It’s been said that Stephen Curry has his own force of gravity.
That is, defenders from every position are pulled toward Curry because he owns the most lethal jump shot in the NBA, freeing his teammates for open field-goal attempts.
But Curry’s orbit doesn’t end on the court — he has been slowly drawing Warriors free-agent acquisition Willie Cauley-Stein to the Bay Area.
When asked about the room Curry creates on the court, the No. 6 overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in 2015 revealed he wanted to be a Warrior even before his days as a professional basketball player.
Cauley-Stein discussed this during an interview at Summer League, courtesy of The Athletic‘s Anthony Slater:
Playing with Steph, can you imagine what he’ll do for you, spacing wise?
Oh, I can imagine. I’ve been imagining it for a while. It’s crazy it’s actually happening. Me and my friends talk about it all the time. Guys (have to) damn near not guard me now. How you gonna guard the big? Because, you know, you gotta tag. If you don’t tag, it’s a lob. If you do tag, it’s a three. Pick your poison.
You said you’ve been imagining it. We talking years back, months back, days?
I mean, years back. Before [my] draft. I had a Warriors hat before I got in the league. It’s one of the things me and my friends have been talking about for a long time.
Before Cauley-Stein was drafted, the Kentucky product watched Curry and the Warriors win their first NBA title of a three-trophy run, so it’s easy to believe he had a Dubs hat. Back then, center Andrew Bogut was the beneficiary of the many lob dunks from Curry and others.
Cauley-Stein’s legs are sprier than Bogut’s were at that point, so it’s easy to believe he’s confident he can fill that role. Now that Curry’s gravity has drawn Cauley-Stein to Golden State, he can finally benefit from the kind of influence Curry is most known for — his dominance on the court.
