7th Pick: The Story of How the Warriors Drafted Stephen Curry

7th Pick: The Story of How the Warriors Drafted Stephen Curry

[Music] with the seventh pick in the 2009 NBA draft the Golden State Warriors select this year’s MVP Kevin the Golden State Warriors of the 2015 NBA champions the unanimous MVP one of the great playoff runs of all time is complete there’s a new dynasty in the NBA back-to- back titles three in four years and the latest with a sweep curry holds the record the emotions just pouring out it might be his fourth but it means so much [Music] first draft is the head guy for the Warriors and had to be exciting and anxious and all of that the Warriors previous drafts had kept missing this is a franchise that passed on the likes of Kevin Garnett Kobe Bryant and Ditzky and Amari Salomire they just didn’t do this part right the fans were great but 17 out of 18 years hadn’t made the playoffs there’s always someone in the draft that that’s taken 10 11 or 12 that no one anticipates being why didn’t we take care of it’s just a matter of you know who you can get hardest part of the job is projecting what young people are going to do he was always gassing Steph like oh you got to watch this kid from Davidson like man you know stars coming out of Davidson steph Curry did not want to be a warrior it was real clear there was a sense that you could lose your career if you come to the Warriors everybody keeps their eye on that one kind of golden egg and there’s so many guys that are great basketball players even though it is the Blake Griffin draft I think a lot of people maybe overlook some people will say this draft maybe doesn’t have quite the zip that some of them have had you only have to get one guy we will look at who might be able to play right now however if there’s a guy that’s going to take some time and we could project him to be a star you’d go with a star the Phoenix Suns Golden State Warriors we were a team that looked like bad luck was around us everywhere well we finally got some good luck here we go try it again wrong there we go i’ve never been here before it’s my first time hopefully I can get to know it a little better if things work out the way I wanted to first time New York City there we go what’s up fellas travis here how you doing Steph uh you uh decided not to work out for going state and they’re pretty much telling people right now that they’re going to pick you regardless are you cool with that oh yeah i mean uh scheduling conflicts didn’t allow me to work to work out with them uh wouldn’t like I don’t want to play for you guys kind of thing and if they draft me tomorrow I’m putting the hat on proudly you know taking the jersey and going to work hard and and make the most of my opportunity um so uh that would be a great situation enjoying this whole experience and now it’s time to see my boy Dear now it’s time to go get to this media answer tons of questions micked up all right cool do you have any plans celebrations things that you’re going to be doing i got a lot of family here in New York so I don’t know what we’re going to do it’s It’s my dad’s birthday today so you know good gift for him for me to you know get drafted yes sir long time coming i’m ready but uh I need some water i ran out of answers new York Knicks versus the Minnesota Timberwolves that’s out of bounds you pushed me out of bounds [Music] i’m not trying to steal your show draft day the buzz is crazy it seems like everyone’s lying it seems like all GMs are playing chess with each other who’s 2 three who’s 2 three four you’ve got a little bit of a a spread after fourth or fifth pick it becomes very unclear the reality of it is setting in right now that I’m actually going to be a a draft pick tonight hopefully and and now I start playing the mind games of which team’s going to get me so um we’ll see what happens i got a nice gray tannanish gray pinstripe suit here um you I got the nice three-piece actually if you can I’ll put the the uh little vest on right here so we got it you know nice classy but also stylish look and then the finishing touch is it’s the purple pop tie with the little white dot so hopefully you know turns some heads when I walk in the in the room this this afternoon so man not many people know what my first name really is it’s Wardell so I’m going try to keep that a secret let’s cut that one out [Music] pop the collars like got the fresh cut mainly facial hair i just grew that in recently knock them down yes sir all right i just officially got butterflies i just I’m out of my element now i don’t know what to do with myself this is just crazy how you doing good how are you pretty good i’ll be all right though right yeah i just wonder that could happen is you end up in the NBA right that’s true this is great great way to put it up i’m hungry right now i want food seen you before about to practice walking over a couple times [Music] [Applause] rule of thumb about your first job get to know your boss pat him on the back take a picture with him tell him how honored you are to be a part of his company all the drafts here tonight major photo op with NBA Commissioner David Stern now I can eat