Inside Curry Camp: A Day With Stephen Curry and His Growing Legacy of Mentorship

As campers were slowly rolling into the gym, Stephen Curry was already on the court finishing up one of his notoriously grueling basketball training sessions along with his trainer Brandon Payne and some other members of his training staff. There’s no telling how long he was actually in the gym for prior to my arrival at around 9:00am on Thursday morning. Or if he had already completed a strength training session with his director of performance, Carl Bergstrom, who I noticed was also in attendance when I walked in. But, we are talking about Steph Curry, so I’ll put my money on him having already checked off a number of tasks on his list of things that needed to get done for the day.

I’ve been blessed to cover Curry Camp for a number of years, and the more I attend the more I get to understand the intention put forth behind everything that goes into the camp. When all the campers, who happen to be some of the best high school basketball players in the country, walk into the gym and see 30 already drenched in sweat as he moves full speed through his shooting and conditioning drills, that sends a very clear message: Sixteen years already notched on his belt, all the money in the world, championships and accolades, yet there he is, breathing hard, getting up rep after rep on a beautiful and sunny 70 degree day in the middle of August at a gym in Menlo Park, California. If that’s not a strong opening scene for day 2 of camp in front of the future of the game to see with their own eyes, then I don’t know what is. The lesson there? “Champions Never Rest.” Coincidentally, or not, there were large streaming banners with that phrase on them hung throughout the gym as part of the Curry Camp gym décor.

This year’s camp was extra special for me, as I got the chance to speak with and interview Stephen 1-on-1, and gather some of his insights on mentorship, the impact of his college coach Bob McKillop, and much more.

Curry Camp is a unique elite camp featuring some of the top prep boys and girls basketball players in the nation. One of the aspects that makes it so unique is that it isn’t just random hired skills trainers and coaches running camp, it’s actually Curry and his own personal team (including Payne and Bergstrom) who run basketball drills, stretches, and workouts with the players for portions of camp. Stephen’s legendary Davidson College basketball coach Bob McKillop jumps in to speak to the campers and run the evening session as well. Not only is Curry teaching throughout the day but he’s also popping into drills and even gets in about 10 minutes of full speed scrimmage action with the campers. It was admittedly refreshing to see him play 5s for the first time since his unfortunate hamstring injury during game 1 of the second round of the playoffs against Minnesota last season. He looked sharp as he prepares himself for entering his 17th NBA season. When we were chatting later on in the day I asked how he felt and he said his body was feeling fine after some time off.

High profile players Davion Mitchell of the Miami Heat, Azzi Fudd of the UConn Huskies, and MiLaysia Fulwiley of the LSU Tigers, who are all in the Curry ecosystem, can also be seen around the gym coaching and helping in their own ways. Curry would later tell me, “I never ask any of them to be me or to do everything the way that I do, but to set the platform for them to come in and - what we call - to ‘change the game in their own way.’” In turn, what eventually transpires in the gym throughout camp is clearly very organic and highly impactful coaching, teaching, and mentorship for the lucky campers in the most authentic way possible.

I was able to catch up with Curry between the morning and evening sessions of camp. Even though we were running a little late for the evening session he was gracious enough to take his time during our interview, giving very thoughtful and introspective answers. It was a huge moment for myself and the WarriorsTalk brand and he met that moment with the same energy.

One of my main focuses was to discuss mentorship as Curry has really been intentional about continuing to grow into that role, especially in this stage of his career. Among the topics that we spoke about was Kobe Bryant’s influence in his approach to mentorship today.

When I think about players who have stood out amongst their peers in regards to mentoring the next generation of basketball players, Kobe is a person that clearly sticks out, specifically towards the end of his playing career and beyond. He was the guy that the younger players knew was both one of the greats and made himself available to talk to for advice and so on. After his career he would famously set challenges for certain players in the league as a way of motivating them to get to the next level. Probably more-so than anything, Kobe was an advocate for empowerment and growth of women’s basketball; He used his platform to boost the signal of the WNBA and the women’s game as a whole, as well as individual players such as Sabrina Ionescu and more.

Curry has been a big advocate for the women’s game in similar fashion. I asked him if seeing how Kobe took on mentorship influenced how he approaches it today. “What Kobe did for the women’s game was a motivator…” Curry said in response. “Now to have Curry Camp be a truly equitable experience for both the men’s and women’s game, and really stand on that as a core principle of how we do things, there’s a lot of influence there.”

Stephen took a trip down memory lane and told me a “core memory” for him was attending Kobe’s elite camp while a freshman at Davidson as a “college counselor”. He let out a smile and added it was memorable in part “because I wasn’t good enough in high school to get invited to these camps”. He remembers Kobe doing an hour long Q&A session in his camp. He also attended Steve Nash and Paul Pierce’s camps, and says that he tries to bring the best of all those experiences in aggregate to his own camp .

While Kobe, among others, may have played a role in shaping Curry’s mindset as a mentor, few figures have had as dramatic of an impact as Bob McKillop has had on him both as a basketball player and a leader. After listening to coach McKillop speak and coach the campers throughout my years of covering Curry Camp, it’s no surprise as to why the former Davidson basketball coach had such an effect on the now four-time NBA champ and two-time league MVP. Curious about what makes McKillop so special in Steph’s eyes, I asked him why he felt his college coach was so impactful. “He has such a high sense of love and care for his place in life, but in the game of basketball especially” Curry said. “He’s genuine, he’s passionate, and he has this unbelievable presence… it’s a lifelong of experience and wisdom that he has so when he gets into any environment when he’s coaching, that’s his best self.” When I asked what he hopes the campers can take away from being in McKillop’s presence over the three days, Curry said, “Every year, it gets further and further removed from the ’06–’09 run that we had. Nobody really remembers my Davidson years but to have them have the exposure to coach McKillop as like ‘this is the guy that really was influential in my life’ I think kind of stops them in their tracks and they’re all eyes and ears and he brings the juice, for sure.”

As our conversation wound down, each answer authentic to the core, I couldn’t help but think that although Curry was truly a generational player on the court and success in today’s game is measured by rings and accolades, which he has in undisputable droves, his success also comes from the influence he’s put on the game by the lives he’s touched along his journey. Just look at the ripple effects of Curry Camp alone, and although he admits that he can’t take credit for the successes of the star studded camp alumni, it’s not difficult to see his influence on them when they’re competing on the court and beyond. Whether it’s superstar Anthony Edwards crediting his improved shooting to spending time with Curry in the Olympics, or recently crowned NBA Champion Chet Holmgren praising a viral moment at Curry Camp as a jumpstart to his career, the effects of Steph’s efforts on mentorship are undoubtedly there and will only continue to grow as time goes on.

In a world that revolves around “what can you do for me”, it’s refreshing to be reminded that there are still people out there who lead with a “what can I do for you” mentality. Stephen Curry embodies that mindset and with his ever growing commitment to mentorship, he’s showing just how lasting of an impact that kind of leadership can have.