MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK, NY — The Golden State Warriors #NBAAllStarNYC representatives, head coach Steve Kerr, leading vote-getter point guard Stephen Curry, and fellow starter and shooting guard Klay Thompson were in full effect this morning in New York for the Western Conference All-Star Practice.
Prior to that, Steph’s father, Dell Curry, participated in the #NBACares2015 “Unified Game” with participants from the Special Olympics. Stephen was on hand to cheer his dad on. Warrior Hall Of Famer Chris Mullin also participated in the event, on Dell’s team.
Made it to #NYC ❄ Here at #MSG where #StephCurry's cheering on his dad Dell in the #NBACaresNYC Special Olympics Game pic.twitter.com/PRkYkXTeCS
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) February 14, 2015
After the Unified Game, Spike Lee settled into his familiar spot at MSG courtside and the Western Conference All-Stars were introduced:
Kerr started the practice with the familiar refrain of predicting he would over-work former San Antonio Spurs teammate Tim Duncan in tomorrow’s All-Star Game. “Main thing I want to do is run (him) into the ground,” Kerr quipped.
He then instructed the team to conduct a five-man weave that quickly turned into a sloppy affair featuring just four men per sequence up and down the floor.
Kerr then joked, “We’re going to put in a couple plays that we’re not actually going to run tomorrow.”
NBA TV’s Kristen Ludlow then introduced 13-year-old Little League World Series sensation Mo’ne Davis. When asked who her favorite player is, Davis answered that it was Curry.
“He’s just amazing,” Davis said when asked why it was Curry.
Meanwhile, the Western All-Stars continued to shoot around and Curry tried some ridiculously high-arcing “rainbow” shots:
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The #DegreeMen “Battle of the Game Changers” challenge between Curry and John Wall then got started. Curry would start off by revealing one of the three hidden trick shots.
The first one he chose was attempting a shot while sitting down on the court. Curry badly missed his attempt, but Wall missed his as well, although he did draw backboard and a little iron.
The second shot was a blind-folded free throw. Curry missed his off the board:
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Alas, Wall missed his as well, in similar fashion.
At that point, Ludlow introduced actor and NBA aficionado Michael Rappaport, who announced that the last challenge would be to simply do a pull-up shot against him. Curry missed his, and Wall got his to go, thus winning the “Battle”.
After the so-called practice, there was a media scrum in the aptly-named “Mixed Zone”, where Thompson was mobbed by reporters:
Kerr? Not so much:
Where was Curry? As the leading vote-getter, he was the “main event” and had the “Interview Room” to himself. There, he answered various generalized questions that the global audience isn’t privy to like we in the Bay are.
One reporter made the assumption that the Currys played nice on the court. When the topic veered towards Steph playing H-O-R-S-E with his dad, the reporter asked, “He’s not a big trash-talker?”
Curry chuckled, “Aw, you don’t know my dad!”
Steph was then asked about being a so-called “Game Changer”.
“Having confidence, a work ethic and just a vision of what you want to be,” Curry replied, “and be a student of the game.”
After that, it was time to go and the student was escorted by Warriors PR VP Raymond Ridder. Bay Area News Group reporter Diamond Leung tagged along and got to ask him a few questions along the way:
It turned out that Leung and Curry were discussing how Steph will honor North Carolina shooting victim Deah Shaddy Barakat tonight at the All-Star festivities at Barclays Center.
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