new York City home to some of the most famous sports teams in the country also home to the beginning of the reality of the dream fans arriving here at the Washington Theater inside Madison Square Garden for the NBA draft the big board where one by one the names will show up and the NBA careers of young men will begin we’re pretty sure the first name will be the national player of the year of Blake Griffin part of the fun of any draft is debating who is going to be number one well the debate ended when Blake Griffin said he was headed to the NBA first pick of the 2009 NBA draft will be made by the Los Angeles Clippers who have five minutes me think about it Carolyn all right Blake Griffin the Clippers pick is now we will find out who goes number one here’s the commissioner David Stern with the first pick in the 2009 NBA draft the Los Angeles Clippers select Blake Griffin you know it was pretty cool to hear it is NBA draft day one of the most exciting days of the year in the National Basketball Association behind me are all these tables and chairs and some televisions and the media will come in and do their job today reporting on the NBA draft who should we avoid in the draft a guy you got to wait two or three years they don’t need another one of those in 2009 the state of the Warriors was back in disarray they had this we believe moment and it felt like this was about to be a thing right this is where we believe hello they had the pieces in place and then next thing you know two years later it was over it was like you’re back at the bottom and what felt like something that was brewing felt like a firecracker that never exploded concerned about the Warriors point guard situation how do you see that guy playing out i think Monte has opportunity to step up and be the player that he can be now I’m standing right outside the Warriors war room where later on this afternoon the Warriors will gather their entire basketball brain trust larry Riley Don Nelson coaches and scouts and the Warriors picket number seven will become a certainty and a reality let’s go take a look got a call from Larry Riley who was the general manager at the time he said “Look I’ve got Stefan on our board as the second best player in this draft we want to work him out and we’re going to we’re going to take him to seven.” And I said “Look Larry with all due respect we don’t like your team and your organization.” And really wanted him in New York and Larry was pretty clear he said “Look Jeff we don’t need a workout we don’t need an interview we don’t need anything i’m just telling you we’re going to take it.” They certainly discouraged us and I finally did say to Jeff Austin before the draft “If he’s available when we’re picking we’re taking him.” Later on it’ll be filled in with all the phones all the charts a draft board will be set up the Warriors will have all the tools at their fingertips that they will need to make an intelligent choice i’m Stephen Curry you’re watching the 2009 NBA draft on ESPN [Music] who do you think’s going to draft you not Not the Clippers let’s put it that way that’s all I got so far come on mate you got to make your first shot we put a basketball in his crib right away a little Nerf hoop oops spitting bricks man his first birthday party we had to lift him up to put it in the basket and so when we did he turns around and he’s like “Are you clapping?” And so after that all day long all he wanted to do was put the ball in the basket and then turn around and watch us all clap for him yay he’s like “I like this attention this is fun.” We start him out in the rebox he’s he’s in the right shoe wear uh we’ve got a couple balls floating around he he uh laughs a lot when I bounce him so hopefully he’ll he’ll pursue it too [Music] you sure [Music] what are you going to be when you grow up a basketball player boy that’s going to take a lot of hard work and practice what’s it take to be a great basketball player like you well you really got to want it you got to taste it you got to be able to smell it i mean you really got to be hungry for it now you’re cooking Dad smooth as a milkshake chocolate [Music] how great is your dad very cool always wanted to be around me my teammates practice games whenever he could be a part of anything he was there that was Stephan very proud of Papa rightly so for every home game every pregame after I do my workout we would play one-on-one he definitely had the itch for playing he always wanted to get on the court mugsy being 53 the little guy and Steph was always the littlest guy on his team as well so got drawn to Mugsy right away [Music] davidson looking for the lead we’re in the final minute curry got it here’s Curry trick release for three inside ring it up ring it up for Stephen Curry it’s my time is Stephen Curry’s time with the New York Knicks a match made in heaven from the moment Stephen Curry declared the world had him pointed toward the New York Knicks but they have to be able to get him with that eighth overall pick how likely is that to happen well a lot of projections have Stephen Curr going by the six pit currently occupied by the Minnesota Timberwolves memphis had the