By MICHAEL ROTHMAN
Ayesha Alexander didnโt know anything about basketball when she finally went to her first game at the age of 19. Alexander had started dating the star player at a small school in North Carolina and wanted to see what all the fuss was about, while showing her support. Walking into the Baker Sports Complex, home to the Davidson Wildcats, Ayesha was floored by the sea of jerseys she saw bearing the name of the young man she had met five years prior at a local youth group in Charlotte. That was seven years ago. Today, you know that couple as Ayesha and Stephen Curry. Ayesha married the NBA superstar in 2011 and since then, the pair has welcomed two beautiful daughters, Riley and Ryan. But as a child from an artistic family, sheโs still taken aback by her husbandโs evolution and success over the past decade. In fact, before the two got together, she didnโt even know Stephโs father Del was also a star. โWe actually just left from visiting his home in Charlotte,โ Ayesha told ABC News. โWalking through his old room and looking at all his trophies, I feel like Iโm watching a documentary.โ Ayesha, the 27-year-old entrepreneur, blogger and chef, is someone Stephen gives all the credit in the world to, especially after the whirlwind summer the two faced following Golden Stateโs run to an NBA Championship. โThe way we manage?โ Ayesha said. โBy not thinking about it.โ
The 2015 NBA MVP just wrapped the Asian leg of his Under Armor tour and last week, was honored as he graced the cover of the new NBA 2K16. Landing the cover of a video game is about as good as it gets for a professional athlete.
โThis is a dream come true. Iโve been playing video games since I was a kid,โ Stephen said. โEvery year, when you see the new games coming out, you want to know who is on the cover. Thatโs the kind of stuff you remember. I have a shelf full of games and to be able to put my cover with them, itโs amazing.โ Ayesha brings an outsiderโs perspective to Stephโs historic run. โI donโt think heโs even had to time to think about whatโs happened,โ she said. โHe doesnโt take it too seriously. Heโs obviously proud, but itโs still family first. At home, heโs still the same Steph.โ Stephen, 27, is hands down one of the best and brightest stars in the NBA. But coming out of high school in the late 2000s, he said there werenโt many suitors, even with his famed pedigree. โThere was definitely a certain level of pressure and expectation, especially from the Charlotte and North Carolina area, where Del made his name and I grew up,โ Steph said. โI was Delโs son, coming up through the ranks and all that. In high school, when I played varsity, the spotlight was big on me.โ But Steph said outside his local bubble, โthere was no story around me.โ โI was a scrawny kid, no college coaches from higher Division 1 schools wanted to recruit me and offer me any scholarships,โ he added. โThere was pressure, but also the opportunity to play that underdog role and create my own story.โ There were some โsuperficialโ calls from college coaches, Curry said, but in the end, he only had 3 scholarships offers. โDavidson was the only one that showed up to my front door and came to my house, talked to my family. The rest is history,โ he said. History is right. Steph led his school to the Elite 8 in just his freshman year. Heโs also Davidsonโs all-time scoring leader with more than 2,600 career points and was the NCAA overall scoring leader in 2009. That was all by design, Steph said. โWhen I got there, I knew I wanted to make an impression and show [everyone who passed on me] what they were missing,โ he said. Fast forward past his All-Rookie team selection in 2010 and two All-Star selections since, Curry is a big reason the Warriors just won the franchiseโs first championship in 40 years. But he still plans to fight every day to stay on top. โI donโt publicize workouts very much, but the amount of effort and time you put in is why all this stuff is possible,โ he said. โI get in like 4 or 5 hours a day, strength and conditioning or all-court stuff.โ โThatโs my regimen, but I try all sorts of stuff; cycling classes, running on the beach, random stuff. You have to be creative, especially traveling back and forth, coast to coast,โ he added about his hectic schedule these days. And then thereโs his shooting regimen, which is why he has the sweetest stroke in the game.
โI go into the gym and give my trainer the look,โ he said. โIf you get up 400 shots, 150 will be pressure shots, with a penalty for not making 5 out of 7 in one spot. I also do a game when you have to make three in a row for five separate spots on the court. Then two in a row, then one from each spot, all in two and a half minutes. I wonโt leave the gym till I finish that.โ
Steph may be a busy man, but his wife is just as swamped and surrounded โ just not by defenders. โI am blessed with a wife thatโs willing to travel with me,โ Steph told ABC News. โI donโt know what Iโd do if she wasnโt able to be there with me to go to different events. I mean, I have a two-month-old daughter and sheโs been on 10 flights already โฆ Itโs a lot to manage, and we are still learning as young parents.โ Ayesha has basically created a brand for herself in the kitchen. โWe travel as a pack, our little wolf pack,โ she said, adding that when sheโs filming her food demonstrations or writing her blog, thereโs most likely, โa baby hanging off me or Riley is sitting at my feet playing with Legos.โ Plus, โSteph is the most hands-on father. He manages his life and his day with so much humility, Iโm just lucky to have him as my husband.โ
Ayeshaโs latest venture includes a collaboration with TJ Maxx, but in typical Curry fashion, itโs not just about promoting the brand, but more importantly promoting women.
โWe are trying to shed light on the fact that all women and all mothers are remarkable,โ she said. โWe did a study and it came back that only 19 percent of women saw themselves in this light. The rest think they are just average.โ โBefore becoming a mom for the second time this summer, I also considered myself average,โ she continued. โThat is something we all need to change.โ In five years, Ayeshaโs dream is a cookbook, coupled with her own cooking show. And who helps with the cooking now at home? Riley, of course. But no, 3-year-old Riley does not have any clue of the star she became when her father decided to bring her to a post-game press conference back in May during the NBA Finals. โAnd thatโs exactly how weโd like to keep it,โ Ayesha explained. โShe already has so much personality, if she caught wind of this, who knows what would happen.โ