Page 4 - What Makes a Superstar Athlete?

INTRODUCTION

A Superstar in

the Making

Long before he became one of the most exciting superstars in
the National Basketball Association (NBA), Stephen Curry set
out on the path that would ultimately lead him to the top of his
sport. In a rec league basketball game in his hometown of Char-
lotte, North Carolina, six-year-old Steph raced down the court
on a fast break with one other teammate. When a player on the
other team started guarding him, young Steph opted to pass
the ball to his teammate. But rather than make a simple bounce
pass or chest pass, he jumped in the air and turned around,
fl inging the ball behind his back. That is the moment the 2022
NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) says he decided on a
career in basketball. In recalling the pass and the reaction of the
parents in the bleachers, Curry wrote in the online journal Play-
ers’ Tribune, “It was right on target, and my teammate, he laid
it up. And all 15 fans in the crowd went crazy. And, obviously, it
was pretty beauty. But that was the moment that my creativity
kind of came out and I knew there was going to be that type of
reaction. So, I knew at that point that basketball was fun for me
and I loved to do it, so . . . that was it.” 1

Working Hard to Be the Best
These days Curry makes sensational plays before thousands
of people in packed arenas and millions more watching on TV.

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