Unlike many star athletes, Steph Curry's journey to the NBA didn't start at a high-profile college.
The self-described "scrawny" guard dreamed about going to Duke or Virginia Tech, his father Dell's alma mater, but Curry attended the small private school of Davidson College after getting overlooked by all the major programs.
Seventeen years and four NBA championships later, Curry wouldn't have changed that experience for the world.
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While appearing on the latest "Hot Ones" episode, the Warriors superstar was asked if he'd be where he is today if he took a different route and went to a big-name school instead of Davidson.
"That's a great question. I don't think so because the brand of basketball that I play now was predicated on a system that Davidson College, [coach] Bob McKillop mastered," Curry replied. "And the only reason that I'm this successful is because I got to learn with reps. So having gone to Tech or Duke, maybe I would ride the bench my freshman year and I don't get that experience, I don't know that I'd be the same player.
"It's kind of a message to go where the best fit is for you, as much as you might want to have the pedigree or the résumé to say, 'I played in the ACC, I played in a power conference.' That's all cool, but myself, Damian Lillard, Ja Morant guys who went to mid-major colleges, they'll find you wherever you're at. I had faith at the time, I didn't know how it'd pan out. I wouldn't change that experience for anything. I would rather play than just sit on the bench and say I got a power conference school on my chest."
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Curry was a 3-star recruit coming out of high school and wasn't pursued by many traditional NCAA powerhouses. He was dismissed by colleges and called too small, so he chose to stay close to home and grow with a program at a school that had just 1,700 students at the time in 2006.
Through three seasons at Davidson, Curry averaged 25.3 points on 46.7-percent shooting from the field and 41.2 percent from 3-point range, with 4.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals in 104 games (103 starts).
Golden State selected Curry with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and in the 14 seasons since, those colleges who passed on the nine-time All-Star certainly might have their regrets -- even if Curry doesn't.