New Nets guard Seth Curry, brother of Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry who was acquired by Brooklyn in the blockbuster James Harden trade with the 76ers, takes a shot at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: You played at Duke for coach Mike Krzyzewski. What is your favorite Coach K anecdote?
A: The fist. He always uses the analogy of a fist — like five players on the court coming together, being stronger. Stronger together as one instead of like five fingers.
Q: What are your thoughts about him coaching in his last NCAA Tournament?
A: I hope he goes out on top like he has. Greatest coach in basketball history to me. I’ll be tuned in. It’s kind of surreal; I never thought this day would come.
Q: Describe him for me as a man and as a coach.
A: As coach, he’s tough, real demanding … all about winning. If you win for him, he’ll move mountains for you and help you. And as a man, it’s about doing things the right way.
Q: Give me an example of him being demanding on the court.
A: He’s not about catering to individual players, or telling you what you want to hear. He’ll tell you what you need to hear to make you better and make the team better. When you’re winning, every day is great, and when you lose a game, he’s gonna make you very uncomfortable and make you understand there’s a standard of Duke players.
Q: What’s the most uncomfortable he ever made you?
A: He’ll blow up in practice, kick us out of practice, taking our practice uniforms away and made us practice in like Walmart white T-shirts, stuff like that.
Q:. What’s wrong with a Walmart white T-shirt?
A: Nothing wrong with it. It’s hard to go from the Rolls Royce of practice uniforms and all the gear you get at Duke to a $2 T-shirt.
Q: How will Jon Scheyer handle the pressure of following a legend?
A: I think he’ll be great. He’s gonna use all his resources, he’s gonna lean on Coach, lean on his staff and the people with him to help him. The good thing about him knowing he’s gonna get the job, he’s been groomed for it. He’s obviously gonna have good players with the recruiting he’s done. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a guy that I played with for a year. Taking the reins at Duke, it’s hard to believe.
Q: What do you remember about him as a player?
A: He’s a guy who maximized his talents. To see a guy like him who’s not the most athletic and not the most skilled or whatever, but he’s one of the most competitive guys I’ve ever been around. He couldn’t have been any better than he was with his God-given talent.
Q: Any memorable Scheyer moment?
A: He made a lot of big shots that last year when they won the [2010 national] championship, he was the leader of that team. I was redshirting that year, so I was battling against him every day getting him ready to play. Playing against him and Nolan [Smith] in practice, being that scout team point guard was big for my career.
Q: Describe your 2013 Elite Eight loss to Louisville when the Cardinals’ Kevin Ware broke his leg early.
A: That was not a good memory. I remember that happened and it kind of threw the whole game off. The rest of the game was just weird ’cause everybody was thinking about that injury and the stoppage that took place. Kind of tough way to go out.
Q: What are your thoughts on Derek Jeter?
A: Oh yeah, my favorite baseball player of all time. I was a Yankee fan growing up.
Q: Why were you a Yankees fan in Charlotte, N.C.?
A: Simply because my brother [Stephen] was a Red Sox fan. I remember when we were young, he was a Red Sox fan for whatever reason. So I’m like, “I’m gonna be a Yankee fan just to go against him.”
Q: Do you remember any Yankees-Red Sox game when the two of you were watching together?
A: I remember watching when the [2004] Red Sox came back from 3-0 being upset (laugh). That was a tough time in the house.
Q: He rubbed it in, I guess, right?
A: Of course.
Q: What made Jeter your guy?
A: The flashes, the way he played the game. Obviously the face of the Yankees. I think my earliest memory of watching baseball was that catch he made running into the third base stands.
Q: What was your happiest Yankees moment?
A: When they won the [2009] World Series when [Alex Rodriguez] was on the team. I wanted A-Rod to get a championship real bad. And he played well.
Q: Why did you want him to get a championship real bad?
A: He was my No. 2 guy behind Jeter. I know he had his struggles in the playoffs and he was kind of getting killed a little bit in the media for not showing up in the playoffs, and he kind of got over a hump.
Q: If your career was a movie, what would be the title?
