Photo courtesy of Kurtis Rix, Amazing Imagery
Steph Curry and his father Dell have been regulars at the American Century Championships the last few years, and this year the family involvement will grow by one more as Steph’s brother Seth joins the fray.
The trio will be paired together in at least the first round and will tee off at 11:11 a.m. Friday at Edgewood in South Lake Tahoe.
Thursday the trio took time to meet with the media, both in person and in a virtual press conference.
ACES editor Dennis Miller was in on the call and edited the transcripts.
Question: Steph, I cover the 49ers. I’m curious, when you go back to your time starting in the Bay Area, what was the biggest adjustment to having success and what would be your advice to Trey Lance as he makes a similar adjustment?
STEPH CURRY: Well, hopefully opportunity for success is a little quicker for Trey and the Niners than it was for us in ’09. From the “We Believe” to my rookie years, it was a little rough those two years.
The Bay is awesome. Fan base is awesome. It’s a great place to play and great place to live. And hopefully that transition is pretty seamless. I enjoyed every minute of it despite the struggles. I’m sure he will too.
Question: How often do all three of you guys get to play golf together?
STEPH CURRY: It’s tougher than it used to be, just geography and schedules, and our offseason for me, and Seth. My dad, he’s a color commentator for the Hornets. Summer is tight. But this opportunity is pretty dope to have all three of us here. Obviously, Seth’s first time. And hopefully not his last. And we all love to play when we get the opportunity and have fun doing it.
It’s not like we’re back in North Carolina, but it’s definitely fun.
DELL CURRY: As avid golfers, you never can play enough. And as a dad you can never play enough with your two sons. You love the game, too. That’s why we look forward to this week.
Steph and I have been here the last few years together. But to have Seth here this year, it’s been a blast so far, the first couple of days. And can’t wait to play when it really matters and put the numbers on the scorecard that count. Good camaraderie and fellowship to hang out with the guys but also a good, competitive vibe as a family as well.
Question: Putting a number on it, is it three, four times a year you get to play together?
DELL CURRY: Probably right.
SETH CURRY: Make a point every summer to go on one or two, three trips to get out and play. This can count as one of them.
Question: Steph and Dell, will having all three of you here help your game because it’s a nice family situation, you can relax? Or might it work in the opposite direction because you’re too busy, focused having fun with family, not focused as much on competition?
DELL CURRY: I think we’ve had fun the first two days. Tomorrow it will be each man for their own ball. We’ve helped each other out a little bit these first few days. Tomorrow we’ll say good shot when you hit a good shot, but it’s up to you to hit good shots and good putts. Probably won’t be a lot of help.
Question: Seth, what is your goal this week?
SETH CURRY: I want to play well. I don’t want to embarrass myself, obviously. I want to come out here, put some good scores up. Obviously, it’s a different adjustment playing in front of fans and competitively for the first time ever. So, it’s going to be a fun and good test for myself. And I mean, like he said, they’ve been helping me out, teaching me the course the first two days. I’m going to see if that translates into tomorrow.
Question: The bet this year, is Seth part of the bet? And yes or no, what can you give us about it at this stage of the week?
STEPH CURRY: He’s definitely in there. And at dinner last night he was doing some hard negotiating. I was trying to — now he’s got seniority, I’ve played more years — but in terms of understanding how the handicaps work and how that can translate to Stableford and trying to make it fairer, if we put a number, if we all play our best what that is, and kind of go from there. So, we’ll see. He’s definitely in there, though. And it will be fair. You’ve got to play well to win, that’s what the whole goal is for sure.
Question: Going in the water whoever loses?
STEPH CURRY: That’s always part of it.
Question: Two losers?
STEPH CURRY: Absolutely.
DELL CURRY: There’s going to be two losers, second place is the first loser.
Question: Steph, I was curious what was behind your decision to be there instead of in Las Vegas preparing with Team USA?
STEPH CURRY: It was a hard decision just knowing — obviously haven’t played in the Olympics before. Coming off of this season and the condensed schedule, the protocols and obviously where I’m at in my career, I do value the offseason, and I’m working back on the court, but to try to go and play and there’s just a lot that could happen. I respect every single guy that goes and plays that’s out there in Vegas and I wish them all the success and a gold medal to show for it and whatnot.
It just wasn’t right for me. And I’m very confident in that decision. No regrets at all. Obviously being here I’m playing golf, having fun with my family. And that’s a personal thing.
But 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.
Question: Steph, the video of you and Canelo (Alvarez) boxing, when did that all start? I think this is the second match. Is there going to be a trilogy? And guys, were you guys worried about Steph’s life? (Laughter).
STEPH CURRY: It happened last year on the ninth hole, might make it annual. I have to really get better, obviously. I need to use my reach and my height a little bit. I kind of got down and went right into his sweet spot. One of our good friends is an amateur boxer, so he sent me a text late last night. He watched the video, analyzed it. He told me everything I did wrong. So, I have a full year to get right. At least I swung this time. Last year I was a sitting duck.
