Chef Curry. The Baby-Faced Assassin. The Human Torch. Stephen Curry has earned a host of iconic nicknames over his legendary career. But as his fame has grown, he’s joined a rare class of global superstars known by a single name: Steph. In a recent, revealing interview, however, the Warriors legend shared the surprising story of how that name came to be, and the one person in his life who refuses to use it.
The revelation came during a conversation on 360 With Speedy, where host Speedy Morman compared him to other one-name legends like Kobe, Prince, and Michael. Curry, with his typical humility, admitted he’d never really thought about his fame in those terms, but then revealed what he considers his real breakthrough moment.
“Honestly, for the longest time, my biggest achievement was that people finally stopped calling me Steven,” he said with a laugh. “That’s when you know you’ve made it a little—when they stop mispronouncing your name.” It’s a funny, down-to-earth comment, but it’s also a perfect illustration of the almost unimaginable level of fame he’s reached. As his former teammate Shaun Livingston once put it, “He’s an A-list celebrity. A-plus. Another tier.”
But while the world knows him as “Steph,” he revealed that his wife, Ayesha Curry, has a habit she refuses to break. “My wife? She never calls me that—ever. It’s Stephen or some pet name we have for each other,” he explained. The name “Steph,” he revealed, actually has a very specific origin story. “When I was in college—back when we started dating—my coach, McKillop at Davidson, he was the only one who called me Steph. My parents didn’t. Nobody at school did… So “Steph” kind of took on a life of its own later.” In fact, Ayesha has her own nickname for him, which she revealed in a heartfelt Father’s Day post a few years ago: “Chooch.”
And it seems the rest of his inner circle has their own name for him, too. Curry shared the hilarious story of how he got his new nickname, “30.” After starting a new team group chat and introducing himself as “Stefan,” Draymond Green immediately hit him on the side. “He’s like, ‘You did NOT just introduce yourself as your first name,’” Curry recalled, laughing. “So he changed it—put “30” in there. And it stuck.” It’s a name he’s grown to love, a nod to both his jersey number and his legendary scoring prowess.
While the conversation around his name, fame, and nicknames offers a fascinating glimpse into his personal life, Curry also got brutally honest about his future and his legacy.
Stephen Curry gets real about his NBA future
So how much longer will the greatest shooter of all time keep playing? In his conversation with Speedy Morman, Curry laid out his mindset.
“I’m kind of just taking it in two-year chunks,” Curry said, before adding with emphasis, “I’m not nowhere close to that [retirement].” It’s a statement that should have Warriors fans breathing a sigh of relief. But he also admitted that the grind is getting harder, especially in the offseason. “Mostly the offseason for me are the hardest than the like in season experience because once you get into the 82 games like it’s repetition,” he explained.
But his thoughts on the future weren’t just about his own career; they were about the business of basketball as a whole. In a surprising turn, Curry argued that, despite the massive contracts, NBA players are actually “underpaid.” His reasoning? The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) prevents players from having equity in their own teams.
Apr 26, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates after defeating the Houston Rockets after game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
“I think, because the way the CBA is structured right now, we can’t participate in equity,” he explained. “And that’s a big deal because, it is a partnership with ownership… Those numbers [player salaries] sound crazy, but what the league is doing… is, probably 10x that. So like, the idea that we can’t participate in equity while we’re playing is part of why I would say yes, we are underpaid.”
It’s a powerful statement from one of the league’s most influential voices, and it comes at a time when the WNBA is in the middle of its own heated CBA negotiations. For Curry, it’s clear that his legacy isn’t just about what he does on the court, it’s about pushing the game forward for the next generation. He’s a superstar who is deeply reflective about his identity, his future, and the very business of the sport he has changed forever.
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