Category: NBA

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Hawks fans and fans across the country.

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With the news that Jonathan Kuminga has signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, all the major dominos in this summer’s free agency period have fallen. That means, barring a trade, the Hawks’ core roster is locked in for 2026-27.

With the team surging to the 6-seed after going 19-5 down the stretch of last season (20-6 after the All-Star break), the organization opted to retain flexibility and re-sign key free agents like CJ McCollum and Jock Landale to one-year contracts.

Add to the core of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker the former Thunder duo Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins, and you have a roster full of potential — but also one lacking the talent to truly compete.

So I turn this microphone over to you, what letter grade would you give the Hawks this offseason?

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It’s a big day for Posting and Toasting. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Knicks. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

It’s a big day for The Dream Shake. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Rockets. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

I grabbed it this weekend, and I’m typically not an app guy, but it’s way simpler to do pretty much everything if you’re accessing TDS on your phone at all. All your registered sites appear, you can scroll sideways right through them, then up or down to engage with an article or Feed post. Really cool. And you never know, there may even be a KD burner or two!

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

It’s a big day for Pounding The Rock. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Spurs. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

It’s a big day for Brew Hoop. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Bucks. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our communities, including offering fewer ads and the addition of The Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

It’s a big day for NetsDaily. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Nets. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

When I wrote about the NBA teams with the most to prove last summer, the first entry on the list was the New York Knicks. The Knicks had just fired Tom Thibodeau coming off a conference finals appearance, and they struck out on numerous head coaching candidates to replace him before settling on Mike Brown. A final four berth wasn’t good enough for New York; they traded away too much to build a perfect team around Jalen Brunson, and anything less than a trip to the NBA Finals was going to be a failure in a diminished Eastern Conference landscape with Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum both recovering from torn Achilles injuries.

The Knicks were good, not great, during the regular season, before finding a special level during the playoffs and winning their first championship since 1973. New York answered their biggest questions on the way to a title, but not every team was so lucky.

The upcoming 2026-27 season feels wide open. The NBA has had eight straight unique champions, and there’s a great chance that streak can extend another year. Some teams are facing more pressure than others. Here are the teams with the most to prove next season.

Philadelphia 76ers

Need to prove they can make the most of all this talent.

The Sixers haven’t even made the Eastern Conference Finals since before 9/11. Philly has been flirting with building a contender for Joel Embiid’s entire career, cycling through co-stars like Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, James Harden … dare I bring up Markelle Fultz? To say it’s been a wild decade for the Sixers would be an understatement, but in many ways it all feels like it’s built toward this season. Embiid is in a diminished state at age-32 due to injuries, but at this point he’s more of an extra ingredient than the meat and potatoes of Philly’s stew. The Sixers traded for Jaylen Brown, signed LeBron James, and added some nice depth pieces in Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, and Labaron Philon over the summer. The expectation will be that the Sixers are the biggest threat to the Knicks in the East come playoff time, but with a loaded conference and legitimate questions about fit and durability, there are plenty of pitfalls before they get there. The Sixers won’t meet expectations if Embiid’s body keeps falling apart, and LeBron declines steeply at age-42. They need Jaylen Brown to buy into a lower usage role than the one he had last year in Boston, and they need the bench to plug the holes in a top-heavy starting lineup. It feels like Philly enters the season with more variance than the typical contender due to Embiid’s injury history, LeBron’s age, and Brown’s fit. Their championship window won’t be cracked open for long. That makes them the team under the most pressure this season.

Boston Celtics

Prove that trading Jaylen Brown was worth it.

The decision to trade Jaylen Brown was never about just this season for the Celtics. They got back potentially valuable first-round draft picks in 2028 and 2031 in the deal, which they hope will set them up with a younger co-star for the end of Jayson Tatum’s prime. Given how quick the public is to rush to judgment, though, it sure would help Boston if it at least maintains the level it showed last season. I’m buying the Celtics as a very good regular season team once again. They’re essentially replacing Brown with a full year of Tatum, Mitchell Robinson, and Paul George. I could see Payton Pritchard taking a leap in production with more on-ball opportunities, and I could see Derrick White shooting the ball better with more in-rhythm attempts available without Brown’s ball-dominant style around. It’s inevitable that anyone who hated the Brown trade for Boston will take a victory lap if and when the Celtics’ season ends in the playoffs, but it’s important to remember this team lost in the first-round last year even with Brown. The Celtics can come out of this trade looking great if they get one of the top seeds in the East, and potentially finish with more wins than Philly during the regular season. The book on this trade can’t be written until those future picks pay off, but it will be hard for the Celtics to deal with the bad PR if this team falls on its face. The East is loaded, and there’s certainly a chance Boston misses Brown’s rugged physicality, durability, and volume scoring. It may not be fair, but the Celtics can’t take a huge step back in their first season without Brown if they want to avoid a black eye.

