The Curry Whisperer: Shot guru Fraser has MVP’s ear

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BOSTON — A dude named “Q” has become the Curry Whisperer.

Both figuratively and literally.

Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser, nicknamed “Q” in the mid-1980s, doesn’t do a lot of talking, but when he speaks, it has the ability to inch Stephen Curry’s jump shot ever closer to perfection on court — or has the All-Star point guard covering his laughter with a towel off the floor.

“I should probably start a chronicle” of what Fraser says, Curry said. “The topics go all over the place. We cover everything. It’s like having two sets of eyes out there watching the whole arena and everything about the game.

“There’s a lot to talk about.”

Golden State Warriors' assistant coach Bruce Fraser works with Stephen Curry before Warriors play Indiana Pacers during NBA game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on Tuesday, December 8, 2015. Golden State Warriors' assistant coach Bruce Fraser works with Stephen Curry before Warriors play Indiana Pacers during NBA game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on Tuesday, December 8, 2015. Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close The Curry Whisperer: Shot guru Fraser has MVP’s ear 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Fraser and Curry invariably have a gazillion things to discuss, but Fraser didn’t push it right away. When he accepted a job on head coach Steve Kerr’s staff last season, Fraser went into the inquisitive role that earned him the nickname “Question Man” — shortened to “Q-Man” and eventually “Q.”

Unlike when he got saddled with the nickname in college with Kerr at the University of Arizona, Fraser, after coaching under Lute Olson, Larry Brown and Quin Snyder, now has most of the answers he used to seek. He still wasn’t going to begin shoving those answers at Curry.

“When you start working with someone like that, if you all of a sudden have all of these ideas, your first idea better be right” Fraser said. “You don’t want to guess. In a good way, our relationship grew, and Steph was receptive to what I saw.”

Fraser could have been more assertive or mandated things from Curry. Fraser’s long resume holds more water than Curry’s splash.

Fraser has worked with Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller and Steve Nash.

Now, he’s bringing Curry’s game days to life in practice.

People play Curry to drive right, so Fraser drills the left; people are running Curry off the three-point arc, so Fraser has Curry shoot from 30 feet; and people are showing, blitzing or double-teaming Curry on pick-and-roll sets, so Fraser finds answers.

If you’ve ever seen Curry give up the ball to a teammate when he’s double-teamed and then race to a spot where a pass can be returned to him, you’ve seen Fraser’s handiwork.

“I just haven’t ruined him,” Fraser said.

No, he has made Curry a lot better.

Curry was the league MVP in 2014-15. This season, he’s scoring a league-high 32.2 points per game on career highs in field-goal shooting (52.9 percent) and three-point shooting (46.3).

“He’s been big,” Curry said. “You need that kind of inspiration on a day-to-day basis to try to figure out how you’re going to get better and keep things fresh. He’s great at just giving me little nuggets. It’s kind of like a pep talk. He knows my mood, the look on my face or my body language. He knows what to say to get me going.”

Fraser is remarkably intuitive, though Curry probably would have settled for merely somewhat consistent. Curry had four personal assistant coaches in his first four season: from Keith Smart to Stephen Silas to Jerry Sichting to Michael Malone.

Fraser, who sometimes juggles three balls while passing Curry another one — just to keep the point guard in rhythm during pregame warm-ups — is here for the long haul. He’s one of Kerr’s best friends, and showed his “company man” status perfectly during the interview for this story.

When interim head coach Luke Walton arrived for a previously scheduled question-and-answer session in a hotel lobby, Fraser yielded the floor to Walton. Fraser sat silently for 10 minutes, and once Walton was done, Fraser asked: “Do you still want to talk to me?”

Of course, everyone wants to talk to the man who whispers to Curry during fourth-quarter blowouts and has the face of the league covering that face with a towel.

“I don’t know if I should be called the Curry Whisperer, but I think we have a relationship that is pretty genuine, true and pure,” Fraser said. “We could be talking about anything — something that’s happening in the game with him, a player, a tendency or a guy who fouls all the time.

“Or, it might just be about the guy with the horrible yellow sweater in the fourth row.”

Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: rsimmons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron