Talking Basketball and Blasters with Steph Curry

It’s already been an eventful NBA offseason, but for the Golden Gate Warriors guard Steph Curry the excitement has just begun. Before heading to FIBA World Cup training camp later this month, Curry headlined perhaps the most intriguing trial of his career – a BOOMco Blaster Challenge against Sacramento Kings guard Rudy Gay.

First: BOOMco is a new line of blasters from the toy company Mattel that debuted earlier this month. The shoot out hollow plastic darts that have an eraser-sized tip made of a special material that will let it stick to targets and parts of blasters and not to walls, windows, or anything else.

To help really launch BOOMco, Steph and Rudy put together teams to compete on the night of the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports Awards to see who get hit the most targets and named the Ultimate Blaster Champion. 




Before the challenge, Curry spoke with SI Kids about BOOMco, NBA offseason transactions, and his goals for the 2014 NBA season.

How have you enjoyed using the BOOMco blaster? 

Even at my age, I still find it fun. They have new technology where the darts stick to your target – it’s pretty seamless and it’s pretty fun. I’m doing the BOOMco Blaster Challenge with Team Stephen and Team Rudy as part of the Nickelodeon Kids Sports Choice Awards. It’s a pretty cool event, and hopefully it’ll be a lot of fun once everybody sees it. 

Do you and Rudy Gay have any type of rivalry from playing against each other? Will that start during this challenge? 

Well, we are pretty good friends, so every time we go against each other there’s a little bit of smack talk and a little bit of heightened competition. It’s definitely a lot of fun. We play each other. We’re in the same division now, so when our teams get together it’s pretty heated. We have a lot of fun doing it, and will as our careers keep going on. 

So do you think it is easier to nail your target with the BOOMco or to nail a three-point shot?

Well, I practice with the blaster as much as I practice my three-point shot, but I need a little more time with it in my hands. 

How important are bragging rights? 

Oh, huge! Well, actually, I’m on top right now. We beat [the Kings] every game last year, so I know they will be gunning for us this coming year. But bragging rights are huge. You have to be tasteful with it, but bragging rights are very important.

The Warriors got a new coach this offseason. What are you most looking forward to while playing under Steve Kerr?

He’s obviously won championships. Played with Michael Jordan for a lot of years and played under Gregg Popovich down in San Antonio. So he’s a guy who’s known success at every level he’s played on. It will be fun to see how our team adjusts to his new coaching style, new game plan, and it kind of keeps the spark in what we’re trying to do next year. I’m looking forward to winning, and he’s a part of that process. 

He’s a rookie coach. Will there be any pranks or hazing? 

Um…No. Maybe later in the season once we get a feel for him. But I don’t want any extra sprints on day one of training camp, so I think we’ll lay low for a while. 

Shaun Livingston is also joining the team. What does he bring to the Warriors? 

A lot of versatility. He’s a guy that can play three different positions, really. He has an unorthodox game for a point guard because he likes to post up a lot and use his height. He’s almost 6’8’’, so he uses his height to his advantage. He can play well with Klay Thompson and myself both or back us up off of the bench. He’s a big pickup for us. He’s a great guy and he’s hungry to win, so we’re excited to have him. 

What will you do on and off the court to help make the transition easier for new teammates? 

As the longest tenured Warrior, it’s up to me to introduce him to the Bay Area and make life as comfortable as possible for him on and off the court. On the court, hopefully I’ll give him a lot of open shots so he feels welcome. Off of the court, I’ll show him where good restaurants are and cool places to hang out in the Bay Area. 

Will you use the BOOMco blaster to help Shaun feel at home? 

Yes, absolutely, and the rest of my teammates. My plan is the first day of training camp to have blasters in their lockers and to have some kind of Olympics or something, some challenge before training camp starts to have some fun. 


Photo courtesy Mattel