The Lunar New Year of the Ox is a suitable occasion for Vietnamese audiences to rest and fully enjoy the stressful encounters in NBA 2020-21 without worrying about the worries of daily life. Also on this special occasion, join Sport5 to look back at the journey of Stephen Curry, one of the top basketball stars, and also an example of determination to overcome difficulties.

Since returning to the NBA 2020-21, Stephen Curry has made fans “stand still” with a record score of 62 points when defeating the Portland Trail Blazers on January 3. Recently, he showed no signs of cooling down when he scored 57 points in a match against the Dallas Mavericks. But few people know that the Golden State Warriors star also has weaknesses. An ankle injury was the only obstacle that hindered his career in his early years in the NBA.

Specifically, Curry’s injury originated from his time playing in the NCAA. He missed only 1 match with the Davidson Wildcats due to an ankle injury. Although Curry was still eligible to play in the NBA after that, he was selected as a rookie with the 7th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, but his unhealthy ankle became an obsession that followed him throughout the first part. career.

During the first 3 years of playing in the NBA, the young player “five or seven times” encountered an old injury, leading to him having to undergo two consecutive ankle surgeries in 2011 and 2012. During the same period During that period, the Milwaukee Bucks were a team on the rise. With a huge title thirst, they have their eyes on the young players of the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry is among them.

However, after that, the Bucks quickly “cancelled” this transfer with the team “The Dubs” because their medical experts said that Curry’s ankle was damaged, making him inadequate. The ability to help the “War Deer Herd” hunt for trophies in the future. The Golden State Warriors also have no choice but to bet on the young player with shirt number 30.

At that time, doctors diagnosed that the surgeries had left many debris and scar tissue at the injury. This means that his ankle has weakened a lot. Although he could still continue to play football, all treatment methods at that time failed to restore his ankle to 100% healing as before. For a player with a flexible and tricky playing style like Curry, this will sooner or later become a tragedy for his career.

Curry himself had times when he wanted to give up. He shared: “I had to spend years recovering without being allowed to play football. It felt like I would never be able to play football again.” It seemed like the Warriors star’s career would soon fade away, but this obsession opened up a chance that helped him stand in the position he is in today.

In 2013, he met his career “savior”, Keke Lyles, the performance director of the Golden State Warriors at the time. Keke has breathed new life into the training methods of Stephen Curry and the entire “Golden Bridge” team. That is to train an NBA star’s physical condition to the best level to avoid injuries that can “end” his playing career.

Portrait of Keke Lyles, the man who saved Stephen Curry’s career

Specifically, instead of using leg force, Keke directed Curry to switch to using force from the hips and core muscles to reduce pressure on the ankles. To do that, the Warriors star had to train tirelessly. Until now, people still see him exercising with one leg to strengthen his core.

Within just a year after changing his training method, the 32-year-old could perform a deadlift with twice his body weight. He became the second strongest player in the Warriors squad at that time, only behind teammate Festus Ezeli.

In a basketball era where players favor outside shooting, Curry is still among the top long-range throwing players in the NBA.

As a result, in the following seasons, injuries “visited” this player less and less. From only playing 26 games/season, Curry was able to play up to 80 games in his first championship season in 2014-15. The injuries that the NBA star faced then also became less serious.

Since overcoming his injury problem, he has played more confidently. Curry did not hesitate when being marked by a giant player. The bigger and tougher the opponent is, it only makes his passing moves more spectacular. It is the result of fighting spirit and persistent training efforts.

After each season, Curry constantly improves himself. The audience is rarely disappointed with the Warriors star because day by day, he shows more and more improvement and maturity of a player with an 11-year career. All of them show a desire to win that is growing day by day.

If last season, Stephen Curry and his teammates had to soon say goodbye to the game, then in this year’s NBA, he soon returned with a transformed image at the gym, continuous “3-shooting” videos with a new “superpower”, reducing your heart rate within 1 minute. Even when the 2020-21 season has not yet started, the 32-year-old star has shown such great championship thirst.

The player wearing jersey number 30 of the Golden State Warriors still strives every day to improve himself

With the help of Keke Lyles, he turned his weakness into his strength. Today, we are witnessing a Stephen Curry who not only possesses skillful 3-shooting skills, lightning speed or “divine” control of movement tempo, but also becomes one of the players who can the most “buffalo” force in the tournament.

New records are constantly being set, with few opponents being able to catch up with him. Undeniably, skill is what makes him a special player in the tournament, but the process of hard work to improve himself is the factor that will write Stephen Curry’s name into the Naismith Hall of Fame one day.