NBA’s all-time three-point leader, Stephen Curry worked extensively to hone his shooting skills. On the back of his shooting proficiency, Curry has built up a Hall-Of-Fame career for himself. People often credit his work ethic, his genes – his dad Dell Curry was an elite shooter himself, and the GSW system. However, they overlook one of the most important people in Curry’s career; coach Brandon Payne. Payne has been with Curry throughout his career and helps him work on his game and his jumper. Prior to the draft, he dived deep into the draft class.
Which player has stood out to him the most? What kind of a psychological impact does Stephen Curry have?
Coach Payne goes gaga over G-League Ignite prospect
During his appearance on the podcast Basketball Illuminati, Payne spent a large portion of the time hyping up projected No.2-overall pick Scoot Henderson. The young point guard has been sensational over his two years in the G-League and is a genuine can’t-miss prospect. While most drafts would see him go first overall, a French demigod by the name of Victor Wembanyama has that spot locked up. But, that didn’t stop coach Payne from going bonkers over the skillset of Scoot.
The most challenging adjustment for any new player in the NBA is the physicality, with grown men barrelling into you. Steph himself faced the same concerns. Not Scoot, though. As Payne put it, “He physically could handle it…He’s also very much so an alpha. He’s got that command…Even amongst older guys that he’s in control…Guys will follow him.”
Payne gushed over Henderson’s ability to drive the ball. He told coaches and league executives, “Him wanting to get to the basket – he’s gonna get there…He’s got a lot of ways he can get there, he’s very creative with his footwork…That allowed him to be prepared to compete.”
While Scoot’s workouts with Steph have become increasingly famous, Coach Brandon recalled how those workouts could have hampered his mentality.
Stephen Curry rattled Scoot’s confidence
While Payne was all praises for Scoot, he admitted that an area that he could improve is his jump shooting. Being the coach of the greatest shooter ever certainly helped in that manner. But, in their workouts together, an interesting wrinkle came out. Asked about the limitations when having two diametrically opposite players shoot, Payne elaborated, “Don’t have them alternate shooting or play shooting games where you keep making, you keep going.”
Explaining the consequence, Payne said, “Mr. Curry hadn’t touched a basketball in about 4 weeks. He decided to rattle off about 60 of them in one drill…Scoot took 5 or 6 in a row and then he missed, I had to tell him…Don’t worry about it.”
Seeing the brilliance of Curry shook Scoot’s confidence, who was previously working out in his family-owned gym. But Payne explained how important understanding the value of shooting workouts is to younger players. While they can get agitated after seeing a lack of tangible results, the value of the journey instead of the destination is the ideal he instilled in them.
As both Curry and Scoot set off into two different phases of their career, only time will tell how successful each become.