Before he went on to become one of the greatest players in NBA history, Steph Curry was hopeful Duke would take him as a walk-on. The Blue Devils ultimately passed up on that opportunity.
A year after turning down Curry, Duke’s coaching staff showed interest in him. However, the sharpshooting point guard was never able to forget how he was treated the first time around.
Shortly after receiving interest from Duke’s program, Curry told his father, Dell, that he was staying at Davison.
“Dad, if they didn’t want me then, I don’t want them now,” Curry told his father. “F— ’em. I’m staying at Davidson.”
Although this quote isn’t relatively new, it resurfaced on social media again because Curry has just won yet another championship.
Turning out Duke didn’t haunt Curry, who averaged 25.3 points per game over a three-year span at Davidson.
During the 2008-09 season, Curry led Davidson to the Elite Eight. The Warriors then selected him the first round of the NBA Draft, and the rest is history.
Curry’s brother, Seth, had a different path to the NBA. After spending a year at Liberty, he transferred to Duke and became an All-ACC performer.