Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors‘ prolific shooter, has declared he will never again sport cornrows after a superstitious association with a poor start to the 2020-21 NBA season.
Curry debuted the hairstyle for the first three games of the 2020-21 season, a period marked by a shooting slump. He explained in a recent interview with Complex’s speedy Morman that he had the braids done during the COVID-19 hiatus, with just enough hair to secure them. The Warriors began the season with losses to the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks. Curry recalled being in his Chicago hotel room after these losses and removing the braids himself, as his barber was not present.
Following the removal of the braids, Curry experienced a turnaround in his performance. He noted that he kept the resulting haircut, which he described as a “mushroom top, half-fro,” even after a strong performance against the Chicago Bulls and his career-high 62-point game against the Portland Trail Blazers two weeks later. Despite the subsequent success, Curry attributed the initial struggles to the braids and vowed never to wear them again.
During the initial three games of the 2020-21 season, Curry’s shooting statistics were notably low. He shot 13-of-38 (34.2%) from the field and 4-of-20 (20%) from three-point range. His performance against the Bulls saw him score 36 points on 11-of-25 shooting (44% from the field) and 5-of-15 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. Three games later,he achieved his career-high of 62 points against the Trail Blazers,with an remarkable 18-of-31 (58.1%) shooting from the field and 8-of-16 (50%) from three-point range.