number two pick and Dell was very close with the personnel division there he called Dell and said “Listen we will take Stefan at the number two pick but he’s got to come down and work out for the owner.” But I believe he’s the second best player in this draft behind Blake Griffin but we need a workout and Stephan and Dell and myself we talked about the pros and cons of Memphis with the roster and whatever reason we decided that Memphis was not a place we wanted him to go and they were very clear that if he didn’t work out there they would not draft him the pick is now in here’s the commissioner again David Stern [Applause] with the second pick in the 2009 NBA draft the Memphis Grizzlies select Hashimit from Dar Salam Tanzania and the University of Canadian draft night settle in and watch with us as the pieces of the puzzle are revealed he was frail skinny babyfaced very immature bodywise and what seemed to be not very strong and on the short side good job good job the only hesitation was what he looked like the eye test [Applause] puberty in i asked the doctor I’m starting to get worried all he ever wanted to do is play at Virginia Tech his dad has got his number retired he was a outstanding high school basketball player [Music] but he wasn’t thought of among the top 50 players in the country his dad was but his dad was bigger they had no interest in him whatsoever as a scholarship player the best they could do was say they would let him walk on and no other school offered him a scholarship until Davidson finally came along at guard number 20 a senior Stephen Curry [Music] [Applause] one of the first workouts that we had right here on this court i was overwhelmed yes he had the character yes he had the shooting yes he had the hand eye but his instincts his basketball IQ just jumped out at me and the fact that we graduated seven seniors so there was an opening for a spot on the starting team we felt we had a lot to offer him only after two three weeks of individual workouts I said to our fans Steph Curry is going to be one of the greats in the history of Davidson coach McKill told us you’re going to have an NBA player on your hands and we’re like what i want I want to play i want to play [Music] bronny freshman 18 years old in Davidson North Carolina yes he was small yes he looked like he was 12 years old however you could see that he had the potential to be great very quickly we all found out he was going to be our best player even though he was a freshman you’re open number [Music] three is where it gets like okay who’s going to go with the third pick in the N in the 2009 NBA draft the Oklahoma City Thunder select James Harden of Aristo State University maybe a bit of a surprise but they considered him the most polished player in the draft okay it’s a good pick got to get as strong as possible uh we got a couple of chores to take care of when he was saying Davidson I was like really like it’s two exits away you’re going to be too close to home and I didn’t really know anything about Davidson i actually have to take care of uh putting in the dishes and dishwasher uh my dad he’s got the dog we got my sister freshman in high school she’s volleyball star right now and when I just saw coach McKillb and how he related to the players how hard they were working in open gym every cut sharp every cut two hands i was like “Oh my gosh like this is where he needs to be.” Our first individual workouts it was the hour before I was and his alarm wouldn’t stop going off i woke him up and I was like “Your workout starts now.” Never seen him move so fast steph showed up like I think like a minute late and tried to seamlessly sneak into the drill and I think coach let him go for a minute or two and then just threw him out for being late cuz you can’t be late obviously and he had to sit and watch and I don’t think he ever ever cut it close again as much attention as he got that was always balanced with how humble he was and how much like he cared about his teammates and went out of his way to show that like Frank Benzy was sick and we would just go to the supermarket and bring a bunch of groceries and like that’s the type of guy Steph was and is is just like always looking out for people and always not only doing stuff but wanting people to know that he cares the pick is in fourth pick for the Sacramento Kings here’s Commissioner David Stern number four Steph just had his workout two days ago with the Kings sacramento called late this week and uh had this weekend open to come out uh a cross country trip so glad a guy worked out with the fourth pick in the 2009 NBA draft maybe it’s the Kings does that indicate anything about your interest in the Kings and the Knicks that you would come all the way out here and you would come out here for Golden State and you wouldn’t come out for some of the other teams i mean definitely you got to look at the roster and where you fit in um with the schedule or the roster that they have um you don’t want to disappear as soon as you get drafted and you know get swallowed up in the system obviously you want to go somewhere where that fits your style of play and um somewhere where you