or you have I don't know what it is. I'm because you're not a good GM by the way anyway, no We can we can talk about that too. I know I know The value that everybody brings to the organization and
and me needing to do my job. I'm kidding. You're pretty good. You'll be fine. But being trusting one, and those are built on, like, obviously, you know, the reps of relationships and conversations and actions and all that, that you build trust with people that, case in point, you coach your teammates of...
it takes a lot for you to have to hit the panic button yeah you know because you mean or yeah you not a lot of people know that this isn't something that just is yeah an overnight right you know changing what's the situation like i'm pretty yeah understanding of that and patient on that front but i feel like you know you could talk about this is the success that's happened that maybe has you know built a level of it's helped that patients you know kind of take root because
You know, you've tasted success, you know what that's been like, and there's another level of confidence that you can get back there. But even when we were going through the coaching change back, you know, we had some tough conversations around it. We were kind of on different sides. Like the trust part was, you know, hopefully we can get, you got to get this right. And kind of, you know, letting the dust settle where it was and understanding that I'm not, it's not my place to...
Run the team. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Coach the team. Do all that. But it feels like now more than people are making that a star's place. If the star was it. Yeah. I also feel like, you know, that's not been a recipe for success. Right. Historically. Yeah. So it's just a matter of
You're always keeping a big picture mentality of where you're going. We've been blessed because it has worked. Yeah, most of the time. That's why we're all still here. Probably mostly because of you. That's why we're all still here. Yeah, mostly you. But it's also, I feel like if I do, if that call does come, you would receive it in a different way because of the trust that we've built. Yeah, it depends on the timing of that call. Was it five years in, three years in?
I mean, I think even now, if anybody got lucky enough to walk into a job where you were there, I think anybody in my position would feel a responsibility to give you every chance to succeed. Right. That's the pressure I feel. That's built on your daily experience with me. You know what I mean? That's not like something where I acted a certain way. No, no, no, no, no. No, I'm just saying, you can say that because-
of the culture that we have and all that and that we've built. But I trust you because we've had conversations where right, wrong, whatever the decision that comes out of that, I've usually rocked with and trusted that it was going to work and usually it has. It's the experience and also the results that you have to make sure you're balancing because
You can't be all the way just results, but you've gotten every decision right. I've hated every conversation or vice versa. There's a balance of it both, but that's built over time and built over years and reps and the commitment to what we're doing. So I feel like that is part of what we're trying to explain in terms of why the success has happened for so long. And you're the exception to that rule. Like a lot of people have had my, they don't get you, whereas you could probably work
If any GM in any sport watches this, they're kind of like, who wouldn't love to work with this? Like that's more you. Any GM is probably going to probably do whatever you want or be nice to you or talk to you or fill you in. But your ability to hear it and say respectfully always, okay, this is what I think. But hey, you know, it's not whatever you think. I'm okay. Just explain it to me. That's a rare thing for someone like you. More lead by example after this.
Have you been betting with the Caesar Sportsbook and Casino app? If so, keep it up because every bet earns with Caesar's rewards. That means win or lose, you're getting closer to amazing perks like game tickets, free stays, bonuses, and more. And if not, well, when you get started, your first bet is on Caesar's. Register with promo code OmahaFull and place your first bet up to $1,250. If you win, congrats. If you don't, you'll get your stake back as a free bet.
Must be 21 or older, offer valid, and must be physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming only. New users and first $10 plus wager only. Must register with eligible promo code. Bet amount of qualifying wager returned only if wager is settled as a loss. Maximum bet credit $1,250. Must be used within 14 days of receipt. Tier credits and reward credits will be added to account within seven days after qualification.
qualifying wager settles. See caesars.com slash promos for full terms. Voidware prohibited. Know when to stop before you start. Gambling problem. Arizona, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP. Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas. Affiliated with Kansas Crossing Casino, call 1-800-522-4700. Indiana, call 1-800-9WITH-IT. Iowa, call 1-800-BETS-OFF.
Louisiana, call 1-877-770-STOP. Licensed through Horseshoe, Bossier City, and Harris, New Orleans. Michigan, call 1-800-270-7117. Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania. Affiliated with Harris, Philadelphia. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER. 1-800-426-2537. Or West Virginia, visit 1-800-GAMBLER.net. New York, call 877-8-HOPE-NEW YORK or text HOPE-NEW YORK. 467-369.
