Before he was setting 3-point records in the NBA, winning MVPs, and grabbing NBA Final rings left and right, Stephen Curry was wreaking havoc on college athletes and coaches. The four-time NBA champion was a three-year college player at Davidson before launching his pro career.
As the U.S. men's basketball team attempts to win a fifth straight Olympic gold, take a peek at Curry's time with Davidson and some fun stories. Here are five NCAA facts, plus a bonus, that you may not know about Curry:
- During Curry's first season at Davidson, he was second in the entire nation among freshmen in scoring, averaging 21.5 points per game. The freshman leader that year was none other than Curry's former Warrior teammate and current Team USA teammate, Kevin Durant. Durant averaged 25.8 points per game that season at Texas. In that same season Curry made 122 3-pointers, which was the most ever in a freshman year in NCAA Division I history until Antoine Davis broke that record in 2019.
- Curry is the only player on the U.S. men's basketball team who competed at the NCAA level for at least three years. Curry spent three seasons at Davidson for Bob McKillop from 2006 to 2009 — including an epic run to the Elite Eight in 2008 — before making his decision to go pro.
- In the2008 Elite Eight runby No. 10 seedDavidson, Curry scored 128 points through four games. These outings included a 40-point display in a first-round upset over No. 7 Gonzaga, 30 against No. 2 Georgetown, 33 in the Sweet Sixteen versus No. 3 Wisconsin and then 25 in an Elite Eight loss to Kansas. Curry led the 2008 NCAA tournament in most 3-point field goals made (23), highest scoring average (32.0 points per game) and highest steals average (3.25 steals per game). He is also fifth in NCAA tournament history with the most 3-pointers in a single tournament.
- The Curry family is filled with former NCAA athletes. Steph's father, Dell, was a four-year basketball player for Virginia Tech, and Steph's younger brother, Seth, was also an NCAA basketball player. Seth played his first season of college ball at Liberty before spending his final three years playing for the legendary Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. Steph's mom, Sonya, and sister, Sydel, were college athletes, too. Sonya was a star volleyball player at Virginia Tech while Sydel played volleyball for three seasons at Elon. Additionally, Steph's brother-in-law — Sydel's husband — is Damion Lee. Lee spent four seasons on Drexel's basketball team, including a redshirt year after an injury, before playing his final year at Louisville. Collectively, the Curry family, including Lee, has more than 20 years of NCAA experience.
- Stephen Curry is second all-time in NCAA Division I history in 3-pointers made in a season. Curry set this in 2007-08, making 162 shots from distance in his sophomore season. This record was only broken this year when Iowa's Caitlin Clark made her 163rd 3-pointer in March.
Bonus:Curry committed 13 turnovers in his first NCAA game. On Nov. 10, 2006, Curry made his NCAA debut against Eastern Michigan. Curry finished the game with 15 points and 13 giveaways. He would only reach double-digit turnovers one more time in his NCAA career.