Ron Kroichick July 21, 2016 Updated: July 21, 2016 7:54 p.m.
Curry offered a half-amused glare in return. That one hurt.
Barely a month after his team fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, completing a shocking collapse from a 3-1 series lead, Curry made a very public appearance. He played 18 holes with four amateur partners in advance of this year’s American Century Championship, the celebrity golf tournament starting Friday alongside Lake Tahoe.
Curry invited The Chronicle to tag along and chat occasionally as he walked the emerald-green fairways on a breathtakingly gorgeous day.
Three things became clear: The Finals loss still haunts him; he worried about needing surgery on his troublesome knee and ankle; and he’s confident the Warriors will blend recently signed free agent Kevin Durant into the lineup, after a brief transition.
“I think about it all the time,” Curry said of the Finals. “It’s a frustrating feeling to not get the job done. But at the end of the day, for us to kind of keep that in our memory bank as we go forward will make us better.
Curry looked spry as he smacked long tee shots around Edgewood, a picturesque tree-lined course. No limping, no hesitation, no sign of lingering trouble in the wake of knee and ankle injuries during the playoffs.
Make no mistake: Those injuries limited his mobility in the Finals. That was plain to see. Curry lacked his customary explosiveness, and the Cavaliers — most notably Irving, their dynamic point guard — took full advantage. Irving scored 26 points in Game 7, including a key late three-pointer over Curry.
Caddie Bryant Barr and Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry talk things over during the 2016 American Century Celebrity-Amateur Tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, California, on Thurs. July 22, 2016. His caddie Bryant Barr, (right) was his roommate back in their college days at Davidson.
To his credit, Curry didn’t use the injuries as an excuse. He didn’t Thursday, either, but he acknowledged fearing he might need surgery after the Finals. That’s the main reason he reluctantly skipped joining the U.S. Olympic team as it prepares for next month’s Summer Games in Brazil.
Thursday’s outing represented the first time Curry offered his take on Durant’s rock-the-league decision to join the Warriors. Curry was part of the recruiting delegation to visit Durant in the Hamptons, hoping to persuade the sought-after free agent from Oklahoma City to sign with Golden State.
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry signs autographs during the 2016 American Century Celebrity-Amateur Tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, California, on Thurs. July 22, 2016.
A few days later, on the morning of July 4, Curry woke up on vacation in Hawaii to discover his phone lighting up. Durant had left a voice mail. Draymond Green and other teammates had sent text messages.
But the first text Curry opened was from Warriors owner Joe Lacob. Curry figured Lacob was offering consolation, but then he read the message and realized Durant was now his teammate.
The weirdness will morph into a tantalizing challenge come training camp, as the Warriors try to spread shots among Curry, Durant and Klay Thompson. And maybe a few for Green, too.
“It’ll be a transition,” Curry said. “I don’t want to say guys will have to sacrifice — I want guys to be who they are, because that’s what makes us so powerful. But there’s a transition in how we see the game, how we see the floor, how the flow goes.
Before the Warriors embark on that quest, Curry waded into his new reality at Edgewood. The last time he played in this tournament, in 2013, he was not yet a two-time Most Valuable Player. The Warriors had not yet won the NBA title.
Curry was popular, but he wasn’t quite Steph Curry.
So the person with the biggest job Thursday probably was Ralph Walker, the retired Oakland police officer who serves as Curry’s personal chief of security. Curry patiently signed hundreds and hundreds of autographs, while Walker helped him make his way between holes.
The circus was on full display. Several young women screamed in unison on No. 9, asking Curry to pose for a photo. He cleverly stopped, shouted “Photobomb!” and spread his arms wide with a big smile, appearing in the background of their shot.
Later, fans on the beach alongside No. 17 threw a football, Frisbee and Warriors hat for Curry to sign. He complied on all three counts.
“It’s kind of chaotic, man,” he said.
And, no, it wasn’t nearly as chaotic three years ago in Tahoe. Back then, Curry and a small group of family and friends went out for pizza and a movie to celebrate daughter Riley’s first birthday. Few people bothered them.
Wednesday night’s scene provided a striking contrast. Curry, his dad, Dell, caddie/college roommate Bryant Barr and Walker stopped at Safeway on the way back to their rental house.