Los Angeles Lakers

Prove that this is the best place for Luka Doncic long-term.

The Lakers were already going to be facing a ton of pressure this season even before their messy ownership changes. Lead executive Rob Pelinka made one of the boldest bets of the summer by trading two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round swaps to the Utah Jazz for Walker Kessler. It’s easy to see the vision: LA wanted a young, rim protecting center behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and it’s hard to do better than Kessler in that regard. They just gave up a lot for him, and now can’t trade a future first-round pick for seven years. Doncic has a huge spotlight on him this season. In an era where everyone is winning championships — even Doncic’s former backup in Dallas — it would be odd and kind of embarrassing if he can’t get one. Luka will be extension eligible after this season. He’ll probably take the money and lock in long-term, but it’s no guarantee if things go sideways for the Lakers this year. It’s easy to forget that this team won 53 games last year even with Doncic missing a lot of time. They will have a way better center this year, but the forward room is a major question mark. The Lakers obviously need perimeter defenders around Doncic and Reaves, and I think they made a few good bets in there with Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Adou Thiero, and Chris Manon even if they’re mostly long-shots. A first-round playoff exit won’t be good enough for the Lakers this season. They need to show they can push the Thunder and Spurs for being the best in the West.

Denver Nuggets

Prove they’re still a Western Conference Contender.

The Nuggets felt like a championship threat entering the 2026 playoffs. Then they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round in six games, and had the rest of the league questioning whether they’ve been passed by their Western Conference rivals. Nikola Jokic remains as great as any player in the game, but it sure feels like the arrow is pointing down for most of his supporting cast. Aaron Gordon can’t stay healthy, Cam Johnson had a disappointing first season, and Christian Braun suddenly looks like one of the most overpaid players in basketball. The only real notable thing the Nuggets did this offseason was lose Peyton Watson to the Cavs in restricted free agency, and while I like that deal for Denver long-term, it provides another big hit to this year’s rotation. All things are possible through Jokic, so I’m not going to write the Nuggets off yet, but it sure feels like the vibes are bad heading into this season. If things go poorly, there could be some fretting over Jokic’s future as he enters a contract year without an extension. Jokic sure seems committed to Denver, but he also wants to win. Can he still do that with the Nuggets?

Minnesota Timberwolves

Prove they can beat the best of the West.

I’m old enough to remember when the Wolves were one of the worst franchises in the league, going 13 years between playoff appearances. Now Minnesota has been to the playoffs five straight years, and they’ve won five series over their last three trips. This is a consistently very good team with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, but they still haven’t gotten over the hump in the West. The Wolves made a bold trade for LaMelo Ball this summer for a few reasons. His elite playmaking should help cover up Edwards’ deficiencies in that area, his pull-up three-point shooting introduces more variance against elite defenses, and it’s possible his arrival could deter some of the vultures potentially circling around Edwards if he ever requests a trade. I hated the LaMelo trade for Charlotte. I liked it, didn’t love it, for Minnesota, mostly because his durability is such a big question mark. I already had Minnesota at No. 4 in my preseason power rankings even before they added Jonathan Kuminga. I’ve never been high on Kuminga as a player, but for some reason I find myself buying into the fit in Minnesota. The Wolves needed a little more size and physicality in the front court, and Kuminga is a bit underrated as a rebounder and defender when he’s not trying to be an iso scorer. It feels like so much of this season falls on the shoulders of Gobert, and I worry he could be starting to decline. There are some real question marks for this team, but their upside feels like it’s higher than anyone in the West this side of OKC and San Antonio. The pressure is on to put it all together.

Indiana Pacers

Prove they can get back to being an East contender.