This episode is brought to you by Experian. Are you paying for subscriptions you don't use but can't find the time or energy to cancel them? Experian could cancel unwanted subscriptions for you, saving you an average of $270 per year and plenty of time. Download the Experian app. Results will vary. Not all subscriptions are eligible. Savings are not guaranteed. Paid membership with connected payment account required. And we're back. When Durant came along in July, I'll never forget the text message that you sent him.
Because he kept, him and Rich kept asking, "Is Steph okay?" And for people who watch this, you gotta understand- Before he signed his own- Before he signed. Before he signed. Yeah. And it blew me away even. And because not uncommon for a star to feel like this is, I'm not sharing this with another star. Not a crazy, and not judgmental. If the star's like, "Look, this guy's at my level." And some say more, some say less, but he's at my level.
Like, he's going to take away from me. Which a lot of people, players may or may not say, or they certainly say privately, I've heard, "Hey, no, no, that's too much." You went way the other way because even talking to him after July 1st, and we were talking to him and he was trying to decide, and Rich, they kept asking me that one question. "What does Steph think? What does Steph think?" Because Draymond's a different recruiter.
You're a more subtle guy. And so you weren't hitting him all the time, but you sent that one message and somebody sent it to me and I could not believe the authenticity of it and the words you chose to use. Even me, knowing who you were, I was kind of like, wow, that is... You remember that? I do. Everything you just explained worked because I know myself, right? I know...
how I could operate in that environment with somebody as great of a basketball player he is, all the off court platform and selling shoes and all that other stuff. That all mattered, but I also know myself to know I can exist in a situation where I know when to get out of the way, I know when to lead, I know when to speak, I know how to find
value in myself every single day and nobody was really going to threaten that part. It was just like, is this going to help us win? And am I going to enjoy playing basketball with him? Hell yeah. So like, yeah. Trying to explain all that to him in that moment. For him to trust that. A hundred percent. Cause he didn't know you didn't, you weren't. We played together on Team USA stuff and you know,
play against each other and all that, but never spent time where, you know, I mean, I sent it, I sent it as I hope to your point. Yeah. I hope he believes it. No, Tom knows it's coming from an honest standpoint and he could check with anybody around us. Like, you know, is he really like that? And you know, they would give him, you know, give me that validation and all that. But I,
It always comes out. To your point, even if you know yourself and you know you can't exist there, that's not the wrong answer. No, no, that's my point. But you had to check. I don't know if you even had to, but a lot of people would sit for a moment and say, am I really okay with that? I don't know if it was audit, if you're just like, yep. No, I had to take a seat there and go, okay.
The line I remember was, "Whether you're MVP or I'm MVP, if it's yours, I'll be sitting there in the front row congratulating you." I had this moment like, "Wow, that could actually happen. Kevin could have been MVP." He was finals MVP. We all know he was finals MVP.
He earned that. Manifested it. Manifested it. How did you feel like really, really? Like now that you bring it up. You got one now. Now you can be honest about it. Was that hard? I mean, I don't know. What was checking that box really for you? Because you can't unhear what... All it was. It was shocking to me. Like...
It felt amazing only because I knew I didn't have to hear about it. Yeah, right. How powerful is that? It was amazing. It wasn't amazing because it was amazing. It was amazing because shut the hell up. Leave me alone. That is not how it should be, right? It shouldn't be because of that. It was about us winning again first. That's why I was crying. That's why I was crying on the court and all that and the whole deal. Then getting that trophy.
And it was literally just so I didn't have... I stood up on the stage like, I know for the rest of my life. The rest of my life, I'll never have to hear it. But it's hard. Because I didn't feel when we won with Kev... I didn't feel...
I'm sure as a competitor, yeah, you'd love to get finals. I didn't feel you feeling less because of that. I didn't see that. I didn't see any of that. There was one game, 2018 game three.
There was conversations, you just go to the media, they're asking you about it. You look at the stat lines and all that, it's like, oh, if they sweep them, who really is gonna get it? Katie or Steph and all that. Getting asked that question in the middle of the finals. So obviously as a human being, your mind starts to think about certain outcomes and all that. And I played like trash in game three. - Was it on your mind? - No, it wasn't. - After that you were out of the equation.
- Straight up. - Into that car. - In the middle of the game, I'm like, it's the balance of knowing the standard that I need to play it for us to win. The fact that I shot it horribly, it was kind of all over the place. I made one shot towards the end of game three and then Katie makes the big three. We go up 3-0 and it's like.
