“Extreme levels of makes in a row before you move to the next spot—those types of things were really jaw-dropping” – David West on how insane Steph Curry’s workouts were

Rugged forward David West played with several All-Stars in his decorated 15-year career. From Chris Paul in New Orleans to Paul George in Indiana, he saw how hard these guys worked on their craft when the cameras were turned off. However, it wasn’t until he played in Golden State in the twilight of his career that he witnessed something truly extraordinary.

Teammates with Steph Curry in the last two years of his career, the 6-foot-9 power forward recounted how he couldn’t believe what he was seeing during Curry’s workouts. While the rest of the world regularly sees Steph’s legendary long-range shooting, people don’t often see the unique and intense nature of his training.

Crazy training sessions

Aware that he was entering the final stages of a career that saw him earn two All-Star berths, the native of New Jersey sought to absorb as much information as possible to share it with young players afterward. However, not long after witnessing Steph’s workout, the burly forward realized there was nothing in the two-time MVP’s rigid regimen that he could take home.

“I saw Steph working out, and you know me, I'm in the NBA, but I'm literally learning because I want to be able to give it back to the kids. So, I'm watching him work out, and I immediately said there's nothing he's doing that I could ask a 10, 11, or 12-year-old to do because it was that crazy,” West said.

While most would assume that all the ten-time All-Star does in practice is shoot, they’d be sorely mistaken. David shared that one thing the 6-foot-3 guard emphasizes is defense.

“He was just playing defense in the workout, which is the first thing. He was legitimately challenging himself to stop guys and then go play offense, make a shot—just different things that I hadn't really seen before,” West remarked.

While West had seen tough workouts before, Chef’s was nothing like he’d ever seen. The sharpshooting guard was constantly pushing himself to get better and not just settle for his already elite level of play.

“He did timed shooting and had an extreme level of makes in a row before moving to the next spot. Those types of things were really jaw-dropping,” the bull strong forward added.

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Made it look easy

While there are plenty of skilled and talented players in the league, what separates the good from the great and the great from the iconic is their unwavering dedication to mastering the fundamentals. Contrary to what some may believe, elite players like the “Baby-Faced Assassin” don’t devote as much time practicing complex moves or flashy plays as they do perfecting the basics.

“Elite players are elite because they do the fundamentals better than everybody else. It has nothing to do with the extra stuff and the fancy stuff. The elite players are the guys who are more fundamentally sound and can execute the fundamentals of the game at an extremely high level,” David expressed.

“For instance, Klay and Steph's footwork is never wrong coming off screens, even in high-pressure games. They are absolutely perfect—they always make the right choice. They always shot fake at the right moment, step back at the right moment, and go up and under at the right moment. They always make the right choice, and it's because they've got the fundamentals down pat,” West continued.

As terrific as Steph often is in actual games, he still spends a significant amount of time in the gym perfecting his ball-handling, footwork, and shooting technique. He understood early on that getting a solid grasp of the fundamentals would allow him to excel in the more complex aspects of the game.

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