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A lot of scouts were big fans of Steph Curry heading into the 2009 NBA Draft. Curry's size, athleticism, defense and playmaking, or lack thereof, were the reasons why he slipped to the Golden State Warriors at No. 7.
Current Warriors coach Steve Kerr was the general manager of the Phoenix Suns at the time. Kerr told Nick Hauselman of BBALLBREAKDOWN that he liked what he saw with Curry when they scouted him. He even compared his future player with two-time MVP Steve Nash:
"We watched him carefully," Kerr said. "I remember seeing him for the first time at UCLA against Davidson in Anaheim at the John Wooden Classic. He reminded us a lot of Steve Nash, so we weren't as concerned about his size as a lot of scouts were.
"I don't anybody could have predicted what he actually became. We thought he had a chance to be really good." (1:11 - 1:41)
The Phoenix Suns did not get a chance to draft Steph Curry in 2009 because they had the last pick of the lottery. The Suns eventually selected Earl Clark with the No. 14 pick, but he only lasted one and a half seasons in Phoenix.
Steve Kerr eventually left the Suns in 2010 and didn't return to basketball until 2014 when he agreed to coach the Golden State Warriors. Kerr formed a partnership with Steph Curry that resulted in four NBA championships: in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
Steve Kerr recruiting Steph Curry for Team USA
Apart from being the head of the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr is also the head coach of the United States men's national basketball team. Kerr will make his debut at the 2023 FIBA World Championship next month in the Philippines.
He will also be in charge of Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics next summer. The four-time NBA champion coach has begun recruiting players for the Olympic roster, and one of them is none other than Steph Curry.
In an interview with ESPN, Curry admitted that the only thing missing on his legendary resume is an Olympic gold medal. He also said that Kerr teases him about it and wants him to make his Olympic debut next year:
"That's the one piece of the resume coach always likes to joke that I don't have," Curry said. "So he's already recruiting for next summer. ... I have no idea what next summer looks like, and it's obviously an extra bonus that coach Kerr is leading that charge.
"I'd love to play for him any day of the week, so we'll see how it goes come summer 2024." (7:54 - 8:27)
