Curry relishes role as baby-faced assassin in Finals Game 2; what’s the origin of his nickname?
As Curry continues to put together a Hall of Fame career, the Baby faced assassin led Warriors to tie NBA Finals vs Celtics. Where did he get this name?
Warriors star Stephen Curry scored 29 points as the Golden State dove back into NBA Finals contention on Sunday with a 107-88 game 2 win over the Boston Celtics.
Tying the series at 1-1, Curry outburst yet another electric third quarter, scoring 14 of his 29 points, to outdo the Celtics 35-14 and take a 23-point lead going into the final 12 minutes.
In both offensive and defensive senses, Curry was transformative on and off the ball, finishing with those 29 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and something even more reflective of his overall impact, an astounding net rating of +39.6. Even Draymond Green had to praise the 34-year-old, who was given the name ‘Baby-faced assassin’ for a reason. Let’s dive into it.
Why is Curry called the Baby-faced assassin?
Throughout his career, Curry has drawn on disrespect from his peers, especially on his draft position. There were even schools that didn’t recruit him in high school as he was small, short and soft-spoken, according to his middle school coach James Lackey.
Related: How tall is Stephen Curry? Did Curry’s height affect his NBA Draft position?
Until one day, when Curry was playing a matchup with his middle school team at Queensway Christian College, which they were inevitably expecting to lose, something triggered the small, quiet shooting guard.
As the team gathered to prepare losing, Curry spoke up for the first time and told his teammates and coach, “We’re not losing this game. Give me the ball.”
And that’s when the Baby-faced assassin was born.
Curry rattled the opponent, relied on the quiet predator he got inside, and led the Queensway Saints to win that game by 6.
From that day on, Curry continued to develop his soft but explosive, calm but competitive character to become the best shooter on earth.