Listen Now: Mind the Game - The Stephen Curry Interview

Stephen Curry, the greatest shooter to ever pick up a basketball, sits down with LeBron James and Steve Nash on Mind the Game for one of the most in-depth basketball conversations you'll hear all year. Steph gets into how he rewired his shooting mechanics early in his career, how Don Nelson thought the weight room had ruined his jumper, and the moment Trae Young made him realize just how much he'd changed the game. LeBron and Steph even break down Finals film together, which, yeah, is exactly as good as it sounds. Subscribe to Mind the Game wherever you get your podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Travis Kelce?

  To all the 92 percenters, we're dropping something in the feed today. We think you basketball fans are gonna love.

• 0:08Speaker 01

  All right. If you haven't heard it yet, LeBron James and Steve Nash have an incredible podcast. That's right. It's called Mind the Game and I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty next level.

• 0:16Travis Kelce?

  I would assume it would be unbelievable as I am a fan of both of their games. Yeah, this is for students of the game, though. LeBron and Nash are legends and on Mind the Game, they get into the X's and O's and tactical breakdowns that really help you appreciate the game.

• 0:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, when LeBron James is breaking down plays, you're talking strategy with Steve Nash, you're gonna get deep into the brains of two actual basketball geniuses. So it's, I mean, it's pretty much a masterclass in basketball.

• 0:46Travis Kelce?

  And here's the thing, they also talk about mindset, preparation, and the mental side of the game that applies to basketball, football, and your life.

• 0:56Speaker 01

  Exactly. Whether you're a basketball fan or just someone who wants to understand what it is like to compete at the highest level, this show has got something for you.

• 1:04Travis Kelce?

  So do yourself a favor. Go check out Mind the Game. You're gonna learn something. I guarantee it.

• 1:10Speaker 01

  All right. And here's Steve Nash to tell you a little bit more about the show.

• 1:14Speaker 02

  Hey, 92 percenters. Steve Nash here. Here's a clip from one of our latest episodes to give you a taste of what LeBron and I get into. If you like what you hear, check out Mind the Game wherever you get your podcasts, or you can watch on YouTube or Prime Video.

• 1:39Speaker 02

  Cheers.

• 1:40Speaker 03

  Doing this way and wearing this way.

• 1:43Speaker 02

  Thank you for doing this. It's our first official golf podcast.

• 1:48Speaker 03

  Yeah, they heard Mind the Game. They thought the game was basketball today was actually not. We say mind the team.

• 1:55Speaker 02

  I was watching the.

• 1:58Speaker 02

  Bryson DeChambeau.

• 1:59Speaker 04

  Oh, the break 50?

• 2:00Speaker 02

  Break 50? Uh, I mean, I knew you were good. I was losing my mind. I only watched half.

• 2:07Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 2:07Speaker 02

  You matched him.

• 2:08Speaker 03

  I watched the whole thing.

• 2:09Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 2:09Speaker 02

  I mean, that's being kind.

• 2:10Speaker 04

  As you could, I, it was my first shot, I lost my mind too. There's like a little small gallery behind.

• 2:16Speaker 02

  Oh, there was.

• 2:17Speaker 04

  That was following us. And so, I knew the whole concept. I knew it was Bryson. It was a week before the Ryder Cup. I'm like, alright, this is go time. And it's the best, I think, best golf I've played in my life.

• 2:28Speaker 03

  And it's so funny, I was watching one of the holes, I don't know what hole it was, and you was like, I'm gonna give it a little grunt. One of his drives and. And he got him on the drive. And you can, and Bryson, obviously, this is what he does. Like, this, he's a.

• 2:43Speaker 02

  Oh, I could tell in his voice.

• 2:45Speaker 03

  When they got up to the ball, he was like, I think that's your ball.

• 2:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 2:49Speaker 03

  He was like, oh, man, I outdrove him. Like, it was crazy.

• 2:52Speaker 04

  He didn't want to give it to me.

• 2:53Speaker 03

  I think one of the good parts too, that I was watching too, and you was, I think Bryson asked you a question like, like, who's your inspirations? Like, you know, obviously, you know, in the game that we all.

