Enthralled by Curry — and Swaggy P, too
SHENZHEN, China — In July, after buying a blue No. 0 Warriors jersey at the NBA Store in New York City, Ken Wang had a curious request: Could an employee stitch the nickname of his favorite player — Nick “Swaggy P” Young — onto the back?
At 5 a.m. Thursday, Wang, a 16-year-old aspiring point guard from Guangzhou, gave up trying to sleep. Seven anxious weeks after a family friend surprised him with tickets to the Warriors’ first exhibition game against Minnesota in China, he took a two-hour train ride to Shenzhen to finally see in person the sharpshooter he has long
idolized.
“I dream of Nick Young,” Wang, with “Swaggy P” emblazoned across his back, said two hours before tip-off of the Warriors’ 111-95 loss to the Timberwolves. “I love that he’s a gunner. He’s unstoppable. He just keeps shooting.”
What do Swaggy P and Stephen Curry have in common? To many in this high-tech city of 12 million people, the Warriors are the ideal mix of flash and substance. And Curry — with his ball-handling and long-range exploits, combined with a relatively diminutive stature — especially appeals to Chinese fans.
“Stephen Curry, he’s mortal,” Wang said. “He’s not like LeBron James. He’s smaller than a lot of people, which motivates many people here.”
More than an hour before tip-off, fans in No. 30 jerseys roared as Curry jogged onto the floor. Each of his dribbling drills came amid steady applause. During his pregame shooting routine, Curry seemed to ratchet up the volume inside the arena with every three-pointer.
“He’s so smart with the basketball, it’s amazing,” said Ning Jun, an 18-year-old from Macau who puts aside her Cavaliers fandom to root for Curry. “Also, it doesn’t hurt that he’s really cute.”
The Warriors appeared intent on putting on a show for their fans. After a flurry of firstquarter three-pointers, they attacked the rim with more aggression and delivered a slew of highlight-reel dunks.
A packed house of 17,495 wasn’t celebrating only the “SportsCenter”-caliber highlights, however. Fans were especially enthused when Andre Iguodala bounced a pass through traffic to a cutting Omri Casspi, who finished with a layup.
Golden State pulled its starters midway through the third quarter and fell apart down the stretch, losing 111-97. But after the final buzzer sounded, fans serenaded Curry with cheers as the two-time MVP jogged off.
“It was a really cool experience to play in front of a great crowd,” Curry said. “Anytime you get to come to China and get a different experience, it’s kind of fun to see how the game flows.”
Wang exemplifies the modern Warriors fan in China. Two years ago, after the team won its first NBA title since 1975, he started streaming every Golden State game live on his tablet computer. More than the unparalleled winning, Wang appreciates that a cast of All-Stars plays so selflessly.
He said his mood shifts with every Warriors win, loss, draft pick or trade. And in early July, when Golden State inked Young to a one-year, $5.2 million contract, Wang was ecstatic: His favorite player was suddenly on his favorite team.
“I’m so excited,” said Wang, who became fluent in English at his international school in Guangzhou. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”
Young had seven points on 3-for-8 shooting (1-for-5 from three-point range) in 16 minutes Thursday. Late in the game, after taking a hard spill, he walked gingerly to the locker room. Many Chinese fans rose from their seats, iPhones in hands, as Young disappeared through the tunnel.
“The atmosphere was great,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “We know that we have a lot of fans over here, so it’s fun to be here in person to play in front of the Chinese people.”