You can call Steph Curry’s struggles in January a slump. He’ll allow it. He’ll even say it himself. But there’s one “s” word the Warriors’ superstar won’t even think about uttering.
On the latest episode of Dubs Talk, the NBA’s 3-point king told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Grant Liffmann blurting “slump” is fine but there’s another five-letter word he won’t ever say, especially on the golf course. He probably wouldn’t even type it in on Wordle.
“In golf, no one wants to hear the other ‘s’ word,” Curry said. “And I will not say that word.”
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The word Curry is referring to is “shank” -- a botched shot where the ball is struck with the heel of the club and doesn’t go far. It’s been known to mess with the heads of golfers of all skill levels, from professionals on tour to the typical weekend hacker.
Curry, of course, spends a lot of time on the golf course in the offseason and is passionate about the sport. He’s an annual participant at the American Century Championship celebrity tournament and played in the Ellie Mae Classic in 2017. In 2019, Curry pledged to fund the golf program at Howard University, a historically Black school in the nation’s capital, for six years. He recently told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole that he’s working to revolutionize the sport and make it accessible and affordable for all.
Still, the word “shank” deserves a one-stroke penalty.
“Basketball, you can say whatever,” Curry said. “It’s also a part of the expectation and the standard that you do set because, obviously, for me, that’s something you never want to go through a period of shooting the ball like that.”
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In 15 games in January, Curry averaged 22.3 points, 7.3 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game but reached those numbers inefficiently, shooting just 38.5 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from beyond the arc. It was the worst-shooting month of his record-setting career. Still, though, the Warriors went 11-4 in those contests.
“It’s kind of a weird feeling when you’re trying to get out of it,” Curry said. "But then you do look around like, ‘I’m still playing well, I’m still impacting winning and all those other things you can focus on. As a perfectionist … I guess I’m my own biggest and hardest critic, for the most part. That is amazing motivation to know the level that you’re playing at even if you’re not playing well.”
After the calendar flipped to February, Curry’s shooting percentages are back up to his standards – 47.5 percent from the floor and 39 percent from downtown in four tilts. On Thursday night, Curry went off for 35 points in the Warriors’ 116-114 loss to the New York Knicks for his 10th game of the season with 35+ points. He also embarrassed Julius Randle on a move near the baseline that reminded fans of a famous Michael Jordan highlight from the 1991 playoffs.
The slump appears to be in the past. But the fear of the word – you know what, I won’t say it again – continues.