• 3:02Speaker 04

  Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 3:03Speaker 03

  You know, you, you mentioned Steve, and you mentioned Reggie, you know, and obviously Reggie makes so much sense and it's terrifying to competitors like myself and, and all the competition over the years. How did that, how, how, what made you kind of watch those guys from the beginning? And it's funny that I'm sitting across from him talking about the life.

• 3:24Speaker 04

  So, that's, yeah, I mean, we all got history in the game, playing against each other and the whole deal, but my rookie year, we played in a preseason game outside in, um, in Palm Springs, like.

• 3:37Speaker 02

  Indian Wells, Tennessee.

• 3:38Speaker 04

  Indian Wells. It was my first time, like, actually seeing him, you know, on the court and to the point of inspiration.

• 3:44Speaker 02

  Super intimidating.

• 3:47Speaker 04

  Seeing him across, I still do some of your, uh, when you're in the starting line or the, uh, National Anthem, the line, like, you just do like the little leg stuff. I still do it.

• 3:57Speaker 04

  He was like, I was watching everything he did from across the court, but growing up like, I knew I was a pass first type of point guard. Like my dad had to actually tell me.

• 4:06Speaker 02

  Bullshit.

• 4:09Speaker 04

  Call Dell Curry right now, he'd tell you, they actually had to tell me to shoot more. Cause I was.

• 4:14Speaker 02

  Not in this house.

• 4:14Speaker 04

  Not in this house, you ain't gonna be that. But I always like just loved the creativity, being like, it felt like we had similar statures where as a point guard, being able to, you know, handle, being in the trees, getting the ball where you needed to. You saw angles that didn't even make sense, your change of speed, you could control the tempo. Uh, got everybody involved. Like there was just something fun about that, that is the way that I, you know, wanted to play. Fast forward to Davidson, I was a two guard and had to kind of expand. That's what I mean, I was, there's a video of me as a 10 year old running around with a Reggie jersey. Just cause, you know, I just loved his competitiveness, the way he moved off the ball. I didn't know like that would be a huge part of my game.

• 4:58Speaker 04

  Once I got to like, how am I gonna actually make it to, to the league type vibe. But that was, your style was like exact, I tried all the behind the back passes at this day. One handed, left handed, like all that type of stuff, just seeing the floor a little different. Um, it felt like he was kind of the model for that.

• 5:15Speaker 03

  And what about your pops too, obviously, I mean, obviously the inspiration that you saw every day, but like as your pops being a pro itself. Anything like you took from his game, like, I mean, the quick, the quick.

• 5:24Speaker 04

  Quick release was crazy, yeah. Every video you see, he had it sitting in the corner, one like, one dribble and then the quick release. He had the high arc and release too.

• 5:34Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 5:34Speaker 04

  I couldn't get that. So it was like almost comparison and contrast of.

• 5:38Speaker 03

  Right, right, right.

• 5:39Speaker 04

  I wanna be a great shooter, I wanna have a quick release, but I also have to own my own form. Like I can't really.

• 5:45Speaker 02

  Has to go in at the end of the day.

• 5:46Speaker 04

  Yeah, that's what I'm saying. You gotta feel comfortable with what you're doing.

• 5:48Speaker 02

  But did you, did you guys ever talk about it, like quick release?

• 5:51Speaker 04

  Yeah, we talked about that a lot. Uh, when I was in high school, changing my form. I used to do like the little slingshot situation and to the point of seeing, when I watched my cell phone cameras, like that thing looked like it takes forever to get up there. But I see your point, it went in, but as I got to varsity, I was like, you know. It's probably not gonna, that thing's getting swatted to the eighth row.

• 6:12Speaker 03

  And you was able to, you was able to dissect that?

• 6:15Speaker 04

  No, my dad.

• 6:16Speaker 03

  Your dad, okay, okay.

• 6:17Speaker 04

  My dad called it out as I was making that transition. I wasn't with it at first.

• 6:20Speaker 03

  Right, right.

• 6:21Speaker 04

  Like I was, cause I knew he was gonna have to break down all the fundamentals of everything that I felt comfortable with. To then master like a new form.