can thrive the Sacramento Kings select Tyreek Evans from the University of Memphis means we’re getting closer to New York and there is a lot of reason to believe that Tyreek Evans if not now will be the best of all these point guards in three years stephen Curry was a scoring machine in three years at Davidson the 63 junior averaged almost 29 points this past season became a consensus all-American he finished his career fourth all time in three-pointers sophomore year we ran through the conference season undefeated welcome back to the NCA tournament we took the nation by storm still taking on the first tournament win since ‘ 69 this kid on the jump shot there he is [Applause] davidson back to the table at the line i submit to you Davidson College to the Sweet 16 that’s Dell’s kids for all those years the boys were Dell’s kids that’s Dell’s son dell became Steph’s dad i mean it happened like that davidson Darlings everybody knows about him how has life changed for you i mean all this all this fame all this national notoriety uh things have changed a little bit steph like took off like a supernova and eclipsed everything first of all Stephan thanks for being here congratulations you must be on such a high right now this has been the greatest three weeks of my life he was named the most outstanding player from the Midwest region you’re a remarkable young man everybody tells you that the trustees at Davidson actually rented buses and shuttled our entire student body up to Detroit put them in hotels so we had a fan base the regional semifinals in Detroit Fields and here we go [Applause] he just took it to him all night long let’s go [Applause] we got in the suit so many people will mad at you for ruining their NCAA pool if anybody’s out there I’m sorry about that a one versus a 10 here in Detroit the Kansas game was one that brings back such joyful memories but such sad memories we fought we emptied our tank puts it on the floor to the bucket left hand sting to get loose now that game haunted us for a long long time curry lets it go and buries it 54 seconds to play time out steph Curry will not let Davidson die knowled three to shoot lets it go off the front and with 16.8 Eight to go davidson with life in big moments the stars have to step up that young man [Applause] here’s Curry he may not give this up pick and roll curry six to go freeze himself curry four to go hs kicks it out and it’s over with the fifth pick in the 2009 NBA draft everybody knows the story they had two picks back to back and they had a point guard need they need a point guard and he had two picks i remember being in the draft room i remember everyone being worried that he was going to be selected i don’t think we ever envisioned we were going to get him he he flips back to there cuz he’s going there could be could be curry will learn his new team Thursday night is he going to be strong enough against NBA defenders over the course of an 82 game schedule to get the ball in the operational area it’s going to be more difficult against real life NBA yeah baby if I’m Stephen Curry instead of going fifth or sixth I wouldn’t mind falling to the eighth to the New York Knicks i’m with Stephen Curry and uh Stephan you told me yesterday that you would be happy to play anywhere but in your heart of hearts where would you like to get selected tonight i mean to stay here in New York would be great just because of the system that they have and uh Dan Tony’s a great coach who wouldn’t want to play here in New York now why do you think that you would be such a good fit here in New York with the Knicks well that’s how I’ve played all my life up and down you know uh really be able to shoot the ball and put the ball in the basket and uh he values defense too so I can I can play that too so um just be able to have a lot of freedom of movement and and be able to to make plays there are a lot of rumors flying around out there and right now we’re just concerned with this drafts and and with picking a player that could fit in with us and help us actually win more games now yesterday you told me that you’re hoping that the Knicks would make a move maybe move up so that they could select you at this point what are the chances of that of that happening from what you’re hearing i’m not sure there’s so many trade talks and rumors going around so it’s hard to keep up with so uh right now I’m just sitting back uh just being real calm about it and and seeing what happens all right good luck to you tonight all right thank you Ste the pick is in at least for the fifth pick here’s the commissioner David Surf [Applause] with the fifth pick in the 2009 NBA draft the Minnesota Timberwolves select Ricky Rubio of Elmasu Spain and Juventa [Music] we’re home free it’s We’re home free it’s either here or here no problem there was a game coming up in Indianapolis where they were going to play Purdue and we’re ready to go in the capital city of the Hooser State purdue was one of those teams that would physically beat you up that was before the handchecking rules and Curry leading the nation in scoring with 31.9 a game good look by Curry though up the floor it was almost like