It’s oddly heartwarming when athletes learn news about themselves face-to-face, rather than in a post from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
It’s even better when it involves the NBA MVP award and a mid-season family surprise for a very family-oriented individual.
This was the reality for superstar Steph Curry when he found out he won his first MVP after Game 1 of the 2015 Western Conference semifinals between the Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies, which the now two-time award winner detailed Thursday on the new “Heat Check with Stephen and Dell Curry” podcast.
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"...2015 after [Game 1] of the second round against Memphis. It was the day I found out I was MVP for the first time,” Curry explained. “It was between me and James Harden at the time. We had just finished the game and the media had just started asking have you heard anything about the MVP. I'm like, ‘I don't know, I'm just focused on basketball and the playoff series right now.’ And y'all (Steph’s parents Dell and Sonya) did an unreal job, I still don't know how you did it.
“We were on the way home and we got back to the house. it was an afternoon game so it was still light out so we were going to have a little cookout kind of vibe at the house. I'm sitting back in the room about to change before we come out to our little outdoor area. and everybody walked in with the shirts on.
“It was like my fill-in-the-blank, 'How you're associated to [Steph] as an MVP.’ And that's how y'all told me. That's how I found out I was the MVP for the first time."
Instead of learning about his remarkable accomplishment from an NBA Twitter (now known as X) analyst or a media member, Curry was surprised by his loved ones.
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The honor was meant for Curry, as he averaged 23.8 points, 7.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds on 48.7-percent shooting during the 2014-15 NBA season.
Golden State, of course, also won the first of its four NBA championships to cap off its inaugural NBA Finals run behind No. 30. Curry would unanimously win the following year's MVP, too.
It’s presumably difficult for athletes to not only celebrate accomplishments and holidays with their families mid-season, but also to learn about them in the first place.
The Curry Family didn't waste the opportunity.
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