Stephen Curry On Why He Doesn't Dunk Usually: 'It Took Everything I Had Out Of Me'

Stephen Curry recently appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show for the promotion of his new book, 'Shot Ready,' where he spoke about some of his personal choices. Fallon brought up a rare moment from last season where Curry dunked during an NBA game for the first time in six years. 

“I'm 6'3". I should be able to get up there a little bit. But this was a funny game. This was in Philadelphia. One of our assistant coaches, Jerry Stackhouse, in practice the day of or the morning of that game, he's like, ‘I've been here all year. I haven't seen you dunk, not one time," said Curry as he recalled the incident. 

“And I was like, ‘Well, that's not what I -- Three is better than two. Like, I'd rather do that.’ But then, that night, I got a dunk opportunity. So after I dunked it, I actually pointed at him. He was up on the bench, jumping up and down.”

“There's no planning for me. Like, it was just a spur-of-the-moment, just try it. And it took everything I had out of me. I'm probably still feeling it right now… I’m still feeling it.”

"That will probably be my last dunk, though. I’m calling it right now, that was the last one you’ll ever see,” said Curry earlier in the season, right after dunking on the 76ers in a 119-126 loss. He finished that game with 29 points and 13 assists, but that dunk was likely the only moment from the game he won't forget. 

Curry Picks His Favorite: Hole-In-One Or A Game Winner? 

Earlier in the same show, Fallon had asked Curry to recall the time he made a hole-in-one during the American Century Championship in 2023. 

"In a tournament, like, with that many people watching, it was special," said Curry on his initial reaction. Fallon followed up by asking him if he would pick a game winner or a hole-in-one as his favorite. 

"Well, making a game-winning shot, that's what I get paid to do. I'm supposed to do that," said Curry in response as he laughed. 

"I'm supposed to do that, but a hole in one… like, you can't make that happen. That's just kind of, obviously, maybe a little bit of skill, mostly luck. So I celebrated as if I -- I blacked out, basically. Airplane."

"My playing partner, who was with me, had to hit after me, but I ran all the way to the green. He chased me halfway down the fairway. He didn't know what to do. He's like, 'Wait, I have to go all the way back?"

Curry is a multi-talented athlete who could be pondering a professional career in golf after retiring from the NBA. He may have scoffed at the idea presently, but as competitive as we know he is, we may see him on the greens a lot more often after the 37-year-old Warriors superstar retires.