NBA superstar Stephen Curry told Donte DiVincenzo to sign with the Knicks in free agency last summer.
The two were teammates on the Warriors for one year and developed a close enough relationship for DiVincenzo to ask for his advice.
According to The Athletic, the Timberwolves were a serious suitor for the sixth-year guard. There were a few other teams with significant interest. He had many options to consider.
Weighing his options, DiVincenzo made a FaceTime call to Curry early on.
“He reached out about New York specifically and what he should do, what I thought he should do,” Curry said. “When you have gained trust in someone to call, pick up the phone, it means a lot, especially for a guy who was only here for a year.”
DiVincenzo was already leaning towards New York. Curry had a similar thought on the matter.
The Knicks were looking for a hard-nosed player who could also shoot. To make it more of an attractive fit, the team already had his Villanova friends Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.
“Just looking at the depth chart and the role he could play, what they needed. They were already a playoff team, starting to trend in the right direction. Then his familiarity with their players from college. That made it so he’d have the opportunity to go in and do exactly what he did for us. He’s a smart, high-IQ basketball player who plays defense.”
Curry’s advice convinced him.
“Ultimately, he said it,” DiVincenzo said. “It was on my mind. You know, I’m a grown man. I make my own decisions, but to have somebody of that stature to almost voice the opinion that I’m thinking — it makes you feel good about the decision you’re making, rather than if he says something way out of left field and you kind of start to question things. … He reinforced what I was thinking about New York.”
In December DiVincenzo earned is way into the starting lineup and has become what many believe is one of the most underrated players in the NBA.
This season the 27-year old is averaging a career high 13.9 points on 46 percent from the field and 42 percent from three.
He’s also on pace to break the franchise record of most threes in a single season, which is currently held by Evan Fournier.
It doesn’t end there, last two months have been huge for DiVincenzo too. Since December 30th he’s averaged 18.9 points per game.
He credits Curry for the improvement in his shooting.
“You wanna emulate it. You wanna be like that. All the kids wanna be like that. But there is a real piece where you look in the mirror. I’m not him. No one is him. Steph is Steph. He’s proving that year after year.”