Rob Markman: Yeah, you were good. But the finals MVP, I knew it was done after that. It was part of the emotional rollercoaster ride of like, "Oh, that would have been cool to have kept that level of play going because that might've got there." But it was also we won and so you're dealing with a little bit of both of that. And it's more, I think Andre had his arm around me on the way back through the tunnel. We just won and I was down on myself because of how I played.
And everybody took it as the context, like, "Oh, he just kicked the finals. He was peeping away." I was like, "Yeah, I thought about it once or twice, but the real-" You're really upset because he didn't play well. Yeah, play bad trash.
Typical NBA player, we won and you didn't play well enough set. We see that all the time. Exactly. So yeah, it's just amazing to know the narratives that come around and the fact that when you're in these positions that we are, they're going to continue to invent new angles to kind of pick and call and all that.
But there was not many better feelings than the stage in Boston. I was like, "I'll never have to get asked that question again." - And a lot of people thought like- - I thought I'd miss it. - Give it back? - No, I won't do that. - Yeah, what's the thing now? What do you got to prove? Like, what is a, you didn't win two, what do they got? They gotta have something, right? You gotta have something. - That's the beauty of being around. Like somebody was talking about LeBron in his 20th year.
is like the fact that all year, no matter how he plays, they can use the, it's his 20th year as a positive or negative in terms of like how you critique his game. Anything he does great, he's like, oh my God, he's in year 20. Like, what is he? Or if he plays like Traz, like, hey, he's in his 20th year. What do you expect? You get that though. You played 20 years. You played 20 years. As long as we're in this thing, like you gotta just, you kind of have to have a sense of humor about all the things that are said about you and then,
and just the stuff that comes with this job. It is fun. - Yeah, I hope. I mean, it's not fun for you. I remember when we had, when we first, when he came, it was halftime of a pre-season game. After the game, he goes, "I see, I know now." And I said, "What?" He goes, "It was a pre-season game, and Steph had taken two shots, like in the first half." He looked at the box score. And I looked over at him to see, 'cause this was early with you guys. Was he pissed?
Just not, not just kind of checking your body language. You know, when you guys in the locker room have to, you can see who's upset. And he goes, he acted like he shot the ball 20 times. And I was kind of like, didn't you know that that's what he would? And it wasn't like Kevin had, he wasn't judging it. He was just like, wow, you know, he is the teammate I thought he might be. So I thought that was pretty cool that I, cause, cause a lot of people go, oh, Steph really is.
And I say, yeah, that's, but you can see why people are skeptical. Oh, for sure. I still, I mean, I still, I still hear that as a compliment. Sure. A lot. Yeah. You know, people who know me or been around and all that, they validate like, oh, he's even, he's a great basketball player. He's an even better person. Yeah. I appreciate that feedback. It's still weird that, you know, I guess that is the exception in terms of,
you know just how you balance you know success and you know this this journey we've been on and all that but a part of that too is like you say you see a lot about people just in the highs the lows the in-betweens i think you talked about yesterday what we're going through now as a team like some of the young guys you see how they you know respond to
certain challenges and failures and room for growth and all that. And you see the behind the scenes guys getting extra shots up after games. You see some guys that takes them a while to kind of get out of their own way. You see a little bit of everything. That's just people, man. And that's part of the ability to, I guess, share who you are, share that impact with them, share...
a certain perspective a way of looking at life looking at things that can hopefully help yeah whether that's you know intentional or just kind of you know by being in the vicinity like i i really appreciate that ability that i've had to rub off on a lot of different people yeah and hopefully they take a little bit out with them that means a lot to me for sure yeah i would i mean from my there's a good saying i heard where i think you do this you don't know what you think
You don't think you're better than anybody, but you also don't think you're worse. Which I think is watching you move through whatever, our team outside of it. I see you treat somebody that some would not treat as well the same. And you obviously interact with people that are allegedly more than you. And I know you meet, it seems like you meet them at the same level as you would someone else. But I don't think that's common. I actually don't think that's normal.
But there's a lot we talk about. I remember we were shooting around in Denver in the playoffs and I said, can you walk back to the hotel? And he said, I wish I could. I can't. Right? But that makes you not know. I need security to walk across this little hallway. And people wonder why, oh, these guys are normal. It's kind of like, well, he can't walk from five feet. How would you be? What would you be like then? But how do you balance that part? How do you keep...