A: Bumpy Roads. I had a lot of obstacles, I had a couple of injuries that set me back. Perseverance into the those bumpy roads.
Q: What was the low point for you?
A: One was I was coming out of college, I had my first stress fracture. I couldn’t compete against guys in my draft class and show that I should be drafted. I was rehabbing that whole summer getting ready for the draft and nobody could see me play. The other one was after my first year in Dallas [2016-17], I had a great year, hoping to build on that, I had another stress fracture and missed the whole year again.
Q: Why didn’t you give up?
A: The love of basketball. … I never want it to end.
Q: What words of advice did your brother give you during the hard times?
A: Being in my corner just giving me confidence, letting me know just to stick with it. Him and my dad [Dell] just being honest with me, telling me they think I’m good enough to eventually play in the league if I get an opportunity. Another one of the things that kept me going. That gave me the extra confidence I needed to keep going and wait for my opportunity.
Q: You never stopped believing in yourself, correct?
A: No, absolutely not.
Q: Where is your confidence level now?
A: It’s high as it’s ever been. I think I’m getting better every year still. I’ve been in every situation kind of in the league as far as being a No. 1 option for a month on teams, being a role guy sitting around different superstars. I feel like I’ve adapted to a lot of situations, and I don’t think it’s anything I see that I can’t succeed in.
Q: Describe your on-court mentality.
A: A silent assassin, people like to describe me as. A light-hearted, laid-back demeanor, but really competitive.
Q: What did you do on Thursday in the loss to the Heat to earn a technical?
A: (Laugh) Absolutely nothing. I think it was my second technical of my career. This is verbatim word for word what I said, I said: “You couldn’t see it, that was not a foul.” He said, “OK.” And I said: “Don’t call it.”
Q: Your first technical foul?
A: I was in the playoffs in Portland [in 2019], got into a light shuffle with Will Barton of the Nuggets.
Q: Here’s a quote from a former coach of yours comparing you and Steph: “Seth is the one who’s a little more antagonistic on the court, who’ll talk a little more.”
A: Yeah, I’m a little more feisty. I can talk a little junk back, kind of gets me going at times. I enjoy playing against certain guys that talk junk to me, like Draymond Green and Patrick Beverley. The guys that talk a little bit, I’ll talk back to ’em. … Steph won’t say a word, he just plays.
Q: Are those two the biggest trash-talkers in the league?
A: Yes.
Q: Whatever comes to mind: Kevin Durant?
A: Basketball junkie. A real pure basketball guy.
Q: Were you watching the 2019 Finals when he tore his Achilles tendon?
A: I watched every Warriors game I could since my brother got in the league, so I was definitely watching it. Not a good day.
Q: What makes KD, KD?
A: He really hones in on his skill-set. He doesn’t just rely on his athleticism, his size, natural-given talent to be the player he is. Even though he has all that, he still works at his skills and wants to be the most skilled person in the gym. So that separates him.
Q: What makes Kyrie Irving, Kyrie Irving?
A: His belief in his skills and just willing to try anything on the court is fun to watch.
Q: What would it mean if he’s able to come back on a full-time basis?
A: I mean everything. Take the pressure off everybody that’s in the rotation right now. That’s pretty much a walking 27, 28 points a game. Most nights he’ll take the No. 1 defender off of me and put it on him, which makes everybody else’s job easier.
Q: What can Nets fans look forward to from Ben Simmons when he is healthy?
A: He plays the game and got stuff that nobody else in the league has in his size, athleticism, his passing ability. Every night he’s gonna play hard, but he leaves it all on the floor no matter what. If nothing, we’re gonna be an entertaining basketball team.
Q: Coach Steve Nash?
A: I’m trying to pick his brain as much as possible. Another guy who kind of influenced the way me and my brother play the game. Definitely a basketball genius, a basketball savant offensively.
Q: What drives you?
A: Love for the game, trying to get the most out of it while I can play. It’s my favorite thing to do, simple as that. I’m a basketball junkie. I’ll watch basketball every night, all the games.
Q: What has it been like being … the older brother of Sydel?
