Stephen Curry still remembers the strange noise that interrupted one of the biggest moments of his basketball life.
The Golden State Warriors icon was selected No. 7 overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, but the moment did not unfold in total celebration.
Inside the draft venue, New York fans made their feelings obvious after realizing Curry was off the board before the Knicks could get him.
Stephen Curry remembers nerves before Golden State Warriors call
Stephen Curry recalled the story on the Fudd Around and Find Out podcast, that draft night was already stressful before the Warriors changed his life.
“When I had on my fit with a little purple tie, nervous is all I get out. But one, I didn’t know how long the night was going to be,” Curry said.
He added, “And so you’re there for 2 hours before David Stern, at the time the commissioner, before he even walked out. And so, there were a lot of fans in there, a lot of New York fans, which is pretty awesome.”
Curry had no idea exactly how long he would be waiting, and the crowd only added to the tension. At that point, he was still a skinny guard from Davidson trying to figure out where his NBA career would begin.
Golden State eventually took him at No. 7, but the immediate reaction around him was not what he expected.
New York boos made Stephen Curry’s draft moment weird
Curry said the loudest memory from that night was not only hearing his name called, but hearing New York fans boo right after it happened.
“My favorite moment is how loud they booed when Golden State selected me at No. 7. They booed like crazy and I’m trying to have that moment, but I couldn’t get that distraction out of my head,” he continued.
“It’s like, ‘Are they booing?’ I was like, ‘Oh, no, they really wanted me. I got it.’ That took me a second,” Curry concluded.
The boos were not aimed at Curry as a player. They were frustration from Knicks fans who wanted him to fall to New York.
That realization changed how Curry understood the moment. What first felt like a negative reaction was actually a sign of how badly another fan base wanted him. Still, it created an odd memory on a night that should have felt clean and simple.
Curry went on to become the greatest shooter in NBA history and the face of a Warriors dynasty. But on draft night, before any of that happened, he was just trying to process why the room got so loud when Golden State picked him.
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