That sanity or balance? That's the one struggle because I do almost overexert. Oh, the other way. You give more than you might have. And that's something I've learned or I'm still learning over these last five, six years because I never imagined this would be my reality in the sense of
You walk down the street and people know you, people want to come up to you, you feel like you're approachable. You have to be able to take that energy and do something with it. I think the biggest thing is being around my dad when I was growing up. There were a lot of kids that I grew up with who were my friends at school or people I played with and against. Coming through the ranks, my dad would come to games. He played in the league for 16 years. People knew him.
smaller scale than what I'm going through right now, but they come up to him and based on how he interacted with him or if he gave him the time of day or any of his teammates, I remember being in those circles and guys would talk about it. They'd be like, "Oh, he's an or he, you know, looks real off." And I'd hear it and I could tell how much it affected him.
And those little interactions matter in the sense of like when if I see a kid or a family or whatever, I have to find that balance of like, especially when I'm with my, you can't be everything for everybody. And I know that. And it's draining that you think that you can. And especially when you're with your family, like my job as a husband and a father is to, you know, provide an experience, normal childhood for my kids and
allow us to enjoy each other's company when we're out in public and not have to worry about all that. But there's a fine balance to that. And it's an interesting learning curve. It's a big sacrifice at times, but I guess I'm aware of it enough to know how to move and how to make sure people feel seen in the right scenarios, but also protect my sanity at the same time. More Lead by Example after this. And we're back.
- And when you're done, what do you hope people say about? - There's this clip, I got a, when I was a, I think I was a rookie or a second year guy. And you do like one of those confessional type cameras and I think it was at one of the all-star games or something. They asked that same question. And I think I said, "I wanna be known as somebody who's a true professional, approach the game the right way,
Played hard every night or something, hopefully win a couple championships. I think that was my line. That's it. Checked a lot of boxes off, which is pretty cool. But continuing to live that out, get everything out of the game that I can. I did not realize how much of an agent for change I could be off the court with, you know, the ability to speak on certain things to, you know, people.
partner and get to know amazing leaders and game changers throughout society that you can help amplify their stories, provide so many resources and awareness to issues that are near and dear to your heart or being able to speak for people that can't speak for themselves and being very intentional about that. Never knew the power of that. And so that's something that, you know,
The way that I'm trying to move off the court and the entities that I'm setting up to hopefully last longer than the ball is bouncing on the court to kind of continue to live that out. Because there's a lot of good that's come out of me putting that ball in the basket. Yeah. And been very appreciative of that. Do you ever think that's...
If you pull back from all of it and you go, what are you? You're the best in the world at one thing, like one thing that everybody cares. Do you ever sit there and go to bed at night and go, why do they care? All the time. All the time. What do you do with that? Because it's a game. But...
There's a lot of people that are, maybe not a lot, but some people are the best in the world at something that nobody, there's a best scientist in the world. There's a best, like you're, but the thing you do makes people care at a different level. It's a good point. I haven't been able to like answer the question of why, like my faith has a huge part in that
and answering like that perspective for me, 'cause like the sense of gratitude that I have every time I walk off the court. - Yeah. - You do stuff that's even beyond your wildest imaginations or beyond your wildest expectations of what you do on the court. There's like that moment that you just sit there and I look up and I'm like, wow.
It sounds so freaking corny, but it's literally like, why me? And it doubles down into what you do next. Well, it's gratitude too. I mean, it is gratitude. Like, I get to do this. 100%. And it's just the ability to understand, like you said, people care. A lot. And they care a lot. And you talk about, one of my good friends, he mentioned the start of every NBA season.
like whatever city is in or professional sports in general, the start of every season, like a city has hope. - Yeah. - Right? They have hope. - Yeah. - You know, inspiration beyond like what's the story of this team that they're gonna be rooting for, whether they get to come to games or they watch it on TV casually or diehards, there's hope of this could be our year. And maybe that hope takes them into whatever,
their families, their jobs, their communities, whatever, they carry that spirit. Maybe it changes a little something about their experience, their reality. Who knows to what degree. When he said that, I was like, "That's crazy." 'Cause we get 19,000 people to come to our stand. We got millions and millions of people to watch our games. And you're right. That's why we exist. And I'm living in that. And it's wild to think about. - It's crazy, right?
It doesn't mean our days are easy or the challenges that we go through are fun, but it gave me a big picture of that's why it matters. What's your definition of a successful journey? Family, friends, professionally? What are you trying to do? I'd say- Because I have a definition, but-
I don't know what, I want to know what yours is. I'll tell you what mine is when it probably is the same, but maybe say differently. I don't know. It's the ability to create something that's, I guess, bigger than yourself in the sense of kind of what I was just talking about, but also to be as present as possible for the people in your life. So like, you know, we have crazy demands on our schedule and I'd love to be, you know,
everywhere with my kids and my wife every single part of the day, but that's not possible. But in terms of like creating with my family, with my team, friends, just the ability of there's something you enjoy the experience of life. And to everybody that whatever that defines happiness is different, but that you're all kind of in lockstep on what that means.
