Just My Type
STEPHEN CURRY
STRAIGHT SHOOTER
The Warriors' star doesn't play down his skills—and why should he after averaging 24.0 points and 8.5 assists last season? He's on his way to Spain to play for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup.
Dan patrick:What's your favorite football team?
STEPHEN CURRY: My hometown team, the Carolina Panthers.
DP:Did you play football?
SC: Peewee until I was 11.
DP:Did Mom say no more?
SC: No. I played running back. On my team there was this top-tier linebacker, and he didn't take it easy when I came through the middle one practice. That was all I needed.
DP:Make a great football team out of NBA players. Who's your quarterback?
SC: I put myself there. I have a decent arm, decent aim.
DP:Are you like Cam Newton?
SC: I could get out of the pocket, but if I have enough talented athletes out there, I like to stay in and throw it.
DP:Who's your running back?
SC: Nate Robinson.
DP:Tight end?
SC: LeBron.
DP:Wide receiver?
SC: I like Kevin Durant. Especially [in the] red zone, throw it up on the corner.
DP:Did you talk to your backcourt mate Klay Thompson when he was part of the Kevin Love trade rumors?
SC: A few times, just to see where his head was at. He took it well. He's pretty happy with how things turned out.
DP:Did management consult you?
SC: Yeah, they asked my opinion. Obviously, Kevin Love is a great power forward. But would it make us better as a team?
DP:Would you have done the trade?
SC: I don't think you can give up Klay.
DP:You wouldn't trade Thompson for Love?
SC: We have such a great core. Put the same core together for another year, we gotta get better.
DP:Who's a better offensive player, you or LeBron?
SC: That's the first time I've ever been asked that question.... Me. It's gotta be, right?
DP:LeBron is a better scorer, but you're a better shooter. How's that?
SC: I don't know. He demands a lot of attention on the floor. But I like to say I can distribute and be a playmaker as well.
DP:Was there any thought of not playing for Team USA after Paul George broke his leg?
SC: It shook us up so bad, you wanted to regroup. At the end of the day, it's an opportunity to represent your country and win gold. I want to be a part of that.
DP:If you owned the Warriors, would you let you play?
SC: They're very supportive of me. It's kind of my call.
DP:I wouldn't want you to.
SC: I'm sure if I said, I'll do whatever you guys want to do, they'd say [don't play]. But that's not the case.
Guest Shots
Say What?
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was intrigued by my suggestion that he form a Boring QBs Club with Eli Manning, Andy Dalton and Nick Foles. "I wouldn't mind that," Flacco told me. "There would be a lot of silence before we all opened up." ... NFL officiating chief Dean Blandino said fans shouldn't be worried about the high volume of preseason flags: "I'm very confident that the teams will adjust, and when the regular season rolls around, I really don't feel like we're going to have 25 to 30 fouls per game." ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about persevering through tough times earlier in his NASCAR career. "If I would have quit, it would have probably been after my dad was killed in Daytona," Earnhardt said. "But that wasn't ever an option, even when we weren't running good in 2009--10. I would have regretted that the rest of my life."
PHOTO
MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (PATRICK)
PHOTO
JED JACOBSOHN FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (CURRY)
PHOTO
JOHN W. MCDONOUGH/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (FLACCO)
PHOTO
JOHN RAOUX/AP (BLANDINO)
PHOTO
JONATHAN FERREY/GETTY IMAGES (EARNHARDT)