AYESHA CURRY REVEALS THE “UNBELIEVABLE” PIECE OF ADVICE SHE GAVE STEPH CURRY BEFORE HE WAS DRAFT BY THE WARRIORS — AND THE MOMENT THAT CHANGED HIS CAREER — The night before the Draft, when everyone thought Steph Curry was under the most pressure of his life, Ayesha stood in front of him in a small kitchen in Charlotte, put her hand on his chest, and said something that left Steph frozen in place. It was a statement so paradoxical and bold that Ayesha herself admits that if she had said it at the wrong time, Steph’s entire future could have taken a completely different direction. But what makes this story special isn’t just the advice—it’s Steph’s reaction: he took a step back, looked at Ayesha for a long time, and then did something that, years later, Ayesha would say, “at that moment, I knew he was going to be legendary.” Those who were there say there was one detail that happened on the kitchen table—so small, so casual—that was so integral to Steph’s eventual decision to come to the Golden State, like a signal that only they understood. And that’s why Ayesha still calls that moment “the tipping point.”

Ayesha Curry Reveals Bold Advice She Gave Steph Curry Before Being Drafted by the Warriors

Stephen Curry was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the No. 7 overall pick out of Davidson, right as his relationship with Ayesha was beginning to take shape.

At the time, though, Curry still had one year of eligibility left at Davidson, and according to Ayesha, it created quite the predicament over whether he should return to school or make the leap to the NBA.

“He had a big decision to make because he had a year, he had a senior year left,” Ayesha explained during a recent appearance on the ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast. “So it was like, do I stay? Do I go? And like, think what a lot of people don’t know is he really thought about it. It was like a torment for him.”

Despite it ultimately being Curry’s decision, he leaned heavily on Ayesha’s opinion. Looking back, she admits the bold advice she gave him was to “stay in school.” Curry didn’t end up following that advice, but had he done so, everything that has come from his historic career with the Warriors could have looked very different.

“I was like, ‘Stay in school,’ ” Ayesha said. “I didn’t grow up surrounded by people who went to college. That for me was like, ‘Wow, what a blessing.’ Like you get to go to college, you get to have an education, why would you leave? And then not coming from that sports background and understanding how rare the opportunity he had was, I was like, ‘Yeah. Stay at school.’”

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and wife Ayesha Curry Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The couple first met as teenagers in 2003 but didn’t reconnect until 2008, when they began dating after crossing paths in Los Angeles—Curry was in town for the ESPYs, and Ayesha was pursuing a career in acting and modeling.

Now, nearly two decades later, they have four children and were married in a summer ceremony in 2011. Ayesha has stood by Steph’s side through four NBA championships and countless accolades.