And it's not results-based. I feel like I would love the ability to win championships and have all the amazing successes that we've had on the court. I don't think I'd be any less happy as a person. If that hadn't. If that hadn't happened with the people that I have in my life in a way. It would have been okay. Yeah, but we never lose that perspective. Because we are all blessed just to be able to have people that love you and support you. Yeah.
you know expect the best out of you whatever that is those are people that you want in your life and it's our job to protect that at all costs yeah because nobody else will yeah same i i say it in a way of um for the people that know you the best to love you the most you said that i like i like but that isn't that because let's do curry's 30 for 30. yeah and you interview canada or you know anybody your friends family and they go well you know
I don't have a great relationship with him anymore. I don't talk to my dad. I haven't talked to him forever. That's, although in the same moment you've got 40 million Twitter followers or Instagram, those aren't, that's not the people that are there. But how, I think you know that, but I think that's a hard thing for people to have millions of acquaintances. But when you're
you can't play anymore, not you, 'cause you'll be regarded probably forever. But when it all goes away, like who's there and did you treat those people? Do they even wanna be there? - I'm actually excited about that timeframe in my life 'cause you also know like the sacrifice that have gone into maintaining those relationships, but it will work perfect like that window of these last 14 years.
There's a lot of sacrifices that come with that too on the personal side. But to your point, like you have your unit, you can double down on those relationships. And I say you're making up for lost time, but you know, when basketball is not around and whatever comes next in the next chapter of life, I'm only really excited about what that looks like. Um,
For my immediate family, for the people that have been by my side since day one, the people that I've met along the way that we're value aligned and there's a two-way kind of relationship there. I'm so excited about what that part of it looks like. Because you also understand the obsession of being a great basketball player requires a lot. Requires a lot. There's a lot of things that you do miss out on along the way. Yeah.
And that's part of the sacrifice. But it's also, for me, something I'm really looking forward to down the road to know how much those personal relationships matter and that you can grow for a lifetime over. Yeah, because the obsession has to be to do what you do, you have to be obsessed. And hopefully it's a fun obsession. Absolutely. But you can't be so obsessed that when it's over, there's nothing left. And so you have to figure that out as somebody like you, where you go, I can't.
let this plant, I can't not water this plant at home because I can't let it dry up, you know, because I can't be done and go, here's some, pour some water and try to drench the thing. It's dead. It's over. But that's, that's got to be a challenge to kind of figure that out, you know, so. It doesn't get any easier, but it's, it's worthwhile. What do you, the family, this is the last question. What do you hope? I mean, I know you care about your wife, your children, like that part of your life. Like, what do you,
if you could hope something for the kids to learn from you, from what you've done, because they're going to hear about, you're a little different. They're going to hear about other people's ideas about you, but they're, nothing's going to be more powerful than their, their idea of you. What do you hope that you have given them? Just like you said, your mom and dad, what they gave you, what do you hope to show them, stay to them? Just this vision that,
and the belief, not the vision for themselves and inspiration for themselves, but a belief that they're enough, like as who they are, who they've been created and made to be. As you grow older, you realize even your parents don't always have it all the way together. They're doing everything they can to create that environment for you. And our job as parents is to hopefully instill that in our kids that they are enough, they are perfect the way they are, and we have...
you know just this belief that they can and hope that they can find something they're as passionate about as i have been about about basketball and that they know that we're going to be there to support them every single step of the way and there's no pressures or expectations on in them being anything other than who they are yeah um because i i am a little fearful about you know this generation this world in terms of like how we grew up and right
You could protect that a little bit easier than today because of the noise and distractions that they have. It's tough to keep hold of that. I just want them to find peace in who they are because that's part of the narratives that we were talking about. Everybody's going to be trying to point out who you're not and what you're not and all that. I know that's going to be tough based on the comparisons and the shadow that I've cast on that. Yeah.
That's the goal. That's the mission. That's what I've longed for them because I know there'll be challenges for sure. But I can already see in the 10, 7, and 4 right now, they all have such unique personalities and a zest for life. I want them to hold on to that. Yeah. Good luck, man. Thank you. Appreciate it.