Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry rose to prominence in recent years, but he was not projected to do so early in his career. The documentary “Stephen Curry: Underrated” captures his evolution from an unlikely Davidson stand-out to an NBA Champion.
“Stephen Curry: Underrated” was directed by Peter Nicks. Among the documentary’s producers is NAACP Image Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated director Ryan Coogler, who brought us “Black Panther” and “Fruitvale Station.”
Coogler recently brought on Nicks to work for his company, Proximity Media, to work on nonfiction projects.
“He is a cinéma vérité filmmaker, usually he does movies that focus on community in Oakland hospitals, police departments under reform, high schools,” Coogler said. “Once we had him on board, we were off to the races.”
Related Stories
Track Star Sha’Carri Richardson – Call Her Madam Champion
Student Athlete of the Week: Jordon Smith
The documentary juxtaposed Curry’s time as a student-athlete at Davidson with his 2021-2022 season in the NBA. During that time, he was working to complete his degree from Davidson and he ultimately helped the Warriors earn an NBA title that season.
Erick Peyton, who works for Curry’s company, Unanimous Media, noted how they did not expect the Warriors to win a championship that season.
“That’s what sort of makes this doc magical is like [Curry] messed around and won a championship while we were doing a doc on Davidson,” Peyton said. “Which is a great ending to the film.”
“Stephen Curry: Underrated” starts with NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller reciting Curry’s pre-draft scouting report. In September 2022, Curry became the all-time three-point shot leader in the NBA.
“I think that [Miller] and [Curry] they have such similar careers,” Peyton said. “When you read it in real time, you’ll be like “man, they really got this one wrong.””
In 2008, Curry helped the Davidson Wildcats to the Elite Eight. “Stephen Curry: Underrated” focused on that particular season, featuring interviews with his teammates and coach Bob McKillop.
“They’re brothers, they’re all connected by that journey,” Peyton said. “Nobody else can really talk about that journey except for them.”
The documentary includes appearances of several members of Curry’s support system, including his grandmother, parents, wife, and three children.
Coogler noted how learning about the anxiety around his height was an interesting fact he learned about Curry through working on the documentary. Throughout his formative years, people would inquire about his height due to both his parents being athletes.
“I was an athlete when I was young, played football in college, whenever I’ve seen [Curry], it’s been as a man and I’m always taken aback by how big he actually is,” Coogler said. “But because the NBA selects for height so much, he looks small out there.”
“Stephen Curry: Underrated” can be seen on Apple TV+.