Question: Any chance we see Klay (Thompson) on the Lake Tahoe waters in his boat?
STEPH CURRY: I would say it’s not a zero percent chance, for sure.
Question: Seth, I live near the Philly area. Sitting home, watching this tournament, knowing your dad’s personality and Steph’s personality, what did you think of them going in the water? What did you think of the bets when you heard about them in the first place? And I guess that prepared you for whatever is going to be the outcome of this year’s bet?
SETH CURRY: It’s always fun to watch every year, the stakes. You know the bets. You know the handicaps, if there are any. It gives a little intrigue towards the end of the Sunday afternoon game. And I wanted to be a part of it for a few years now. Good to be out here, experience it all, experience all the fans. And I’m looking forward to it.
DELL CURRY: When we got to the course yesterday, one of the first questions he asked wasn’t about golf, it was where do you guys jump in the lake here.
Question: Did you tell him how warm it was?
SETH CURRY: Yeah, that’s the first thing they said.
Question: Steph, since the last time we talked to you, Warriors got 7th pick, 14th pick. What do you think about, I guess, the potential plan this summer, those assets, and just the opportunity to roster build?
STEPH CURRY: It’s a great position to be in knowing how we’re trying to retool and the level that we’re trying to get back to. We do have a lot to work with potential picks, guys coming back hopefully enticing some free agents to come out to the Bay and be part of a winning organization, how we do things. I feel like everything’s on the table at this point.
There’s a lot of time before the draft and before training camp and free agency period. I know nothing really happens until after the finals. And you really get down to what are we really trying to do, what do we need, just looking around the league at how quickly things move.
So, I know we’re staying patient. I talked to Bob. I talked to Joe. Talked to Coach Kerr over the last couple of weeks, and things are fluid, let’s put it that way. It’s a matter of trying to put the best team out there. I know we’re all committed to doing that. Where we stand right now, the finals are still going on, so there’s still time to kind of figure that out.
Question: You guys mentioned the side action that you’ve got going among the three of you this week. Steph, I wonder what is your favorite on course betting story, maybe not the most money, maybe bragging rights among the family, but one that sticks out for you?
STEPH CURRY: That’s a great question. Probably the dollar I won from Barack Obama. That’s a story in and of itself. Playing with him in Martha’s Vineyard. Anytime you get to play with the president, doesn’t have to be a big denomination of money, just needs to change hands. That was probably a good one. My dad was out there with us. Ray Allen was out there. It was a good time. First time we played with him.
But between us, maybe this would be the weekend that we have our best story. We’ll see.
Question: Steph, what makes this event so special? And Seth, you mentioned it a little bit about being able to watch it on TV. In your mind what makes it so special that you wanted to be a part of this?
STEPH CURRY: We love golf. It’s a passion. It’s something that we grew up doing with our dad. And we have a lot of fun. Like Seth said, we take annual golf trips in the summer. And it’s part of how we like to spend our time in the offseason. But in this tournament, the venue, being up here at Lake Tahoe, it’s beautiful. It’s great views, great energy. You never really get a chance to play competitive golf in front of a gallery. And with stakes on the line on every shot. So being in that situation, we’re all competitors, we love to be in that line of fire out there and try to show up and see how we do. That’s fun. And I don’t know what it’s like watching it on TV, but it’s amazing to be out here, play competitive golf. And to have all of us out here playing in the same group on Friday, makes it even better.
SETH CURRY: Watching from afar, you can just tell the energy it translates on TV. You can see the fans, how much they like the event, just as much as the people participating in it. That’s the main reason I want to be a part of it.
You want to be a fake professional golfer for a week, that’s pretty cool.
STEPH CURRY: No doubt. We’ve got green books.
SETH CURRY: Walking inside the ropes and caddies. It’s cool to act for a weekend.
DELL CURRY: Our caddies are some of our best friends as well. They’re just as competitive as we are. And they’re rooting for their guy, because they know whatever happens they’re in it too.
Question: Have you had enough time between the end of the season to feel confident in your game to be out there in front of people playing?
DELL CURRY: I have. (Laughter). Unfortunately, the Hornets, it was May 16th. And with the schedule this year, being in Charlotte, not traveling, I was able to play a lot of golf. So my game is probably as good as it’s going to get for me.
SETH CURRY: Me, personally, I have not. I’ve been trying to cram in range sessions, hit as many balls as possible over the past week. Honestly, if the tournament was at the end of the summer, I’d probably be a little bit better. But I’m still looking forward to it and hopefully play well.
STEPH CURRY: I had a couple of extra weeks this year.
Question: Hope you put it in your negotiations?
SETH CURRY: No doubt.
Question: When was the last time you all played together in Charlotte and what course was it?
STEPH CURRY: It was three years ago, our sister’s wedding. And it was the club at Longview, where my dad’s been a member, founding member out there, Jack Nicklaus. I think that was the last time in Charlotte.
DELL CURRY: Yeah.
Question: Seth, obviously we’ve heard today that you’ve been getting advice about golf from your dad and from your brother. Did they help you a little bit with your playoff experience this year?