the Purdue Boiler Makers thought it was a football game here’s Stephen Curry again pulling up a soft shot and he is now 0 for five from the field and some of the people who would criticize Steph would say “I don’t know if he can stand up to the physical play that goes on in the NBA.” Purdue continues to just pile it on here coach McCulliff has no choice but to call a timeout i wanted to see that game because I thought it would bring some light to the situation rotating the ball curry lets a long ball fly and that’s an shot of Stephen Curry steph didn’t especially have a great game but what he did was answer the questions in my mind well his coach Bob McKillip says he’s a lot better player than he was last March when he was only sensational his head was up he saw the floor he had great vision again nice luck very nice luck outside by Curry to start that off and he took the punishment that Purdue dished out to him i never went back to see him play again that was the moment where I made a decision in my mind that he was a player that would really be quite valuable to us he’s a tremendous kid don Sonia’s parents done a great job raising him very centered very humble in spite of all the attention that he’s gotten in the last year in spite of the fact that they lost and he didn’t play particularly well curry most days those go down for him today they’re rolling off i walked out of that arena that day and thought if there’s any way that we can draft him he is our guy stephen Curry said the other day that he is 5050 on going pro let’s see if we can get him to tip us off to his plans exclusively on PTI okay Steph smile if you’re going pro see now you got me all confused good that’s very good all right you said 50/50 the other day how about today are you 5149 are you 5743 where are you today you could throw any number out right now i haven’t uh I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it um I’m going to talk to my parents this weekend and um and get all the information I need to to make the decision and then we’ll go from there so I guess you could say 5347 me coming back the week before he declared he wrote me an email and he just like “This is where my head’s at i don’t know what I’m going to do yet.” He talked about how much Davidson meant to him like literally just having like relationships with the guy who like makes our omelets in the morning and 95% of people live on campus so you see everybody all the time you actually get to know people you could tell that it was really weighing on him it was abundantly clear he should go to the NBA right like how many people coming out of Davidson have that type of opportunity how many people anywhere in college basketball have that type of opportunity he came to my office about 9:00 that morning says “I’m not sure yet.” went over to the dining facility on campus and ate an omelette with his teammate Steven Rosser three eggs sunny side up no one knew what the decision was going to be and we were walking over to breakfast and he told me that he was going to leave and even if you go look at his actual press conference you could tell he looks kind of like heavy and like emotional and some tears and stuff breaking news here on Sports Center just moments ago the nation’s leading scorer Stephen Curry announcing his decision to forego his senior season and he will declare for the NBA draft he’s not usually a nervous person and like hands shaking nervous before that press conference i’ve heard anywhere from 7 to 20 and workouts that I’ll do in the next month could move me up so um anywhere in that range and I have an opportunity to to improve my my stock with the workouts I have to to do in the in the coming weeks doug did Curry make the right decision where does he go i mean you have Brandon Jennings who frankly has far more talent and upside jeff Teague Johnny Flynn Ty Lawson even Drew Holidayiday at UCLA are seen as guys with more upside and there’s just this sense that he’s not the big- time athlete right now his name value is carrying him a little bit more than the actual efficiency on the basketball floor so it’s going to be interesting to see where he pans out got two months down in DC prepping the young guys for the draft stephen Curry from Davidson excellent excellent excellent now going behind the back now behind the back today was uh like a full court situation dribble efficiency teaching the guys to take the court and make it smaller in their head and make sure that they do it at a certain game speed come on come on Steph how good you want to be man come on it’s all you good it’s all on you man come on there’s a two ball handling drill that’s used to sort of mimic the madness that you find in the game don’t bend over you’re fine Steph you’re good sit up you’re good you’re good man you’re good you’re good regular people do regular things you’re not regular come on it’s tough to do when you’re tired um but you know right when after you finish that drill you’re done so it it pushes you to get through it and be mentally tough extension extension extension extension excellent that’s the best you’ve done excellent go i don’t go out trying to prove people