NBA Finals 2019: The night Stephen Curry came to JSBL but did not play

(Editor's note: This story was originally posted on Dec. 9, 2015, as the Golden State Warriors were off to one of the best starts in NBA history. With Stephen Curry and the Warriors again advancing to the NBA Finals, we thought it would be a good time to revisit this.)

Long before Stephen Curry became the NBA’s first unanimous MVP and one of the brightest, most-likable stars in all of sports, he came to the Jersey Shore Basketball League.

No, that is not a typo. Steph Curry, yes, that Steph Curry was at the JSBL one night, but never suited up. This may sound untrue, but it is very much factual.

The story that goes along with this is completely accurate, but took place in a pre-smartphone world, so we should tell you up front that no one beyond the smattering of people at St. Rose High School that night will be able to corroborate it. In any case, with the NBA Finals starting Thursday night in Toronto, we figured it was time to share a story from Josh Newman — the reporter assigned to cover the Shore staple on that July 2008 night. It is a tale that has yielded many crazy looks from friends and colleagues through the years.

In 2008, Stephen Curry burst onto the national scene as a sophomore for Davidson College, which, as a No. 10 seed, defeated seventh-seeded Gonzaga, second-seeded Georgetown, third-seeded Wisconsin, then lost by two to Kansas in the Elite Eight. Curry was the breakout star, and the Wildcats were national-media darlings. Anyone paying even cursory attention to the NCAA Tournament that year knew who Curry was.

Well, almost anyone.

One July night that summer at JSBL, the first of two games was late in the fourth quarter when Curry came walking into St. Rose’s McCann Activities and Athletics Center. He was even skinnier than he is now, and despite being 6-foot-3, he was able to stand anonymously in one corner of the gym.

I was seated across the gym at the scorer’s table, and noticed him immediately, but for a while, he stood there without anyone noticing. The automatic first thought was obviously, why is Curry in New Jersey?

The answer seemed easy after firing off a couple of quick texts. Curry was in the Garden State to be a camp counselor for a Nike grassroots event that was going on that week at Fairleigh Dickinson. Additionally, his college teammate, Staten Island native Steve Rossiter, was playing in the first game that night, so Curry took the ride down to check it out.

The first game ends, and Curry is no longer anonymous. Kids realize he is there and begin coming up to him and asking for autographs. As In the way he has become famous for as a pro, Curry graciously gives every last kid his time and even talks to a few curious adults. Remember, this is happening during the infancy of social media, so selfies are not yet a thing.

As this is going on, one JSBL coach is short of players for the nightcap and trying to avoid a forfeit. After a few failed phone calls, Curry is still in the corner of the gym waiting for Rossiter to emerge from the locker room. This coach spots Curry, comes walking over to him and begins recruiting.

Coach: “Hey, kid. Can you play?”

Curry: “Oh, I ... I’m sorry, I’m just here to watch.”

Coach: “Oh, c’mon. You look like you can play Do you play basketball?”

Curry, remaining polite, but now trying to stifle his laughter: “I’m sorry. I have the wrong shoes on.”

It seemed clear to Curry, as well as everyone within earshot, that this coach had zero idea who Curry was.

Imagine that. There was no bigger star in college basketball that spring than Curry, but on this night, he was simply a potential warm body for a summer league team.

For the record, when Curry said he had on the wrong shoes, he meant it. He was wearing a pair of Air Jordan VI Carmines, which were released that spring for the first time in 17 years. No, he wasn’t playing in his Carmines, and neither would anyone else.

Laughter ensued, Rossiter emerged from the locker room and walked out with Curry in tow, and that story has been lost in time ever since.

So, if and when the Warriors win a fourth title in five seasons next month, just remember this story about the time he showed up one night in Belmar, and have yourself a smile at the absurdity of it.

Josh Newman is currently the beat reporter for Rutgers University sports. He's a native of Commack, New York, on the north shore of Long Island, and is almost entirely free of his New York accent. Contact him at jnewman4@gannettnj.com