Even basketball titans like Steph Curry aren't immune to pre-game jitters. In a pivotal December game against Phoenix, the Golden State Warriors star deliberately smiled before sinking two crucial free throws, securing a narrow 119-116 victory.
Despite his outward composure, Curry later admitted the calm was a facade, revealing that even after 17 years in the NBA and at 38 years old, nerves still strike when the stakes are highest.
"That’s more mental warfare for me to just enjoy the moment," Curry explained. "I don’t care how many free throws you’ve made, when you need two of them, you do get nervous, so the smile is more to kind of embrace the moment and enjoy it instead of overthinking or worrying about mechanics or anything.
“So I’ve been doing that a lot lately, like last couple years, just playing mind games with myself and enjoying the moment."
This candid admission from one of basketball's all-time greats offers solace to other professionals, highlighting that even the elite grapple with anxiety. Such openness about mental struggles, once rare in professional sports, is becoming more common amidst a growing global conversation about mental health.
Dave Roberts, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have clinched the last two World Series titles, was present at Chase Center to witness Curry's decisive free throws.
Having seen his own players perform under immense pressure in October playoffs, Roberts reflected on Curry's honesty.
"I think that’s telling that Steph would say that and there is an innate fear in people to fail in big spots or to be nervous. I think it’s just important to admit it at times and then kind of move on from there," Roberts stated this spring.
He added: "We were talking about it a couple days ago, those moments I think you mitigate the fear or the nerves from preparedness. I think Steph has shot so many free throws when he’s tired in big spots, so to admit that he’s nervous, he knows at the end of the day that he’s prepared for that spot.
“Most of our guys, we talk about that a lot, so I think that’s how they can get past that fear or nerve hurdle."
Embracing big moments
Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan recently asked his players if a free throw in the final second of a tied game felt the same as one in the first quarter. The unanimous answer was no.
"I said, ‘Why is it different?’ and they explained all the consequences of what would happen, but the reality is it’s still the same exact shot it is in the first quarter or the second quarter," Donovan explained.
He observed that in such moments, players often manage to "block out the consequences or what the ramifications are and really lock in to what they can control and the routine. The basket’s still 15 feet away, it’s still 10 feet high. And just because the circumstances may be different, the routine should be exactly the same."
Mental performance coach Graham Betchart offers a strategy to transform the fear of failure into a positive force.
"The biggest surprise to most people is that great pro athletes have the same feeling that a kid has, they just reframe it," Betchart noted.
He recounted an interaction with an athlete: "I said, ‘What’s pressure like for you?’ He said, ‘Graham, what you call pressure, I call joy.’ I said, ‘What does joy feel like?’ He said, ‘Joy feels like I’m going to pee in my pants, 10,000 butterflies in my stomach, heart is pounding, self doubt everywhere.’ I said, ‘That’s joy?’ He said, ’Yeah, ‘cause when I feel that I’m about to go do what I love, which is play ball.’ So we call that reframing. I think this is one of the biggest unlocks in the entire world."
Dallas Mavericks coach and NBA Hall of Famer Jason Kidd, who enjoyed a 19-season playing career, reminds us that professional athletes are, fundamentally, human.
Fear, he suggests, is a natural reaction to stress. "It is healthy. I think that just lets everyone know you’re human. Steph is human," Kidd affirmed.
"There are feelings and emotions but I don’t know if he gets nervous. Free throws are like layups for him, like 2-foot putts. But it’s also great that he is open to sharing that about his feelings, that’s pretty cool."
Leaning on routine
The power of routine is another coping mechanism. Warriors guard De’Anthony Melton practices making 10 consecutive free throws daily, telling himself in-game, "whatever happens, happens, you’ve just got to live with the results, but sometimes getting to the free-throw line can help you get into a rhythm and get your shot going, too."
Coaches also face their own anxieties. Doc Rivers admitted to feeling nervous about crunch-time play calls.
"There’s nerves with everything. I can draw up a play as a coach and I know it’s a good play, but I’m nervous if we’re going to run it right or is it going to work. As a player, I was an 80-percent free-throw shooter, but it’s still there. That’s why you breathe deep and that’s where routine comes in.
“The more you do the routine, the more it becomes normal. But there’s nothing normal in life when you’re shooting a free throw and there’s 20,000 people screaming to make you miss, that’s not normal in life. So you have to breathe your way through it."
Athletics pitcher Luis Severino, who spent nine years with the New York Yankees and Mets, understands the unique pressures of elite sport. He noted that nerves are often tied to daily performance.
"I think it’s more of how you’re feeling that day. If Stephen Curry is feeling like he always feels, there’s nothing to worry about," Severino said with a chuckle.
"If that day I’m feeling good, I have nothing to worry about. If I’m struggling with command and or a pitch, not commanding my breaking balls, I will get a little bit nervous, but if I’m good that day I have nothing to worry about."
Nerves are natural
San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames found comfort in Curry’s admission, viewing nerves as a natural and acceptable part of the game.
"I think it’s a great thing, I think it’s something that you have to embrace and know that it’s OK to feel it," Adames commented.
"I always try to tell myself, ’if you feel a little nervous or a little anxious, just embrace it like it’s OK, it’s OK to feel it. But just know that you’ve got to take a deep breath and try to make sure that you’re under control."
Ultimately, Betchart believes that when professional athletes speak openly about their anxieties, it empowers others to develop better coping strategies.
He drew a parallel to his work with military personnel, who, despite claiming fearlessness, actually "feel the fear, and then they lean into it. So it's really a power of vulnerability, it's a victory of the vulnerable."
France condemns Olympic genetic testing as a ‘step backwards’
Jaden Ivey released by Chicago Bulls after anti-LGBTQ rants on Instagram
Best NBA betting sites in the UK for 2026
Las Vegas and Seattle are one step closer to getting NBA teams
Cade Cunningham suffers collapsed lung in major blow to Detroit Pistons
NBA makes decision on team’s controversial strip club promotional night