wrong um I hear a lot of criticism by doubters but it fuels me inside but you won’t know it by the way I play you want to be good Steph you want to be good right come on full speed man come on full speed that’s it that’s how you finish good job good job and I think there might be a little bit of a chip on his shoulder because people want to focus on what he can do rather than what he can do so in many ways maybe that’s also part of his motivation it is a job interview and just like a kid that graduates from business school it’s important to these guys to come in and be at the top of their game 5 6 7 9 and 10 down on that end this is my first real action i haven’t worked out with any teams yet it’s kind of overwhelming you know with all the interviews we have to do and uh you know the amount of people that are here to watch you play for a short amount of time it’s just like any other game get butterflies before once you touch the ball put the jersey on it kind of goes out the door and you just do what you’ve been doing your whole life they know you can score they know you can you know don’t play defense but if you can do the detail the little things and that’ll increase the stock even more i think he’s in pretty good shape uh I think that people are really starting to warm up to his feel for the game his skill level his pedigree i think he came out here today did a really nice job his shot is gorgeous so I think that he’s in very good shape with this draft you want to see him up close physically are they really 6’3 are they 61 you know the stats from college are not always accurate some people will say this draft maybe doesn’t have quite the zip that some of them have had you only have to get one guy in the first round and so if you get your one guy it’s a good draft with the vertical jump you get two tries if you improve on the second you get a third amount of people that are here to watch him play for a short amount of time see him on TV you see him in the business suits and to see him uh you know take an interest in your game and what you can offer their team is special start with your toe behind a red line you’re going to sprint to the first cone you’re going to slide to the right you’re going to back pedal to this time slide to the left put your foot past the red line if you touch any of the cones start again you get two shots at it take your best good luck get out here in front of these coaches it’s kind of pressure it was It was fun [Applause] you got over there [Music] there we go my wife brought him to a game i was with Cleveland he was two weeks old he was asleep all the way to the game got in the arena he opened his eyes stayed awake the entire game game was over he goes back to sleep and she told me that after the game I’m like I got a player man i remember every game I went to and me and my brother going up to the uh to the practice gym to to shoot before games and then watching the game the game starts they might come down and watch a little bit halftime they’re back up playing and security people knew him they just had to run to the gym i think his father taught him a lot about shooting because he was one of the greatest shooters the NBA scene as well i want to know how your release got so quick because I wasn’t quick couldn’t jump so I had to get it off best way I could the fastest way I could wherever it was just practicing there’s a YMCA league starting up next week you going to join first time you go to the hole they going to put you on your back they going to see if you going to cry or get up and run back what are they going to do when I size them up you curious son you you ain’t your daddy he’s you know well known across the nation for what he’s done in his career it’s going to be hard to top that i mean I’m going to work hard and I’m going to try to you know do my best so he’s being nice to his old man he says everywhere he goes Neil Curry’s your dad now it’s everywhere I go Steph Curry you’re Steph Curry’s dad that changed quickly it’s a great job to have enjoy every minute of it because it goes by so fast i think they’re so young and they each have a ceiling that could go pretty high the worst decisions to me are knee-jerk reactions we’re not going to get into something that we haven’t had a chance to evaluate first pick you got seven it’s a great number it’s a great number i don’t know if it’s a great pick a draft pick is an asset you’re focusing on next year and five years down the road at the same time we could use a point guard there’s no question about that i’ve said it before we could use some beef we have a lot of guys who are long and thin but we don’t have a lot of muscled up types of guys smaller version of Samuel Don Bear it wouldn’t be a bad thing if if a guy happened to be a senior in college we have the youngest roster in the league from top to bottom so it doesn’t bother me to draft a guy who’s a senior in college if I like him and he happens to be 22 years old that actually might be a plus any nerves coming in definitely i mean first work I’ve been working out in DC uh since school was out that’s the first first two girls are over that I can you know let