Steph Curry Says He Gets His 'Grit' and 'Competitiveness' from His Mom: She Is 'So Fierce'

Lindsay Kimble
Updated
Steph Curry Says He Gets His 'Grit' from His Mom

He got it from his mama.

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry says his success on the basketball court — and in life — comes, in part, thanks to some traits he inherited from his mother, Sonya Curry.

Curry, 31, appeared on Today, Wednesday, and chatted about his mom, saying she’s “always been the encourager in our family and the one that has given me the most understanding of who I am as a person and an individual.”

“And she is just like so fierce and bold and to the point direct, that I tell her I get my grit and my competitiveness and my fire from her,” he explained.

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The athlete — who is married to Ayesha Curry, with whom he shares three kids, son Canon W. Jack, 9 months, and daughters Ryan Carson, 3½, and Riley, 6½ — also opened up about how the naysayers during his initial career fuel him now.

“That’s part of my DNA and I think I’ve embraced the fact that for me, I’m almost a perfectionist in terms, I feel like I can continue to get better,” he said of once being labeled the underdog. “So that chip, is like driving my work ethic in terms of like — I’ve had a lot of crazy accolades and championships and all that type of stuff, but if I really look myself in the mirror and say, ‘Are you the best player you think you can be?’ And I’d in a heartbeat say no.”

Another huge part of Curry’s continued success? His family, he said while opening up about their Facebook Watch series.

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“It makes me who I am,” he told Today. “I feel like I have a purpose that, I’m walking in terms of what I get to do on the floor. But none of it makes sense and none of it works without my family. Being authentic and transparent about my relationship with Ayesha and us walking into parenthood together, raising three kids and trying to instill the same values and morals that we were taught as kids.”

“Thriving in chaos is something that we try to do the best.”