Black Millionaires: Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry is an American professional basketball player with the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. He is a six-time NBA All-Star, winning the NBA championship three times with the warriors. He has also been named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) twice. Curry has been called the greatest shooter in NBA history.

Early life and education

Wardell Stephen Curry was born on March 14, 1988, to Sonya and Dell Curry, in Akron, Ohio. Stephen’s father, Dell Curry was also a professional basketball player who spent most of his NBA career playing with the Charlotte Hornets, until he became a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and finally, the Raptors.

Curry grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and watched his father play professional basketball. Dell often took Stephen and his younger brother Seth to his games, sometimes, he would allow them to shoot with the Hornets before the games started. The Curry family briefly moved to Toronto where Dell wrapped up his NBA career and Stephen began playing for the Queensway Christian College Boys’ basketball team. Curry’s time with Queensway launched them into an undefeated season. He was also a member of Toronto 5-0, a club that plays across Ontario where he got to play against future NBA players Kelly Olynyk and Cory Joseph.

Curry was transferred to the Charlotte Christian School after his family relocated back to Charlotte, following Dell’s retirement. At Charlotte, Curry was named all-conference, all-state, leading his team to three conference titles and three state playoff appearances. Curry attended Davidson College. Although he wanted to attend Virginia Tech to continue to build on his Father’s legacy with the Hokies.

Early Career and Professional Career

Since the tenth grade, Davidson College had aggressively recruited Curry. The head coach, Bob McKillop had so much confidence in Curry and couldn’t wait to have him play for the team before his first game.

In his first game with the Wildcats against Eastern Michigan, Curry scored 15 points with 13 turnovers. In their next game against Michigan, he scored 32 points, had 4 assists, and 9 rebounds. He finished the season with a scoring average of 21.5 per game. During the Southern Conference, Curry led the Wildcats to a 29-5 overall record, earning then the conference title.

During his sophomore year, Curry set the record for three-pointer made in the single-season NCAA. He was then selected by the Golden State Warriors with the seventh overall pick in the NBA Draft of 2009. In his rookie season with the Warriors, he appeared in 80 games with 77 starts. He averaged 17.5 points, 5.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.90 steals in 36.2 minutes.

In 2012, Curry signed a new contract with the Warriors, finishing the season with 272 while completing a new record for three-pointers. In the last season before his renewed his contract with the Warriors, Curry struggled with severe ankle injuries which made critics to say it was an unwise move for the Warriors to make. Again, Curry proved the critics wrong by hitting 41 three-pointers.

With 272 points, Curry once again set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a regular season, during the 2012-13 season. In the 2014-2015 season, Curry won his first MVP award, leading the Warriors to their first championship since 1975. The new head coach, Steve Kerr devised a new tactic that involved moving faster and getting the ball quick to Curry, giving him more room to shoot. It became a new type of basketball tactic that emphasized more on three-pointers rather than regular play under the hoop. It was only a matter of time before other teams adopted the tactic.

In the following season (2015-2016), he became the first player to be elected MVP by a unanimous vote in NBA history, as well as lead the league in scoring, shooting above 50-40-90. Still, in 2015, Curry broke his own record with 286, and again in 2016 with 402. He currently ranks third in all-time made three-pointers in NBA history, together with teammate Klay Thompson.

That same season, the Warriors had the most wins in an NBA season, setting a new record in that category, however, they lost the 2016 championship finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers. By the next three seasons, 2017, 2018, and 2019, Curry led the Warriors back to the NBA Finals, winning the 2017 and 2018 seasons back-to-back. The team was defeated by the Toronto Raptors in 2019.

Income Sources

Stephen Curry has a net worth of $130 million, now worth $160 million as of 2022. His income comes from two major sources, his NBA salary and endorsement deals. In his first few seasons as a professional basketball player, Curry had no notable endorsement deals. He earned only about $3 million from all his income sources combined. However, in recent times, Curry has become one of the highest-paid players in the world. Typically, in a “good” year, Curry now earns $70 - $80 million, with $40 million from his NBA salary and $30 - $40 million from endorsements. He is one of the notable black millionaires in the world. 

Curry has also partnered with big brands like Nike, Armour, and TLC’s Palm phones. He is also a leading investor of the Palm device and is actively involved with the testing and development.

Personal life

Stephen Curry is married to Ayesha Alexander. The couple has been married since 2011. Together, they have three children. Curry is also a Christian and is very outspoken about his beliefs. Curry’s younger brother, Seth is also a professional basketball player.

When he is not a superstar on the basketball court, Curry spends some of his time playing golf. He often plays in celebrity golf tournaments alongside other celebrities, including Barrack Obama.