Stephen Curry is one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. It’s easy to assume that Curry’s shooting ability is a God-given talent considering his father Dell was an elite marksman as well. However, Curry’s shooting stroke didn’t always come so naturally, and he put in countless hours working on his mechanics in the gym.

When Curry was in high school he was still shooting from his waist, which is a common trait among younger or shorter players who shoot lower to generate more power into their shot and shoot the ball longer distances. Knowing players at higher levels would block his shot, Dell spent a summer helping Steph reconstruct his shot and raise his release point.

“Imagine the amount of space required to get a shot off from that low,” Dell Curry told The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor. “Middle school, he was fine. JV, he was fine. The competition was getting tougher. It was time for a change.”

Changing your shooting form and building muscle memory is an arduous process, but Steph stuck with it.

“It was the worst summer of my life, basketball-speaking,” Stephen Curry told The Ringer.

Clearly, it was worth the effort.

So while Curry does have pretty good genes, he wouldn’t be the player he is today without his work ethic and drive to succeed.