The last time the Pacers were healthy, they went on one of the most magical NBA Finals runs in league history. They might have won it all if Tyrese Haliburton didn’t tear his Achilles in Game 7 against the Thunder. After a 19-win season as their star guard recovered, Haliburton is back and so are Indiana’s expectations. The Pacers made an extremely bold trade for Ivica Zubac at the deadline that ended up costing them the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 draft. There was probably no path back to immediate contention without a center upgrade, though, and Zubac is very good even if he has a different skill set than Myles Turner, the man he’s replacing. Haliburton is one-man offense in many ways with his rare ability to push the pace without turning it over. Does that system still work with a slower, more rim-oriented big man in Zubac who doesn’t stretch the floor like Turner? Can the role players who were so key during the 2025 Finals run find the same magic again? It feels like Haliburton has a huge range of outcomes this year. He could be First-Team All-NBA, or he could fail to make the All-Star team coming back from the injury. The Pacers aren’t expected to be one of the East’s best teams by the sportsbooks, and Haliburton’s return game somehow got buried at New Orleans. No one knows what to do with the Pacers entering the season, but this team knows how good it can be.

Portland Trail Blazers

Prove that last year was no fluke.

The Blazers were one of the feel-good stories of the league last season, making the playoffs for the first time in five years despite their head coach getting arrested after the opening game of the season. It’s hard to feel good about anything that’s happened to the franchise since Tom Dundon bought the team, and that makes keeping their positive momentum going even more imperative this year. The Blazers have a deep collection of guards, but sometimes I think they might be better off starting the two that are slated to come off the bench in Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday. How do Damian Lillard and Ja Morant fit together? Can Donovan Clingan take a leap to turn into one of the West’s better centers? Can Deni Avdija’s All-Star brand of bully ball keep thriving with a different head coach and new supporting cast? The West is really tough as always, which means a step back is on the table for Portland. They need to prove that last year was just the start of something bigger.

Hey there, Dub Nation. I’m here to let you know that it’s a big day for Golden State Of Mind. Because today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way for you to follow the Warriors, read about the Warriors, comment on the Warriors, and argue about the Warriors.

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, which included limiting our ads, and implementing the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and, yes, even fewer ads with the arrival of our app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ (not just the Warriors!) posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community, and any other communities that you’re a part of.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. The app is currently only available for US users.

It’s a big day for SLC Dunk. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Jazz. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

Since making their first NBA Finals appearance in a dozen years, the Spurs have done some retooling. Before the season even ended, Spurs associate head coach Sean Sweeney was offered the head coaching position with the Orlando Magic. With a hole on the coaching staff, the Spurs brought in some heavy artillery in the form of Billy Donovan.

Donovan just completed his sixth season as the Chicago Bulls head coach. Before that, he was at the helm of the Oklahoma City Thunder for five seasons.

In a recent interview, Donovan discussed receiving the invite to come to San Antonio.

"San Antonio had called during the playoffs… I'm just hoping in some way that I can help and bring value." – Spurs assistant coach Billy Donovan on joining the Spurs. pic.twitter.com/JLjfCxCzeR

— JeffGSpursZone (@JeffGSpursZone) August 31, 2026

The Chicago Bulls have also reset their front office this offseason, and although Donovan was asked to stay on, he felt that letting the new management choose their head coach was the right thing to do. He planned on taking a year off before looking for another position.

“And then San Antonio had called during the playoffs there was some thought that they may lose some staff members, and I didn’t really know what to think of it, but after talking to Mitch Johnson, the head coach, who I have a lot of respect for, I’m just hoping that in some way I can help and bring value.”

After serving as a head coach for over thirty-three years, he’s looking forward to giving back, serving as a mentor, and hoping to help expand the success the Spurs have experienced over the last season.

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Welcome to The Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here

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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Raptors fans and fans across the country.

This week’s survey asks Toronto Raptors fans how far they think this year’s team can go.

Assuming the Kawhi Leonard trade officially clears whatever hurdles remain, the Raptors project to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Last year, they pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to a thrilling Game 7 before ultimately bowing out in the first round. That same Cavaliers squad made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the eventual champion New York Knicks.

Toronto replaces Brandon Ingram – who was unfortunately a non-factor during the Cleveland series – with one of the best players in the NBA. But will that be enough to counter all the moves made by Eastern Conference rivals?

Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys:

Cast your vote, tell us in the comments, and we’ll be back soon with more Reacts.

