Nearly a month after the Golden State Warriors traded for Chris Paul, it's clear Steph Curry is still getting used to the prospect of playing with his fellow future Hall-of-Fame point guard.
The Warriors superstar addressed Paul's addition while walking the fairway en route to winning the American Century Championship on Sunday, noting how “surreal” it is to team with the Point God as their legendary careers wind down.
“It's the most surreal thing in the world because he was big brother, and he is big brother in the sense of when I was coming up as a rookie, he showed me the ropes,” Curry said of Paul, per Sports Illustrated. “And you go into battle for playoff position, championships and all that, and there's a lot of history. He's in year 18, I'm in year 15. It's just amazing that we get to do it together now. I'm gonna enjoy the ride.”
Curry and Paul's shared history goes back long before this summer, and even many years prior to when they emerged as fierce on-court rivals for Western Conference supremacy in the mid-2010s.
Curry trained with Paul leading up to his rookie season in 2009, even traveling with the then-New Orleans Hornets franchise player and his family. Both North Carolina natives, the younger Curry watched Paul make national headlines during a decorated prep career at West Forsyth High School, too. Paul's wife was a guest for Steph and Ayesha Curry's wedding in 2015, and the pair attended Paul's nuptials in 2020.
There will inevitably be an acclimation period for Curry and Paul on the floor and in the locker room. Just like their selfless commitment to team and elite basketball IQ will smooth out that transition, an existing relationship that spans well over a decade will no doubt do the same.