Getting drafted into the NBA is every basketball player's dream, but making it in the league is an entirely different battle. Stephen Curry had the talent, the shooting ability, and the vision, but many still doubted whether his skills would translate at the highest level. The NBA wasn’t just about skill—it was about physicality, durability, and surviving an 82-game season against the world’s best athletes.

Curry, for all his greatness, was stepping into a league that wasn’t built for players like him.

Rookie Year: Flashes of Brilliance, but Doubts Remain

In the 2009-10 season, Curry joined a struggling Golden State Warriors team. They hadn’t won a championship since 1975, and expectations weren’t high. Most people saw Curry as a decent shooter, but not a franchise-changing player.

However, in his very first season, he showed glimpses of what was to come:

• 17.5 points per game
• 5.9 assists per game
• 166 made three-pointers (a rookie record at the time)

Despite these numbers, Golden State finished with only 26 wins, far from being a contender. Worse, people still doubted Curry’s ability to stay healthy and lead a team.

Then came the real problem: injuries.

The Ankle Nightmare: Nearly Losing His Career

Curry’s biggest obstacle wasn’t his shooting or his defense—it was his ankles.

Starting in his second season, he began suffering from repeated ankle sprains, sometimes from the slightest movements. Every time he seemed ready to break out, another injury set him back. The situation got so bad that he missed 40 games in the 2011-12 season and had to undergo multiple surgeries.

By 2012, the Warriors were considering trading him away. No team wants to build around a player who can’t stay on the court. Curry was talented, but if his ankles kept failing him, what was the point?

The Milwaukee Bucks were close to finalizing a trade for Curry, but at the last minute, they backed out. Their concern? His ankles.

This turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes in NBA history.

Rebuilding Himself: The Turning Point

Curry knew he had to do something. If he kept playing the way he was, his career would be over before it even started. So he did what all great players do—he reinvented himself.

With the help of a specialist trainer, he completely changed the way he moved, landed, and balanced his weight.

• He worked on strengthening his hip muscles to take pressure off his ankles.
• He adjusted his running form to be more stable.
• He improved his core strength to absorb contact better.

It was grueling, but it worked.

In 2012, the Warriors took a gamble and signed Curry to a four-year, $44 million contract—a relatively cheap deal at the time because of his injury concerns. What they didn’t realize was that they had just made one of the best investments in NBA history.

The Breakout: Golden State’s Rising Star

By the 2012-13 season, Curry was no longer just a good shooter—he was becoming the greatest shooter the game had ever seen.

That year, he shattered the NBA record for most three-pointers in a season, hitting 272 threes, a number that had never been reached before. He had fully embraced the three-point revolution, pulling up from ridiculous distances and making shots no one else dared to take.

• He dropped 54 points against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, officially putting the league on notice.
• The Warriors, after years of mediocrity, made the playoffs for the first time in six years.
• Curry became a fan favorite, not just for his shooting but for his underdog story, his humble attitude, and his exciting style of play.

Despite all of this, many still doubted whether he could lead a team to a championship. After all, the NBA had never been won by a team built around a three-point shooter.

The NBA Shifts: Curry Forces a Change in the Game

Over the next few seasons, the Warriors started building their team around Curry’s unique skills. Instead of relying on big men to dominate inside, they embraced small-ball, spacing, and three-point shooting.

This was unheard of at the time. Most NBA teams still believed in playing inside-out, using big men to control the paint and score easy points.

Curry and the Warriors flipped that strategy upside down.

With Curry at the center of their offense, Golden State began shooting more threes than any team in NBA history—and winning.

By the 2014-15 season, everything clicked.

• Curry won his first MVP award, averaging 23.8 points per game.
• The Warriors finished with an NBA-best 67 wins.
• They cruised through the playoffs, ultimately winning their first NBA Championship in 40 years.

The so-called "soft jump shooter" had just led his team to a title.

The Dynasty Begins

Curry’s first championship wasn’t just a personal victory—it was a statement to the entire league.

Basketball had changed.

No longer was it just about size and strength—skill, speed, and shooting had taken over. Teams that didn’t adapt to this new era of basketball were left behind.

Curry’s impact wasn’t just about his individual greatness—it was about how he forced an entire sport to evolve.

But he wasn’t done yet.

The 2015-16 season would see Curry reach an entirely new level of dominance—one that no one, not even his biggest supporters, could have predicted.

What’s Next?

In Part 4, we’ll explore Curry’s most legendary season—the year he won back-to-back MVPs, led the Warriors to a historic 73-win season, and cemented himself as the most dangerous offensive player in NBA history.

But with success comes new challenges. Would Curry and the Warriors continue their dominance, or would the league find a way to stop them? Stay tuned—the best (and most dramatic) part of the story is yet to come.