By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Steph Curry revealed that back in 2010 he was dazzled by one of the signature moves of a certain European superstar: Former Barcelona captain and all-time EuroLeague scoring leader Juan Carlos Navarro.
While watching Navarro compete in the 2010 World Cup with the Spanish national team, Curry couldn’t help but notice “La Bomba” attempting (and making) his trademark off-balance, long-range shot. Apparently, he liked it so much that he wanted to emulate it.
“He [Juan Carlos Navarro] was one of my favorites Spanish national players because he did a move when I played in the 2010 world championship games, where he shot a three off one leg. I wanted to copy that move,” Curry said in an interview for the show “Jugones” of Spanish TV channel La Sexta.
This is the type of shot that Curry talked about, most likely. The clip is from the EuroBasket 2011 semifinal (and not the 2010 Word Cup), a game in which Navarro had one of his most epic performances ever (35 points, four rebounds) to lead his national team to the title game. Spain won the EuroBasket and Navarro was named MVP.
Curry didn’t face Navarro in the World Cup since Team USA didn’t cross path with the Spanish national team en route to winning the gold medal. Spain was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Serbia (and a certain crazy game-winner courtesy of Milos Teodosic).