When Warriors superstar Stephen Curry steps onto the court, it is accepted that you should expect the unexpected.

Since Curry’s great 54-point performance against the Knicks in 2013, those expectations are somehow even higher when he takes the floor at Madison Square Garden, aka The Mecca of Basketball. But could you imagine a universe where Curry dresses in MSG 41 times a year?

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Before the 2009 NBA Draft, Curry had a strong desire for that to be his reality.

(Knicks fans, look away.)

In January 2020, Curry appeared on Showtime’s “All The Smoke” with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, where he discussed his late-night draft thoughts regarding the Knicks.

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“When they recruited me,” Curry began. “It’s kind of funny to remember: I wanted to go to New York and I thought I was going to go to New York.”

He continued, adding “[I] it was [at] the draft, in the green room like ‘oh, we’ll get to eighth place, New York will get me.’ Then I got the call from (Warriors general manager) Larry Riley, like, ‘Okay, we’re going to pick you in seventh place.’

While he wasn’t a highly touted recruit out of high school, Curry made quite a name for himself during his time at Davidson College. After averaging 28.6 points and 5.6 assists during her junior season, all experts projected that Curry would be one of the top 10.

Slated behind prospects like Blake Griffin, James Harden and Tyreke Evans, it was assumed that Curry could land in fifth or sixth place for the Timberwolves, seventh for the Warriors or eighth for the Knicks.

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According to Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk, who was Golden State’s assistant general manager from 2004 to 2017, Curry’s representation also wanted him to be a Knick, going so far as to send a text message that read: “Please don’t take Steph.”

In a 2015 story for Yahoo Sports, Marc Spears of The Undefeated shared how Steph’s father Dell also had the same sentiment, who also believed that New York was the right place for his son, not Golden State.

Still, Riley didn’t shy away from betting on Curry, prompting the Warriors to take him in seventh without hesitation.

The rest, as they say, is history.

2009 NBA Draft Order

To choose Team Player University of
one Pair of scissors Blake griffin Oklahoma
two Grizzlies Hasheem Thabeet Connecticut
3 Thunder James harden State of arizona
4 Kings Tyreke evans Memphis
5 Timberwolves Ricky Rubio Spain
6 Timberwolves Jonny flynn Syracuse
7 Warriors Stephen Curry Davidson
8 Knicks Jordan hill Arizona
9 Raptors DeMar DeRozan Southeastern California
10 Dollars Brandon jennings USA

Stephen Curry at Madison Square Garden

Curry has played at Madison Square Garden 10 times in his NBA career. The Warriors have posted a 9-1 record. The only loss? Curry’s 54-point performance during the 2012-13 season.

Including his MSG debut, in which he was scoreless in three minutes of action, Curry is averaging 25.9 points in 10 road games against the Knicks, shooting 51.1 percent from 3-point range.

The last time Curry played at Madison Square Garden was on February 23, 2023, when he finished with 37 points, six rebounds and six assists, shooting 7 of 14 from 3-point range and a perfect 12 of 12 from the line. free throws.