A: She’s kind of got her own lane now, social media influence as far as the mental health space, so she’s got her own little journey, and good to see.
Q: Who was a better volleyball player, her or your wife Callie?
A: (Laugh) My wife was a little better. She was on like the USA team, played professionally for a year in Puerto Rico. Sydel’s pretty good too, she just had some injuries.
Q: How did you meet Callie, Doc Rivers’ daughter?
A: Just being around NBA circles, known her for a long time growing up.
Q: Your daughter Carter turns 4 in May?
A: Her personality is like her mom’s — very outgoing, always talking, electric … the opposite of me … not laid-back at all, very personable.
Q: I think you’re personable.
A: At times.
Q: Your 6-month-old son Cash?
A: Right now he’s like me, never cries, quiet, just laid-back, so he’s trending in my direction.
Q: Would you want him to play basketball one day?
A: Absolutely. I’m sure he’s gonna be an athlete, tall and have the body type, so I would love for him to play basketball.
Q: What’s fatherhood been like?
A: It’s been great. Learning on the fly. Kind of changes my viewpoint on life, and just growing with them every year, every day.
Q: How’s your diaper-change game?
A: High quality. I’ve done a lot of it. Fast and efficient.
Q: Your sister’s husband, the Warriors’ Damion Lee?
A: A cool cat, fit right in with the family from Day 1. Still trying to catch up with his golf game.
Q: How about you?
A: I’m about a 5 handicap right now, so I’m getting closer to where I need to be to compete with Steph and my dad.
Q: What are their handicaps?
A: Both scratch golfers.
Q: Describe your father, a former NBA sharpshooter himself.
A: Laid-back guy … very wise … funny guy when you get to know him.
Q: Are you like him?
A: They say I’m a spitting image.
Q: Describe your mother, Sonya.
A: More of the disciplinarian. Probably more competitive than anyone in our family. Feisty, and she’s really the one who molded us in the way we are.
Q: If you could go one-on-one with anyone in NBA history, who would it be?
A: Allen Iverson. … A culture icon. He played the game nobody else played before him.
Q: If you could pick the brain if any player in NBA history?
A: Wilt Chamberlain. You hear all the stories about him, there’s no video footage. … I want to know if some of the stories are true.
Q: Favorite Carolina Panther?
A: Steve Smith. Always feisty, always getting in fights, talking junk. We used to play some pickup games against him at the YMCA, and he had that same energy.
Q: What kind of a basketball player was he?
A: A real angry one. He’s 5-9, but he’s obviously a football player so he can jump out of the gym athletic, but he’s still trying to pick fights at the YMCA the same way he did in the league, which I love.
Q: Boyhood idol?
A: Tracy McGrady.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods, Steve Jobs.
Q: What would you have asked Steve Jobs?
A: Innovation. … I read his autobiography a few years ago, my favorite book I read. I want to hear how he came up with some of his ideas.
Q: How about your favorite book in general?
A: “Chop Wood Carry Water” [by Joshua Mecalf]. It’s about your process of being great.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Inception.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Denzel Washington.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Sandra Bullock.
Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?
A: Drake.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Hibachi steak and shrimp.
Q: How much pressure is on your team now, given the playoff picture?
A: We put ourself in a tough situation with the play-in game, but we still like our chances against anybody in the league.
Q: Is there a sense of urgency?
A: Our sense of urgency is trying to fit together and figure out the way we’re gonna play when we do get in that play-in game and then hopefully into the playoffs.
Q: Favorite Brooklyn things?
A: I’m still getting used to it. My favorite Brooklyn thing right now is the amount of options on DoorDash, in New York in general (chuckle). It’s kind of hard to choose what to eat ’cause there’s so many options at all times. Usually you’ll have about 5-10 options on DoorDash in most cities.
Q: Career goals?
A: I always said I want to play at least 12-plus years in the league. Obviously win a championship. And win a 3-point contest one of these days.
Q: Is Duke going to win it all?
A: I think so, they got the talent. … I think they’re gonna be playing for Coach, so they’re gonna have a little extra energy, extra chip on their shoulder, so I hope they get it done.
