The Science of How Steph Curry Sees the World

Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors for the Degree Shooting Stars poses for a portrait prior to the 2015 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on February 14, 2015 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. (David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors for the Degree Shooting Stars poses for a portrait prior to the 2015 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on February 14, 2015 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. (David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors for the Degree Shooting Stars poses for a portrait prior to the 2015 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on February 14, 2015 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. (David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors for the Degree Shooting Stars poses for a portrait prior to the 2015 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on February 14, 2015 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. (David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

 

Steph Curry stands 6’3″ and weighs less than 200 pounds, but it hasn’t stopped him from leading the NBA in scoring, winning two MVPs, and collecting a title. (He came this close to another one last season and his Golden State Warriors seem a lock for the Finals this season.)

More so than most athletes, Curry can’t afford to leave anything to chance. After all, when everyone is bigger and stronger than you, there’s no margin of error. Drake Baer attempted to understand how Curry became a superstar for New York Magazine. He found an athlete obsessed with his neural circuitry as much as his physical development, with a particular focus on “perspective powers.” Baer writes:

“Curry’s brain is able to read his defender’s positioning — a foot set at an odd angle, a nose edging his weight too far to one side — and use the right ball movement — a head fake, a crossover — to create open looks out of thin air.”

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors goes up for a lay-up against Gerald Green during a game on November 18, 2016 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors goes up for a lay-up against Gerald Green during a game on November 18, 2016 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

 

Curry develops this ability through a decision to “overload in [his] workouts so that the game slows down in real life.” The result is that when his game is clicking, Curry is a hardwood chess master: he sees moves ahead of opponents. (Lionel Messi and Wayne Gretzky are other elite athletes credited with possessing this unique gift.)

One crucial benefit: Curry is able to create space for himself on three-pointers. He is by no means the first great long-range bomber in the NBA — think Indiana’s Reggie Miller before him — but he doesn’t require a screen to get those shots. Instead, his teammates can focus on their own offense, giving Curry even more options every time he has the ball in his hands.

To read more about how he sees the game, click here. Below, observe his obsessive pregame routine, which has become can’t-miss viewing for fans.

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