Well, there’s great news for all the Warriors fans and Stephen Curry loyalists! It has been truly weird not to see the Curry name anywhere in the postseason chatter. Except for maybe in relation to Klay Thompson and his trade rumors, Steph’s name has remained relatively hidden. Of course, he does not fail to keep everyone updated with stories on Instagram, and we also have Ayesha Curry to give us sneak peeks into Papa Curry enjoying domestic life.
It is under such circumstances that the independent media outlet covering the Golden State, The Warriors Talk, has posted a juicy image. The independent media outlet covering the Golden State, The Warriors Talk, posted a juicy image captioned, “Steph training with the FIBA ball in preparation for the Olympics,” followed by a fire emoji. There’s no surprise there. Long have many players and coaches talked about the difficulties of getting used to the FIBA ball.
Notably, ex-NBA player Raja Bell was quite adamant in his claim of the difference in balls. “I’ve always said that FIBA balls affected my shot and other NBA players’ shots tremendously. I HATE that ball!” Interestingly, the FIBA and NBA balls are the same size. Both are 29.5 inches in circumference. Whatever these differences may be, Steph has no plans on letting the gold slip for the lack of practice!
Steph training with the FIBA ball in preparation for the Olympics 🔥 (via @kirkgoldsberry) pic.twitter.com/yNUXBScZpb
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) May 22, 2024
The tweet was originally shared by the New York Times Bestselling Author of SprawlBall: A Visual Tour of the New Era of the NBA, Kirk Goldsberry. A renowned NBA analyst, Goldsberry meshed his love for maps and basketball to give a unique and often overlooked yet important detail of the game and its evolution over the years. In other words, all those little details that we simply don’t notice, but are just as crucial to the sport.
Although the former cartography professor rose to fame with Sprawlball, he’s written two more books on the same. Stephen Curry is reading Hoop Atlas: Mapping the Remarkable Transformation of the Modern NBA, launched on May 7th, 2024. The book features his signature visualizations to engage the reader with nuggets of wisdom. He also delves deeply into the evolution of the ’90s game to the focus of three-point games. And when there is talk of three-point shooting, the ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ naturally follows.
Stephen Curry and his Olympic tales
‘Chef Curry’ might be off the postseason bustle, but he has an international game to concentrate on. Not to mention, it is his debut year. The Curry couple even planned their pregnancy around the Olympics so that he wouldn’t have to miss another chance. With the loaded resume that the 4x champion holds, it’s only natural that an Olympic medal is also on that list. Yet, every time he had an opportunity, Steph had to forego them over health and family concerns.
The Warriors superstar had received the invite once in 2016 for the Rio Olympics and the next in 2021 for the Tokyo Olympics. He said ‘No’ both times. However, his rejection did not mean that he wasn’t interested. Explaining his decisions on the matter to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner in 2021, he said, “There’s always that itch to play and play on the biggest stage like the Olympics, but it just wasn’t the right thing for me and the right time.”
