Steph Curry gushes over former teammate Donte DiVincenzo

Steph Curry, given his expansive and impressive resume, is a voice fans can and should trust when it comes to talking about basketball. So Knicks fans should be delighted to hear that the four-time champion and two-time MVP recently raved about the newly signed Donte DiVincenzo. “He’s all about basketball, he’s all about winning. He brings great energy to the locker room,” Curry said when discussing his former teammate ahead of the American Century Championships. “I used to call him the vet even though he’s still on the younger side, just because he’s got that kind of spirit about him. He plays way beyond his years. He’s good on both sides of the ball, he can play-make better than most people probably realize. So he fills a lot of holes on a team.”

A lot of what Curry said is interestingly reminiscent of how coaches and players around the league spoke of both Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, both of whom DiVincenzo played with at Villanova. And while some fans have been critical of the Knicks’ preference of signing former Villanova players, there’s something to be said about the Knicks placing an emphasis on rostering mature players with winning backgrounds, who are unselfish, and are willing to do whatever it takes. And in DiVincenzo, they got one that also fills the glaring weakness that is outside shooting. The Delaware native, who inked a four-year $50 million deal on the second day of free agency, had himself a very solid season in his lone year as a Warrior, averaging 9.4PPG, 4.5RPG, 3.5APG, and 1.3SPG while shooting a career-high 39.7% from three in 26.3MPG.

Curry also stated on Thursday that he understood why the 6’4” guard left Golden State. “He’s not selfish in the respect of – I know he wants to start and be that guy – but he also understands where value can be created on a team no matter what the role you’re asked to do is,” he said. “He bought in right away and he got rewarded for it.”

The Warriors point guard concluded by saying, “the Knicks got a good one. I’m happy that he got his fair share of that CBA too. So it was good.” It still remains unknown just how big of a role DiVincenzo will ultimately play and how head coach Tom Thibodeau will allocate minutes amongst a very crowded back court but hearing Curry speak about his former teammate sheds some light on just how valuable players around the league think DiVicenzo is and can be.