NBA All-Star Steph Curry tells Christian singer Tauren Wells in a new podcast that Romans 8:28 formed the foundation for his faith at a young age when he was constantly being compared to his father, who was also a pro basketball player.
“My mom messaged over and over and over and over again, Romans 8:28, and that was the verse that she spoke life into me,” Curry said. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those that love Him and who have been called according to His purpose.”
Curry is a four-time NBA champion for the Golden State Warriors and is generally considered the best 3-point shooter in the history of the game. As a young basketball player, though, Curry was known only as the son of Dell Curry, who played 16 years in the league, including a decade for the Charlotte Hornets.
Wells interviewed Curry for his podcast, The High Note.
“No matter what gym I walked into [in high school], I would hear the student section [shout], … ‘Daddy can't help you,’” Curry said, laughing.
Curry said he learned early in life that “my journey was my own.” Referencing Romans 8:28, Curry said, “That was something that ... I really believed in that whatever I put my mind to, whatever I decided I was going to really work at and have that spirit of accomplishment that I was going to be able to live it out.
“And that's carried all the way through whatever the challenge ahead of me was,” he said. “... God doesn't make any mistakes with anything that happens in my life.”
With his father on the road playing basketball, Curry said his mom, Sonya, was the “foundation of discipline.” She led “us to find out our relationship with God … and beginning our faith journey.” His mother, he said, took them to church on Sundays and Wednesdays and led them in Bible studies at 6:30 a.m. before school.
“With all the things thrown at me … I knew who I was, I knew who I am,” he said.
He plays for an “audience of One,” he said.
“[It] has always been my foundation,” he said.
Curry also said he is a fan of Wells' music. He took his children to a Tauren Wells concert in Sacramento. When Curry’s son was born, he said, he played Wells’ Hills and Valleys in the delivery room.
“And I'm singing it to him,” Curry said. “I’ve got him in my arms. I’ve got a video of it.”
Related:
'I Thank God Every Day': Steph Curry Wins 4th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Gregory Shamus/Staff, Getty Images/Joshua Blanchard/Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.