The 2022 Celtics were carried into the NBA Finals on the back of their defense. Sure, they had Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to carry the offense, but that team had a lot of offensive flaws, including turning the ball over way too often.

Unlike that team, this Celtics team doesn’t have a clear number 2 offensive option (unless Payton Pritchard can grab it with a big season). They also won’t turn the ball over and get a lot of offensive rebounds.

Like that team, this Celtics team should have one of the best defenses in the NBA.

The offseason additions of Paul George and Mitchell Robinson should accentuate last year’s top-5 defense. As CelticsBlogger Nate Moskowitz wrote in July, George and Robinson create turnovers, something that the Celtics did not do last season.

Boston was 5th in the NBA in defensive rating last season, according to Cleaning the Glass but were 23rd in creating turnovers. Creating more turnovers is something that the Celtics clearly put an emphasis on this summer.

Last season, George ranked in the 89th percentile in steals percentage for forwards while Robinson was in the 95th percentile for bigs.

We have evidence that elite defenses can win in the playoffs — the 2022 Celtics and the 2025 Thunder were built around their defenses and got to at least the NBA Finals with OKC ultimately winning the whole thing.

The Robinson and George additions are going to open up Derrick White to be even better on that end of the floor as well.

For a lot of last season, White was used as a perimeter defender to guard one of the better players on the other team. Now, George, Jayson Tatum and a cast of others can do that. Robinson, meanwhile, is one of the best switching bigs in the NBA, which allows the Celtics to play him and have Derrick White roam off of the ball so he can do what he does best: blowing up plays and blocking shots.

Neemias Queta was a player who improved a ton last season on defense and should look to take another leap as well. He did a great job and protecting the rim and cleaning up the glass on that end last season and should look to continue to improve next season as well. There are a lot of options for Joe Mazzulla to go to on defense. Hugo Gonzalez and Jordan Walsh off the bench have also shown to be plus defensive options, too.

I have a lot of optimism for the Celtics this season because of what should be one of the best defenses in the league.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rockets fans and fans across the country.

Last week, Holly posted the ESPN predictions for the upcoming NBA season. In it, ESPN predicts the Rockets for 51 wins ands tied for third in the NBA’s Western Conference. If given the option, are you taking the over, under or is ESPN right on the money?

Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys:

Cast your vote, tell us in the comments, and we’ll be back soon with the results!

People who never saw great athletes play frequently can’t believe the claims about them. We’ve seen this recently with some who doubt that Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA game, apparently because there’s no video. In 1962, though, not only was the NBA not on TV a lot, TV cameras looked like this (he did score 100, by the way, as his teammate, Al Attles, attested).

More recently, there is a bizarre theory that Babe Ruth didn’t actually exist because, again, there’s not much video. Well, of course there wasn’t much video in the 1920s.

This is what those sorts of cameras looked like about 100 or so years ago. You had to advance the film manually, there was a lot of technical expertise involved, the film wasn’t necessarily cheap, and you also had to have a certain level of expertise to develop it.

And of course you had to get lucky to an extent because it’s not like they filmed every minute of every game.

Which brings us to a more recent misunderstanding: could Larry Bird play in today’s game?

Which is a really dumb question.

The argument is that Bird was too slow and too unathletic to play in today’s game, which is just foolish. People had the same concerns when he came into the league in 1979. There were plenty of freak athletes in the NBA in the 1980s – Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and Michael Jordan, to name a few. All of those guys have talked about what a nightmare it was to play against Bird.

Beyond that, though, today, Luka Doncic and Kon Knueppel are slow, unathletic players, and they’re thriving.

Also, in the 1980s, guys like Bill Laimbeer and Charles Oakley made their living essentially mugging opponents. In today’s game, you can’t do that.

But that’s not the main reason Bird would thrive.

It’s true that he wasn’t fast or athletic by the normal definition of those things, but his hands and his mind were extraordinary.

He made decisions incredibly quickly and ruthlessly, and he moved the ball like no one else has ever done.

Look at this collection of some of his best assists, and ask yourself: could he do this in today’s game?

And the only answer, with the rules favoring the offense, is yes.

You’ll never get tired of watching these 🔥

50 Amazing Assists by Larry Bird! pic.twitter.com/VWEDhDWbVq

— Larry Legend☘️ (@LarryBirdDaily) August 31, 2026

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Steph Curry's benevolence inspired by ‘something bigger' than Warriors star originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

When Stephen Curry signs another contract with the Warriors, as he surely intends to, the significance of that moment will extend far beyond continuing his journey with the Bay Area’s NBA team.

