Before he cemented his place as an all-time great, Stephen Curry managed to endure well-documented unavailability woes in the early years of his career.
But now that he is healthy and always ready to launch spectacular highlight reel performances, Tim Hardaway Sr. can only give nothing but love and appreciation for the greatest shooter in the world.
The soon-to-be hall of famer praised Curry for willing his way through adversities he faced in those younger times with the Golden State Warriors.
“What he’s doing, and how he’s doing it, it’s crazy,” Hardaway told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole. “It’s crazy. It’s ridiculous. And the clip that he’s doing it? It’s crazy.
“I know why he’s doing it that way. A lot of people thought he was out and done. That he was going to be hurt, that his career was going to be over with because of the ankle injuries.”
Curry battled a series of ankle injuries in his second year in the league. He then took a major surgery to address it, which forced him to sit out the majority of the following season to recover. This raised speculation on the Dubs franchise if he can reach his ultimate potential or not given these absences.
But the rest is history. Curry battled back through these alarming conditions and went on to establish himself year by year.
He is now the undisputed cornerstone of the club, leading them to four titles in eight years.
“He worked on getting his ankles strong,” Hardaway said. “And he came back and showed people, ‘Yeah, I’m here to stay and I’m here to play hard and I’m here to win games for this organization and win championships.
“I commend him.”
Truly it was a spectacular bounce back from Curry. Other than his current accolades, his story of climbing through injuries should be noted very well by the basketball world.
