The two-time MVP of the NBA, Wardell Stephen Curry II, has been known to pull off feats with a basketball that leave opponents, coaches and fans breathless.
Appearing at a hoops camp on the North Shore apparently counts.
“When I first saw him, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t breathe,” said camper Leiah Naeata, 12, of Laie. “I was around the MVP, and I didn’t know what to do. I tried to stay calm. I just couldn’t.”
Frenzy has a way of following the point guard with limitless range.
Curry has sought quiet recovery since the Golden State Warriors’ wrenching loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, in which the Warriors’ collapse from a 3-1 series lead was made complete at the hands of LeBron James. The out-of-the-way site of the overnight camp with Curry, tucked away on the Brigham Young University-Hawaii campus, allowed one of the game’s biggest superstars to project an air of tranquility at odds with the upheaval around the league in recent days.
In a seismic shift, Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant, himself a former MVP, announced Monday his intentions to join Golden State on a two-year deal, effectively creating a superteam unprecedented in the NBA. The Warriors set a league record with 73 wins in the 2015-16 regular season — part of the reason their Finals meltdown burned as much as it did.
Curry granted the Honolulu Star-Advertiser a sit-down interview between his duties on the final day of his first Hawaii camp Tuesday. He spoke openly on several topics (such as acknowledging the Finals loss was “still tough” and that he’s prone to playing the “what-if game”) but was coy on Durant. Moves can become official Thursday.
Sports Illustrated, among others, reported that Curry was part of Golden State’s recruitment contingent with Durant over the weekend — which meant he was in the Hamptons on Long Island, N.Y., just before arriving in Hawaii on Sunday.
“I mean, I like it,” Curry said of the Durant news. “That’s pretty much all there is to it right now. He hasn’t signed yet, so we’ll let him have his week and we’ll go from there once it becomes official.”
Backlash of the loaded Warriors, who still boast All-Stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, could reach a whole new level, however.
That was inconceivable to Curry not long ago. Every other team in the league already pegged the Warriors as the team to beat this past season, especially once “Dub Nation” started 24-0 coming off an NBA championship. Raucous crowds greeted them everywhere.
“I didn’t think it would get crazier than that,” he said with a grin. “I may have been wrong, thinking about what might be coming this year. We’ll see how it goes. But the experience has been awesome. I think it will make us better as we go forward.”
At his own camp, in a state that’s in an active conversion process from Lakers fandom, there was only love. Just about every camper wore Curry’s No. 30 jersey. He was greeted by chants of “MVP!” every time he walked into the Cannon Activities Center.
BYUH was an enticing option for the Warriors, who have held preseason camp there prior to games against the Lakers at the Stan Sheriff Center in years past. For BYUH it was a coup for a school that is shutting down its athletic programs in another year.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said BYUH point guard and Curry fan Justin Yamzon, who volunteered as a camp coach. “With all the news of us shutting down athletics and everything like that, how we get a camp of this magnitude … but as soon as we figured out it was going to be here, and the possibility we could work the camp, I jumped on it.”
The camp’s prohibitive cost — $2,250 for overnight campers and $2,000 for day campers — didn’t prevent it from selling out within minutes back when it was announced in February, according to a team spokeswoman. Many of the campers flew over from the Bay Area with their families.
For Curry it was his “fourth or fifth” time visiting Hawaii. He brought his well-known family with him, but they were not present at the camp.
He was aware of the growing Golden State fan base in the islands.
“That’s a big reason why we wanted to bring the camp down here,” Curry said. “Even when I’d come to visit in years past, people recognize you and talk about the Warriors and how they don’t have to stay up late out here to watch the games, which is good. It’s a fun kind of vibe to know Dub Nation is not just in the Bay Area, not just in California, but also here in Hawaii. So we’re coming to bring a little bit of that vibe to Oahu.”
On one day of the camp, he showed off his now legendary pregame shooting and drills routine.
“Some kids in there are a lot more talented than I was when I was their age,” Curry said. “So, that’s obviously something they can work for, and I want to be able to inspire them to do that.”
Besides producing a season in which he averaged 30.1 points and hit a record 402 3-pointers, much of Curry’s allure is his ability to relate to children. At 6 feet 3 inches and 185 pounds, he doesn’t appear overly athletic or physically imposing.
A clip from the camp — Curry knocking on a dormitory door at night and an astonished camper falling over backward — went viral. When it came time for camp awards Tuesday, Curry reciprocated and did an exaggerated tumble when the same camper, about 10 years old, walked toward him.
Naeata, the Laie camper, went up to collect awards for one-on-one champion and most improved in her camp group. Curry handed them out personally.
“Horrifying,” Naeata described of the experience, laughing.
There were 85 local campers among the group of 210. Curry, the seven-year pro out of Davidson, has put on the camp the past four years, but the first three were held in Pebble Beach, Calif.
Next year’s camp location is undetermined, but the Warriors spokeswoman said, “We would love to come back if we are able to make it work again.”
Twelve-year-old Shon Reid of Laie affirmed that he is a big Warriors fan after attending the camp.
“Yeah. Bandwagon,” he said.
Reid’s favorite moment was “Steph telling me I have handles.”