SETH CURRY: Oh, yeah, of course. The past few years they’ve always been a sounding board for me, answer any questions I’ve got, give me advice here and there, not too much but just enough.
But biggest thing is watching, watching my dad’s career and Steph going on those playoff runs for so many years when I was in the crowd, watching, taking it all in. It was fun to be out there to experience for myself the past few years and hopefully a few more.
Question: Steph, you mentioned you’ve been in kind of talks with Bob and Joe. Are you looking at any of the draft guys, and would you feel comfortable having two more rookies on the roster?
STEPH CURRY: Yeah, I mean, like I said — I know you’re not going to like this answer, but there’s still a lot to figure out. I know with 7 and 14, there’s probably going to be some legit talent there, if it’s the best player and the right fit, like, of course, they could make an impact and be ready right away to play some significant minutes and then hopefully get better throughout the season to be ready for a potential playoff run.
But you have a lot of different talented guys, and you don’t know how that 1 through 6 goes, and how things change really quickly. So, I’ll always love to give my input and be a part of that process; but as it stands right now, I don’t think we’ve had any guys within that top 1 through 14 even come out to the Bay to work out yet. So it’s just a lot of moving parts and pieces and things can change really quickly.
Question: Dell and Seth, I want to know what you thought of Steph’s acting season. He had the CarMax commercial, but his growth from the Burger King days to the CarMax days. (Laughter).
DELL CURRY: Pretty good. Pretty good. I guess experience helps everybody in any form of life. It’s good.
SETH CURRY: Yeah, I mean, came a long way.
STEPH CURRY: My favorite part about that, though, is the Burger King commercial, they got the cut, Seth being held by my dad walking into the restaurant. They told this guy at least 10 times don’t look at the camera, don’t look at the camera, don’t look at the camera, and they couldn’t get a cut of him not looking at the camera. It’s my favorite kind of just discoverable about that commercial.
SETH CURRY: That’s a classic. (Laughter).
Question: The finals are on ABC tonight. I’d love to get your perspective. I think I saw status like the first time in 10 years, no Steph, no LeBron in the finals, new blood. Come on Devon Booker. But I’d love to get your perspective so we can run some of this tonight.
STEPH CURRY: We’ll start with the commentator first.
DELL CURRY: I’m a little torn. I played for Milwaukee for a year. I’m good friends with the Paul family from North Carolina. I’d love to see him hold up that trophy after the career he’s had. But it’s going to be exciting. You’re going to get new blood. I know those guys will play hard with an opportunity to win. So it should be good basketball to watch for the rest of the series.
SETH CURRY: The whole playoffs, even with a lot of injuries and a lot of teams not being at full health, still been very entertaining to watch. I’m sure the finals will be the same, two teams that are hungry and really want to win and grinding the gears for a while. It’s kind of good to see new blood outside the Warriors there. I wish it had been us, though.
STEPH CURRY: Same vibe for the health of the league and successful. Obviously, every year there’s injuries, things that change fast, but Milwaukee and Phoenix have played amazing throughout the playoffs. So, you go through the years, I hate when people try to bring up asterisks and all that type of stuff. It’s who can sustain themselves through a playoff run and can be the last team standing. It’s going to be fun to watch these next potentially six games. The best part about it is whoever the champ is, it’s new blood, like Seth said. And it’s great. And then these powerhouses, we’ve got to come back and try to get back to the top, knock them off next year. So, looking forward to that challenge.
Question: Jay Bilas was saying yesterday he stays neutral. But how can you not root for Chris Paul and his wonderful career. He mentioned about no fans last year, being in the bubble, how electric the arenas are now. I know that makes a difference for y’all when you’re on the court, huh?
SETH CURRY: It was huge. Seemed like in the playoffs it went from zero to full arenas real quick. And the energy was crazy. It was right back to normal. I think it was better TV, too, so it was fun to watch.
Question: Dell, Michael Jordan used to say, not often, but he did say that after he retired, when he was an active player and he played here, he thought and said that after he retired he would win the tournament. And I’m just wondering if you recall him saying that or thinking that? And then I wanted to ask, Steph, has that crossed your mind?
DELL CURRY: I don’t recall him saying that. But knowing the competitive guy that he still is, it doesn’t surprise me. But golf is a crazy game. You can have the best game ever, one round, the next round forget how to putt. It takes three solid rounds to win any game of golf.
Question: His thinking was once he retired he could play more he would get that much better.
STEPH CURRY: I feel like that’s always a thought, the more time that you can spend doing something, the better you get. Golf is kind of like that but kind of not. You can’t really try harder and think that it’s just going to click. So, I have had that thought where if I had a little bit more time to prep and practice get some range sessions and maybe some instruction, maybe my game would go through the rooftop.
But we’re all standing up here as basketball players. I don’t think any basketball player has won this tournament before. Me and Seth are the active players. I don’t know if that’s happened in a while. You may have to correct me on that. I’m trying to check both those boxes off. That’s the motivation for sure. Do it for the hoopers and the guys that are sticking to their day job for 12 month