• 6:28Speaker 02

  It felt like it too much.

• 6:30Speaker 04

  Yeah, it was like, I don't wanna do extra credit on homework, on the homework, I already know the, I already know the formula. Like, well, I gotta recreate it and, and, and obviously it worked.

• 6:40Speaker 02

  But I feel like someone who loves shooting, shot a million shots, always, you know, obsessed with it, watching you shoot.

• 6:50Speaker 02

  Like, I think I have a bit of a classic shot. I get it to like Clay, get to the pocket and shoot. What I think you brought to the game, and I want, I'd love for you to tell me I'm full of it, is you don't really stop. So like you talked about this shot as a kid, to now it's the same shot but up here. Like, I don't really feel like you stop, and if you do, it's like the split second.

• 7:10Speaker 04

  Only probably on like just standard catch and shoot where, to, I always tell people, like, I would teach Clay's form to anybody who say, hey, how do I shoot a basketball? I would like pull up, clip of Clay. And it's just, that's freaking perfect. Ten out of ten, every, no notes, right? Um, but to your point, it helped me off the dribble because it's kind of, I'm not gonna call it unorthodox, but it is a one piece shot that no matter if you're really all the way on balance or just off, or if you got it on the right hand, left hand, off the dribble, like whatever it is. I kinda can get it here quick enough that

• 7:45Speaker 02

  Through the zone.

• 7:45Speaker 04

  And I still have all my power.

• 7:47Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 7:47Speaker 04

  You know, I don't lose anything through that, so that's helped me, especially at six three, like in the league. No matter who's in front of you, you really feel like I have a chance, as long as I get them to drop their hands a little bit, I can get it up there quick, and I don't wanna have any wasted motion.

• 8:01Speaker 02

  Was that by design, or was that just happened?

• 8:03Speaker 04

  That's just how I shot it. There wasn't much thought to that part, other than when I was in high school doing the, um, that, that transformation, I guess you call it.

• 8:11Speaker 02

  Cause I also feel like that is a part of your range, is that you, like, instead of stopping and having to use all your legs, you're using it all in one motion. So like, he just kept backing up.

• 8:25Speaker 02

  Where's this going?

• 8:26Speaker 03

  And it's like a flick. Like I got an opportunity to see it this, you know, last summer. You know, first time I was joining forces. I got to see it after practice every day, just like a flick. It didn't matter. You know, certain guys in our league or certain, you know, basketball players all over the world, they have to get in a certain pocket. In order for them to even get to here or how. It's like when he touched the ball, by the time he does what he needs to hear, it doesn't matter where it's coming from. It come from here, come from here. Quick, quick, quick, like, and that's a great question. It's like, did that, did that, did you learn that or it just kind of happened? And it's like, no, it's just.

• 9:02Speaker 04

  It's kind of natural.

• 9:03Speaker 03

  It's kind of just naturally just happened.

• 9:04Speaker 04

  Yeah. Like, there's always a, a reset, like summertime.

• 9:08Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 9:09Speaker 04

  You're working on mechanics. Like my guy Brandon Panhill, we'll talk about it. And if I was miss two or three in a row, he started looking. I'll know it's because I don't have the ball. Like if we're talking middle of the frame, I don't have it more middle to right. Like I'm more kind of doing that.

• 9:22Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 9:23Speaker 04

  And it's just a, you get a little lazy.

• 9:24Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 9:25Speaker 04

  But I still have to call that out. But then, once you get into, you know, the game and the flow, there's not much thought to it.

• 9:31Speaker 02

  But it, it's interesting because like necessity is the mother of invention. You kind of invented something. Like you've gone on to be the greatest shooter of all time by like a long margin. Like range, accuracy, dexterity, off the move, left, right, leaning in, leaning back. Like you do it all. But like you, I don't know if you could do that if you had picture perfect form. I'm not saying you don't, but you invented a way of going through the zone. Like you said, off the dribble, like it's up.

• 9:59Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 10:00Speaker 02

  And that gave you more range and that gave you more dexterity. Like, by the way, it's not, it's not really recreatable. I'm not telling kids, hey, it's so good, you know?

