NBA star Stephen Curry owes his deep-rooted Christian faith to his parents Dell and Sonya Curry, who raised him to love God with all of his heart. His mother is extremely proud of Curry's success, and she believes that God paved the way for his career for a reason.
"We believe God opened the door for Stephen for a reason—to be a light and example of God," Sonya told Mercury News.
This is why Sonya makes sure not to let arrogance and conceit dominate her son's personality, and she constantly checks on his interviews to see if he remains humble about his talent and success.
Another thing Sonya detests are athletes wearing sunglasses and headphones while indoors, and this is why she lauded Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers for "calling him (her son) on it" when he was spotted wearing sunglasses inside their practice facility the week before he was named MVP.
"It says look at me, I made it. I'm going to let you look at me, but there's no connection," she said. "It's the aloofness."
Sonya also taught her son that it's important to value his fans, and she encouraged Curry to look his fans in the eye when talking to them or signing autographs. "People will love you if you love them," Sonya said. "Give them your all on the court and be nice when you go to the grocery store."
Curry sounds too good to be true, and there are some people wondering if his Christian faith is indeed real, or whether or not the basketball star is harbouring some skeletons in his closet.
Last fall, his own mother actually believed that for 10 minutes when her daughter-in-law Ayesha sent her a text message, "Stephen's cheating on me."
Sonya was devastated with the news, and immediately called Ayesha and Curry, but both of them were not answering their phones. She was already starting to book a flight to California when she received a follow-up message—a picture of Curry leaning on a female mannequin in a department store.
It was only then that Sonya realised that the messages were intended as a joke, but she did not think it was funny. When she finally got a hold of Ayesha, she "lit them up."
Her daughter-in-law apologised profusely, explaining that she lost reception while she was in the dressing room so she did not realise that the photo was not sent along with the message.
"I told Stephen I didn't want to do it!" Ayesha said.
But aside from that incident, Sonya does not have any complaints against her son. "He is wonderful," she proudly said.
