Stephen Curry details role of faith in his life for new Facebook series, 'Stephen vs. The Game'
As Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry looks to lead his team to victory in the NBA finals, episode five of his new Facebook series, “Stephen vs. The Game,” gives viewers a deeper look into his Christian faith.
The episode, which premiered recently, is titled “Faith,” and gives Curry’s followers a better understanding as to why the famous ballplayer lists “believer” first, on his social media profiles.
The three-time NBA Champion testified that his gifts come from God.
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“I put believer first, because that is supposed to be the roots of everything that I do as a believer, as a husband, as a father, and on down from there,” Curry said on the show.
He shared how his relationship with Jesus Christ impacts his basketball career, family, and life’s successes and failures.
“Faith to me is believing in the unseen, and having a conviction that there is a higher power that has given me a purpose to what I am doing on this earth,” he continued. “For me, that is the foundation to how I live my life and how I want to see the world through that lens.”
While the point guard is optimistic by nature, he admitted that he's faced his share of testing on the court also.
“My faith is tested on the court as much as it is in life,” Curry is heard saying on the show.
“It’s the part that always keeps me focused on what I need to do when it comes to my family, when it comes to my job, when it comes to how I treat other people, my appreciation for life and all the good things that happen and how to deal with the bad things that happen,” Curry stated.
In the episode, Curry’s parents, Dell and Sonya, shared that they raised the young man to hold faith as a foundational value. He attended youth services on Wednesdays and he and his family would all attend church Sunday mornings.
“My faith to me is my strength,” Sonya Curry noted. “When I have questions, challenges, I read the Word, and it’s my beacon of light, my lighthouse.”
She ensures that her children read the word of God as well, “to emphasize putting God first.”
Curry’s faith, however, became his own when he was in the eighth grade.
“[Christianity] was more something that was important to my parents but I never really understood it,” Curry explained. “It was a decision I needed to make for myself. I was kinda just going with the flow.”
After hearing a sermon from a minister named Pastor Jason, Curry walked up to the altar to receive Christ as his savior for himself.
“I felt a calling, went down to the altar, and gave my life to Christ,” the athlete testified. “That became the beginning of my own personal journey.
“My faith is about the personal relationship, more so than following a certain religious tradition or practice. Challenges you to make sure that you are feeding your spirit with the right things versus what the world is throwing at us. It’s a constant battle, if I say I have it down, I’d be lying.”
After suffering some injuries on the court, Curry revealed that his mother challenged him to go into the Bible and find scriptures he can lean on when going back on the court. He began writing “I can do all things …” on all of his sneakers and it’s a scripture he anchors his faith on until this day.
“My mom challenged me to find a verse that I could rely on to give me strength, give me a sense of purpose and to remember who I was playing for every time I lace up my sneakers,” he explained.
“It reminds me why I am blessed with these talents, where I get my strength from, and who I am playing for,” Curry added.
“I strive to be myself, live out my faith, continue to learn, and not be afraid of that higher calling. I feel there’s a responsibility to that, and I own it,” Curry explained.
The episode ends with Curry driving his two daughters Riley and Ryan to school, he said a prayer over them in “Jesus name” and then his girls sang along to the radio as it played Lauren Daigle's hit Christian song “You Say.”
The Facebook series is the second season of “Versus On Watch,” a series meant to give a behind the scenes look at the lives of the greatest athletes. Curry’s season, titled “Stephen vs. The Game,” can be viewed in its entirety here.
The Warriors are currently behind, 2-3, against the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals. Game 6 will be Thursday night on the Warriors home court.
