Warriors’ Stephen Curry is ‘short version of Tim’ Duncan

Recommended Video:

Stephen Curry and Tim Duncan are starkly different players on the court.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr still sees something quite similar in Curry, one of the league’s best-ever outside shooters, and Duncan, one of game’s best-ever two-way players on the interior.

“I think Steph is the short version of Tim, in terms of what Steph means to our franchise — not just his play, but also the way he carries himself and his image,” said Kerr, who played with Duncan in San Antonio from 1998 through 2001 and 2002-03. “The fact that he’s so pure in his intention: Steph just wants to win. Tim just wants to win. That’s what I saw when I was his teammate.

“It’s easy to stray away from that, if you’re an NBA player these days. There are so many different things going on around you. You can focus more on your brand or your identity or how many endorsements you have. What Steph means to us is absolutely what Tim has meant to that franchise.”

When Curry was about 8 years old, he watched Duncan work out before a basketball camp at Johnson C. Smith Uni versity in Charlotte, N.C. When he walked into the gym, Curry was amazed by a flat-footed Duncan reaching up and grabbing the middle of the basketball net.

“I don’t know him behind closed doors, in the locker room and stuff like that. I don’t know what his mentality is like or what his demeanor is like, but on the court, he’s very about his business and very subtle about the way he’s a lead-by-example type of guy,” Curry said. “I’m pretty sure that he’s vocal. I don’t know, but when you see how hard he plays every single night, that says a lot about him as a person and how much he respects the game, how much he wants to get out of it and how much he leads their team.

“I follow that, for sure.”

Briefly: Good friends, Kerr and San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich chatted before Monday’s game. A reporter told Kerr that Popovich was trying to get into his head. “Oh my God. He is trying to get into my head. I didn’t even realize it until now. Why did you have to tell me?” Kerr joked, before the reporter asked if Kerr was ready for it. “No, I’m going to have Luke (Walton) coach tonight.” … The Warriors were named co-Retailer of the Year by the NBA, sharing the honor with the Toronto Raptors for the 2014-15 season. The league has given the award since 2002.

Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.