Whether that signature becomes official this month or in October or in February 2027, it’ll reaffirm Curry’s commitment to the Bay Area, to people he’ll never know and to causes local and global for which he has no mandatory obligation.

Curry’s multigenerational wealth – he has earned nearly $500 million in basketball salary alone – has allowed him and his wife, Ayesha, to build programs that bless people with food, books, toiletries, computers, playgrounds and more. Underrated Golf is paving a path for broader inclusion in one of the world’s most exclusive institutions. With Unanimous Media, he and his partners are creating content that might otherwise not be supported elsewhere.

Why?

Because it’s Curry’s mission. He’s not the next Muhammad Ali, but he was a deserving winner in July of the Sports Humanitarian award named after The Greatest. He was among thousands walking the streets of Oakland in protest in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. Curry’s benevolence stems from his faith-based disposition and innate desire to drive societal progress. 

“It’s such a grounding aspect of my life because it allows me to make sense of all this in a way that wouldn’t necessarily otherwise could,” Curry said of his faith Sunday at the University of San Francisco. “I don’t understand why I’m on the stage. I love to play basketball. I was blessed with a gift from an early age, and I love to do it. And the doors that have been opened, there has to be some reason, some outcome that is beyond my imagination. I’m walking in that purpose.

“And that’s been a huge part of being able to connect with people, to see God in each one of us. I think the idea of being passionate about who you are, what makes you different, and leaning into that is . . . you’ve got to live an authentic life. And just the idea of there has to be something bigger than myself because none of this really makes any sense.”

Curry was among those sharing the stage at USF’s Sobrato Center for a screening and panel discussion of an upcoming Netflix documentary, “The Baddest Speechwriter of All.” The film chronicles the life of Clarence B. Jones, a soldier on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement and a confidant and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King.

Curry’s involvement began in January 2025 when Jones visited the Warriors at Chase Center. Jones, who passed away in May at age 95, was honored as an “Impact Warrior” for a lifelong quest for racial and social equality that included eight years writing speeches and providing legal counsel for Dr. King.

Jones had asked to meet Curry, and the two spent enough private time that a friendship was born. They found they were in many ways kindred spirits.

“There’s a big point in the film about choosing your teammates, and I asked Dr. Clarence Jones about that,” Curry said. “About him and Dr. King’s team chemistry, if you will. On the surface, (he said) they couldn’t be further apart. He didn’t know that they would have that gel and that bond.

“But everything that you do great in the world, you do with a team. Finding that team is as important as anything. Being able to find it with these people on the stage right here, Ben (Proudfoot) and EP (Erick Payton), the entire Jones family, I want to thank you all for allowing us to be able to be a part of this.”

The team behind the documentary includes Curry, making his debut as a director, and Academy Award-winning co-director Proudfoot, for Breakwater Studios, and Payton, the CEO of Unanimous Media, who co-founded the company with Curry in 2018. Proudfoot and Payton flanked Curry at the Sobrato Center.

Unanimous Media represents an expansion of Curry’s zeal to educate, to give people tools of growth. It’s a step beyond the “Eat. Learn. Play.” foundation Stephen and Ayesha started a few months later – a few years after the couple was quietly serving Oakland and the Bay Area community.

There was a time when Warriors coach Steve Kerr wondered if Curry, by loaning his time and contributing money to so many people and causes, was spreading himself too thin. That was early in the 2015-16 NBA season.

“Then I saw how much it meant to him,” Kerr, sitting at an outdoor table at the team’s former practice facility in Oakland, told NBC Sports Bay Area. “He needs to do these things. It’s part of who he is. It brings him joy, and I’m not about to take that away – especially since it hasn’t hurt how he plays.”

The Warriors won an NBA-record 73 games that season. Curry was the MVP, the first – and only – to win the award by unanimous vote.

Almost 11 years later, Curry only has added to his off-court repertoire. His fuel is basketball, but it allows him to reach the places essential to make a difference beyond the game. To go places he never dreamed of and touch people in ways he barely could imagine.

“I didn’t create this,” Curry said. “But I’m walking in the direction that was made for me.”

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