ESPN The Magazine’s “Point Guard Issue” hits newsstands Friday featuring Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry on the cover. Senior writer Dave Fleming shares his experience covering the All-Star phenom and his family – and perhaps uncovers Curry’s delicious secret to success.
How was it decided Curry would be featured on the cover?
The issue examines and celebrates the burgeoning era of the point guard/playmaker and Curry has become the ultimate embodiment of that concept. It doesn’t hurt that he’s an MVP candidate, the Warriors are having a season for the ages or that as a Davidson, N.C. resident I’ve known Steph since college. He’s the future of the game and The Magazine has produced two definitive pieces on him in the last year.
What will readers learn about Curry?
This story is as much a celebration of Jack Curry, Steph’s granddad, his amazing family, two generations of fathers and sons and basketball and the untold story of how an old rickety hoop Jack put up on a lightpole 40-some years ago has changed the sport of basketball.
ESPN’s Hannah Storm shows why the Warriors are the team to beat in the NBA West in this 30-minute special (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN). Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and head coach Steve Kerr provide candid interviews and share some special off-court moments with Storm in the first team-specific Face to Face with Hannah Storm.
I also learned from Steph’s lovely grandma, Juanita Curry, in Grottoes, Va., that he loves a local brand of barbeque chips. So on a lark I bought a huge bag, stuffed them in my luggage and surprised [Mag photo editor] Stephanie Weed with them at our photo shoot in D.C.
Juanita was not kidding. He flipped. You could tell he had had a long day but when he saw those chips his entire demeanor changed. Although, he posed for the cover in his white Warriors uniform and he kept running off the set to grab handfuls of chips and every time he did this all the stylists and photo people were worried he’d wipe his hands on his white pants and ruin the whole shoot.
He didn’t. Steph says his grandma brought him eight more bags to D.C. the next day and the Warriors used them as their secret weapon on their long road trip — like Popeye’s spinach, I suppose.
