SAN FRANCISCO – How much Chris Paul loves basketball, how much the game still consumes the 38-year-old going into his 19th NBA season and first with the Warriors wasn’t some kind of revelation to Steph Curry. But sitting next to Paul at the card table on the Warriors’ team plane from LA to Sacramento, Curry’s newest future Hall of Fame teammate gave him every reason to smile with a reminder of the more basketball, the merrier.
The two have a never-ending scroll of accolades. That comes from talent that only a handful have ever possessed, as well as too many hours of work to ever count. Plain and simple, Curry and Paul are addicted to basketball, and Steph welcomes every reminder, in every way possible.
“We were laughing because on the plane on the way from LA to Sacramento we were at the card table, just small talking and we both knew the slate of preseason games that were playing that night and were looking forward to tuning in,” Curry said Tuesday after Warriors practice. “We both laughed, like I don’t know how many people on this plane actually know which four teams are playing in the preseason that night.
“So it’s just basketball junkies that want to talk about it, live it and that feeds into everything.”
Take Sunday’s game in Sacramento as another example. Curry and Paul both knew they were in for a scheduled rest day. They sat next to each other on the bench, spoke with teammates throughout the game and in perfect synchronization jumped off the bench when Jonathan Kuminga recognized a mismatch with De’Aaron Fox guarding him and aggressively took the Kings point guard to the hole for two points.
What stood out to Curry the most was what he noticed Paul doing earlier that day in Sacramento.
About 20 minutes after the Warriors’ team brunch in Sacramento, Curry spotted Paul studying film with coaches on a day he knew he wasn’t going to play. Curry eavesdropped for about 30 seconds and kept it moving after seeing Paul go over defensive rotations and further understand how he can best be integrated in a new system on both sides of the ball.
It’s one thing for Curry to take notice of the extra work Paul is putting in. It’s another for Kuminga or the rest of the Warriors to see Paul be a shining example for others to follow after years of him being one of the franchise’s most hated rivals.
“That bleeds into how everybody approaches the day-to-day, because there’s a care factor,” Curry said. “I think that matters.”
Curry had known Paul off the court before his own NBA career even began. For every battle they’ve been through playing against each other, there has been a common respect off the court that holds a greater weight.
The two now are at the far corner court working together after every Warriors practice. After years of being on the other side of Paul’s constant talk and antics during games, Curry is happy to have him on his side now and feed off his never-ending consumption of the game.
“We’ve seen him play for a very long time,” Curry said. “It’s nice that it’s getting directed at us in a way that we can accept it, versus how it used to be. Because he does talk. He’s constantly locked in on what’s going on and the adjustments that need to be made, the game within in the game.
“You gotta embrace it, even if sometimes you might not want to hear it because it’s challenging you to do something different. I know those moments are going to come, too and we’re going to give it to him and all the way down the roster. But the good teams accept it and embrace and it’s part of your identity.”
Challenges are bound to come. But if the Warriors’ identity begins with basketball junkies, from the team plane to brunch and everywhere in between, Curry has the confidence that challenges can be met head-on and the Warriors will only grow from them.
