While other players enter the National Basketball Association as surefire superstars, Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors sort of snuck up on the league. Few, if any observers, anticipated that the 6 ft. 3 in. guard out of Davidson College would quickly emerge as one of the most unstoppable offensive forces and best pure shooters the game has witnessed. His intriguing story is chronicled by Marcus Thompson, who spent 10 seasons as a beat writer covering Golden State. While winning back-to-back MVP awards, Curry has astounded fans with his ability to quickly and accurately launch shots from long range, win them over with his hard-working, wholesome image, and wow them with an impressive pregame warmup routine.

Here’s an excerpt from Golden:

“After a practice once, Curry was asked if it felt good to embarrass opponents. Because Curry is the quintessential nice guy off the court, the questioner wondered if he relishes the opportunity to be mean on the court. But Curry rejected the premise.

“ ‘That would imply that I’m never mean off the court,’ he said. ‘That’s crazy. I have bad days, too.’

“His teammates have called him Golden Boy and monikers of that ilk. He accepts it, but he doesn’t prefer it. Any situation that exalts him as holier than thou Curry tries to elude like it’s a defender chasing him around the screen. Anyone who asks him about his faith, he will happily answer, but he avoids the grandiose presentations and delights in the intimate actions away from the spotlight.”