loose kind of like the first four minutes of How many guys going through this process do you know that had to work out in front of their dad i don’t think not many your measurables were better than people anticipated a combine uh a lot of the critique on my game is spent through I kind of proved that fact you compete with you know other guys in this draft up there in Chicago so now it’s just a matter of get on the floor and showing that as well uh you can do all the tests if it’s one but if you can’t do it on floor then there’s no point the idea is Nelly and I need to know what we’re dealing with when we pick a guy am I going to have some nights when I’m not going to sleep already had a few you know that’s that’s part of the deal for these GMs and player personnel pick for the coaches you’re trying to turn a team around you got to know what you’re getting june 25 is is a big day for us we can help our team there’s no question about it here’s the commissioner David Cern minnesota called me they called me and said “Hey um does Steph want to come here?” And I said “Please don’t.” No he does not we thank Minnesota every day for that with the sixth pick in the 2009 NBA draft the Minnesota Timberwolves select Johnny Flynn from Baby [Music] two point guards who was that that did it there we go stephan Curry she’s making it suspenseful why not now waste two minutes not talking about them i think programmatically they don’t want it now [Music] they got it this is crazy sing is on the clock with the number seven pick you’re welcome point knicks were celebrating that they were going to get Stefan despite the fact that I had told them emphatically larry is not joking and also Donnie Nelson had called Dell and said we’re going to take him donnie Nelson called me even while I was in New York draft night and asked me about that and I said truthfully we want him in New York first met Steph was six or seven years old or maybe even five i can’t remember just a little toddler i coached the All-Star game from the Golden State Warriors don Nelson that’s the game that the Magic Johnson came back and Dale his father was at the game brought his sons and the cutest kid you’ve ever seen he had a great looking shot just like his dad had his dad had a perfect shot and he must have taught his son who would ever think that I would have drafted him congratulations we got our guy oh hey yeah yeah minnesota gentlemen picked two point guards right in front of us i had gotten word the day before the draft that that’s what they were going to do and you never know how valid everything is but I had a source that was connected there and I I felt awfully good about it but I didn’t sleep well and you never know until it really happens we got our guy all right okay Raymond congratulations thanks for coming by man thanks for your help commissioner David Stern has the card for a team that used 27 different [Applause] With the seventh pick in the 2009 NBA draft the Golden State Warriors select Stephen Curry from Davidson College [Applause] that is it stephen Curry i’m like what i’m looking around i’m looking at everybody else when everyone gets picked everyone’s family stands up and they’re like getting really excited they announced Steps of Warriors and I think everyone kind of was shocked and just kind of looked at each other looked around a little bit and I was like where are they taking my child i don’t even know where Golden State is i was really in shock there for a minute and then I’m like okay he got drafted he’s 7 y he hugs and we’re doing all this stuff but in my mind I’m like what just happened i didn’t realize that there were so many fans here who dislike the Golden State Warriors so much actually the reaction says it all nothing against Golden State but these Nick fans wanted Stephen Curry we had him rated as the second best player in that draft and I said he’s going to set out to prove me wrong and he did golden State staff you got the team you wanted right yes uh yeah i mean any team that drafts you you got to be the one that wants you so it’s a style that I you know that I’m used to going up and down and I’m excited that’s all that’s all I can say right now i’m excited what kind of advice have you given him about what to expect challenges and otherwise uh in the NBA well not a lot of it’s league’s different than when I played uh I think he’ll face a lot of challenges and then uh I’ll be able to guide him through those challenges and adversities uh so that’s that’s how I help him the most thank you very much congratulations and happy birthday mark Jones over to you yeah big day for the Curry family and you told me you had a chance to speak with your father what part of the advice that he’s given you along your journey to the NBA do you appreciate the most i mean this is the best job in the world um I think growing up he taught me how to do things the right way and I can carry what I’ve learned growing up it’s uh about 20 after 8 have you gotten him a birthday present yet it’s not midnight yet still I’ve been a little busy i’m still working on that we got a little connection where anything I get him be fine all right well I think he’s proud of you anyway yes sir all right congratulations Steu back to you thanks a lot guys stephen Curry writes scripture on his shoes before every game and these fans here are hoping that his next game would have been as a New York Knicks what makes him special well you mentioned that he’s an unbelievable shooter and he’s got great range hey Jeff yeah hey uh can you have Steph call me when you get done or can you give me a number let me see uh logo trying to find Hey make it easy there we go d if you put a hand up on the ball as well there we go excellent hang on all right step happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday dear happy birthday to you [Applause] uh we’re going to fly him out uh tomorrow morning and then we’ll have a press conference tomorrow afternoon about 2:00 and uh he can spend the night and then uh go wherever he wants to go on Saturday well it’s been a long long day you know highly anticipated event and now I’m finally at Golden State Warrior so I hope you all enjoyed the ride and I’m going to go celebrate see y’all later all right thanks man good luck i’m just happy as can be i hope he shoots the ball as quick as you did he almost does so he may even get quicker with a release uh we really think he’s a point guard we think he’s a one two uh not necessarily a 2-1 and and a lot of people have got him that way so uh but I’m just boy we’re happy as can be right here yeah when uh when can I talk to him i’ve got to go do a TV spot here in about five or 10 minutes um can you u can you text me his number and let me get a hold of him later here this evening tim Roy with Larry Riley of course moments ago with the seventh pick the Warriors take Stephen Curry from Davidson were you surprised that that he was there he had been touted in a lot of mock drafts going in the top five yeah uh early on we thought that was about where he belonged but then as the draft went on it seemed like he kept climbing and everybody kept talking about him it didn’t look like it would be but then today and even late yesterday we began to look at some things and piece some things together and it looked like he might be there and it turned out that he was we’re going to fly him out uh tomorrow morning and then we’ll have a press conference tomorrow afternoon about 2:00 and uh he can spend the night and then uh go wherever he wants to go on Saturday he also passes and and with good accuracy he can make a long pass he can make a short pass he can run a screen and roll and he can make shots pretty happy oh yeah very happy it’s it’s a good day for the Warriors testing testing [Music] like to welcome everyone to our press conference this afternoon we’ll introduce the newest member of the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry we will begin the proceedings today with a few opening statements from Warriors general manager Larry Riley who is seated on the deis to your left followed by a few opening comments from Stephen who is seated on the deis to your right thank you for coming out today it’s a great day for the Warriors uh we’re just proud as can be that we’re able to have a young man like Steph join our organization he’s going to do a lot of good things for us definitely very excited to be here uh it’s a dream come true for me you know just to be drafted NBA and the fan support is just awesome here so I’ll come in ready to work ready to get better and hopefully take my game to the next level so just definitely happy to be here first press conference kind of nice isn’t it it is pretty cool it’s all set in this is actually happening now now we can move on to you know playing basketball look at this woo whoa from the other county and Kobe slaps him on the behind he comes out left wing behind the back an ankle breaker by Chris Paul he splits the defense behind the back fires a three oh he puts it in that could be the greatest move I’ve ever seen in a series down again curry for three yes sir curry for the lead yeah defensive rebound perry again and Perry hits a three hello stephen Perry with some magic oh my goodness reverse layup is good and a foul curry way down bang bang oh what a shot from Curry steph Curry putting on a show curry’s going to have to put it up launches it up shot clock oh he knocks it down behind the back step out takes a three he’s got another one stephen Curry 17 points in overtime tells the fans “I am back.” Oh no oh no draymond finds him another three got it 62 here’s Curry for the record it’s good and there it is the alltime three-point king in the NBA freeze oh what a shot he is ruthless curry long three-pointer it’s good and the foul curry a long three it’s good steph Curry from way downtown oh witness some greatness three-pointer puts it in a 50point game seven for Steph Curry hands throw up a shot oh my goodness that should not have happened over to Curry catch and shoot three got it how did he do that [Music]

With the 7th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors selected Stephen Curry from Davidson College. The rest, they say, is history.

Go behind the scenes with the Warriors on one of the most historic draft selections in NBA history.