• 10:10Speaker 04

  So Bruce Fraser.

• 10:12Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 10:12Speaker 04

  Like we use you as an example a lot when I'm doing a breakdown drill. Like I'll do like pregame stuff or after practice stuff where to the point of being able to get to my base, like he'll bring you up as a demonstration of like you use, you have such a solid foundation where, you know.

• 10:29Speaker 02

  Get your hips down.

• 10:30Speaker 04

  Get your hips down, get low, like you're feeling every part of your foot, your feet, and you're, you're using all of that force to kind of get through.

• 10:36Speaker 02

  Pushing in the ground.

• 10:37Speaker 04

  And that's a, that's a foundation you have to have to then build off of that, you know, creativity and that looseness up top.

• 10:44Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 10:45Speaker 04

  So that's like, that's part of the. The natural progression of foundation to confidence to then, okay, now I can experiment a little bit. So maybe it's not necessarily a thought. It's like you hammer that down so much that now I have the ability to say, okay, what's gonna help me in a game? Or if I need to stay out of the trees, I can get my range back. I got that's in there because I have this. And if I always, I still have to go back to that well, though. Like we do our stuff at the free throw line where you're doing like the spins and you gotta be in, you know, in balance. That's your world. Like that's what I learned.

• 11:18Speaker 03

  But I also think one of the most impressive things, I know we're here to talk about a lot of things, but the most impressive thing is that you came in, you know, six, two, whatever, and obviously, super skinny. Super skinny. You know what I'm saying? Like, I remember, like, super skinny, fresh out of Davidson, super skinny, and obviously, you know, our league, you know, you know, throughout the course of a season, flights and everything, you know, can be taxing on your body.

• 11:44Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 11:45Speaker 03

  I think one of the most impressive things that a lot of people don't talk about when it comes to you is that the weight and the strength that you've put on and still being able to shoot the ball in that capacity. There's a lot of guys that we've seen come in at a certain weight or a certain, you know, body frame, and they're told to put on weight or they're told to put on strength, and it can affect their shot.

• 12:05Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 12:06Speaker 03

  You know, and it's actually, there's no way it could have made it better, but shit, it seems like nothing ever changed. How was that? Like, did that worry you in the beginning? Like, oh shit, y'all tell me I gotta get stronger?

• 12:18Speaker 04

  Funny story. So like, my rookie year, uh, in training camp, so I came in as, you know, a shooter in the draft. Don Nelson was my coach. And, um, going through training camp, sorry, summer league started, I think I probably shot like thirty, low thirties with three in training, or in summer league. And then you come into training camp, you know, a couple of months later, like, still working, getting through, trying to get comfortable with where shots are coming from. And Don Nelson, he went in the weight room, because to your point, I came in a hundred and eighty pounds, maybe. They were trying to get me in the weight room doing all these lifts and stuff. I'm shooting like trash in training camp like the first week. He walked in there and cussed out everybody in the room. It's like, "Y'all are killing the shot. He's lifting too much weights."

• 13:03Speaker 04

  And to me, I didn't, I didn't know that as a concept. Cause like I always just wanted to get stronger. Like most of it was just vanity. Like I hate.

• 13:12Speaker 04

  I look better than Jersey. All these mirrors around here, y'all telling me I gotta look like this. I'm trying to look like.

• 13:18Speaker 04

  I didn't even think about it in terms of shot. I, I, I know that there are, uh, there's a, a range of like body composition that matters to making sure everything moves right. So if you're, you know, if you're doing a big transformation, you can't change how your body moves. I never thought I could get to that point, but then when he called it out, I was like, wait, are they really messing up my shot? But that balance of being able to appropriately like get your body to move efficiently. Like a lot of, a lot of this to me is core strength. Like if we're talking specifics, um, everything is about the foundation. Like how does your body move through that range where you have, you know, complete control of, you know, your, your movement patterns? Not necessarily like brute strength, but efficiency range. Stability.

• 14:03Speaker 02

  Hope you guys enjoyed that. If you want to hear more, remember to check out Mind the Game wherever you get your podcasts. And thanks to Jason and Travis for having us on the feed.