The Follow Up: Stephen Curry on All the Crazy Stuff That’s Happened Since His GQ Cover

The Warriors guard reflects on his three-point record, Klay Thompson’s return, and the upcoming All-Star Game.
Stephen Curry GQ February 2022.
Stephen Curry, GQ, February 2022.Coat, $2,750, and hoodie, $595, by Fear of God.

When I spoke with Stephen Curry for GQ’s February cover story, it was the week of Thanksgiving and the all-time NBA three-point record was still looming on the horizon. He’s packed a season’s worth of drama into the weeks since. In mid-December, Curry broke Ray Allen’s three-point record, hitting his 2,974th career three against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Shortly afterward, Klay Thompson finally returned to the floor for the Golden State Warriors after missing two and a half years recovering from a torn ACL and a torn Achilles. And yet the Warriors would soon encounter their most challenging patch of the season, seesawing with the Phoenix Suns for primacy in the Western Conference. Now, with the All-Star Game drawing near, Curry shared his thoughts on surpassing the record, reuniting with Thompson, and appreciating young players in the league who can do things even he can’t.

GQ: Watching those games leading up to the record, I felt like there was this mix between pressure on you to get the record, and you trying to stay on top of your game and play the way you play. Did you feel some tension leading up to it? What was it like when you got it? Was there a release?

Stephen Curry: There’s a lot of mixed emotion. I felt like it was the longest week of my NBA career. Because of how much the record meant to me, how much had gone into it, my whole career. The last home game we had, everybody started talking about, “Oh, can I make 16 threes in the game before I get home?” Not saying that like it was funny, actually asking a legit question.

I started to drink the Kool Aid a little bit at that point. Anything is possible, why not try to do it? Then every three I took had the weight of the world on it, because the countdown had begun. So every game, every shot felt like it had a little bit more weight on it. And when I hit it in New York, it was definite relief. It’s not like it was my last game of the season, or my career, and I needed certain numbers. It was just a matter of when, and just enjoying the moment when it happened. And I couldn’t write it any better, for it to be at the Garden and Reggie [Miller] and Ray Allen to be in the building, and my family and all that. It was a different level of energy. You could predict that it was going to happen that night, but you couldn’t predict when, and I just enjoyed every bit of it once it went in. I showed my reaction—it was pure relief that I could finally celebrate and keep focused.

What is it about the Garden? When I was looking at the schedule, I was like, “It feels like this is going to happen in the Garden.” Because that’s the place where these magical moments happen (unless you’re the Knicks, sadly). So many NBA arenas are new or updated and don’t have that gravitas. But the Garden remains this historical place where players still have big moments.

Everybody likes to visit the Garden. It has a different feel, from the design of the building, the lighting scheme, the fact that downtown Manhattan has so much chaos going on, and you get to the arena, and it has a kind of mystique. And then the fan base, they’re passionate, alive, and energetic. It doesn’t matter if it’s the home team or not, they appreciate good basketball and historic moments. And you know, everything is a little louder when it’s in New York.

Klay is back and looking immensely mobile. Maybe has more bounce now than he did before. When players have these big injuries, and take some time to get back to themselves, I think their games can be reformatted. Is there a difference we should expect from Klay? Are there ways you’ve noticed his game has changed?

I think the cool part is what hasn’t changed. He can still shoot the ball, we all know that. His touch is still there. The fact that he played 19 minutes in his first game back and got 18 shots—I don’t think people realize how hard that is to do. The [other] team knows you’re back, and they’re trying to take you out. You’re trying to find a rhythm. The fact that he could even get up 18 shots speaks to his ability to see the hoop from no matter where he is on the floor.

I think the maturity that’s come from what he’s been through over the last two years, all the work that he’s had to put in on his rehab, being away from the game, I think it’s given him a new energy and spirit. Like you said, he’s even bouncier than he was before. The confidence is still there. I’m excited that he has the opportunity to not just play and get back to who he is, but that our team is in a position where he plays in the games that matter. That’s what brings out the best in his spirit. These last years, it might’ve been a little different. I think the context of the season that we’re in right now—it’ll bring out the best in him.

With All-Star Weekend coming up, are you going to be in the three-point contest again? Or are you sitting it out?

I’m trying to figure that out, to be honest. I don’t have an answer. I usually figure it out on the deadline that they want to announce. I won it last year, and my pops always told me, “You’re only as good as your last game, your last competition.” And so I want to go out on a high note. But compared to the DNA that I have, it’s really making me anxious a little bit, in terms of I’m going to be there in Cleveland to try to get another trophy. So I honestly don’t know.

Is there any player who might announce at the end that you would get excited about going up against, that would tilt you in a better direction?

My brother [Seth Curry] and Klay, and Buddy Hield is the other guy. I think he’s like right behind me [in terms of three-pointers this season: Curry has made 188, Hield 156]. And so anybody who’s shooting at a high level like he is, you want to beat the best. So those three guys.

Last night, like everyone else, I watched the Ja Morant block, which was just impossible, you know? And I was thinking about this excitement that he brings. Outside of the Warriors, are there any young players you’re excited about watching over the next few years?

Yeah. Ja and Darius Garland are two guys on my radar. I just love watching them play. And they do exciting, athletic, creative stuff that jumps off the screen. I’m always envious of athletic guards who can fly around and make their presence that way, because I could never do that. I know who I am and what I stick to on the court. I like to watch people who can do it a different way, push the envelope a little bit.

Hanif Abdurraqib is the author of A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance and the recipient of a 2021 MacArthur Foundation grant.