Shaq Reveals What Steph Curry’s Father Told Him — His Words Will Make You Cry

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Shaquille O’Neal’s deep voice echoed through the quiet studio, carrying a weight that was unusual for the normally cheerful giant. He sat in an oversized leather chair, but somehow, his 7’1″ frame looked smaller than ever. The air was thick with anticipation, as if everyone present knew they were about to witness something unforgettable.

“There are moments in your life that change everything,” Shaq began, his voice trembling slightly. “Moments when someone says something so true, so pure, that it reaches your soul and rearranges everything you thought you knew—about being a man, about being a father, about believing in another human being.”

James Wilson, the veteran sports journalist interviewing Shaq, leaned forward. He had covered basketball for 25 years and knew when something important was about to be revealed. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the Atlanta studio’s windows, casting long shadows that seemed to dance with the emotion in the room.

“It was three years ago,” Shaq continued, his massive hands fidgeting nervously. “Dell Curry and I were at a charity event in Charlotte. You know how those things go—former players, current stars, everyone putting on their best face, raising money, making small talk about the old days.”

But Shaq was about to share something deeper. He gathered his courage as he remembered that night—a night that changed his understanding of fatherhood forever.

“We ended up sitting together during dinner,” Shaq said. “Dell’s quiet, not like me. I’m loud, I take up space, I demand attention. But Dell… he has this calm about him, this peaceful presence that makes you want to listen.”

They started with the usual small talk, reminiscing about games, teammates, and coaches. Then someone at the table mentioned Steph Curry and his incredible season.

Shaq paused, letting the weight of the moment settle. “Dell’s face just lit up—not just with pride, but with something deeper. I realized I was about to learn something important about what it really means to be a father.”

The studio seemed to grow quieter as Shaq leaned in. “Dell looked at me and said, ‘Sha, can I tell you something about Steph that might surprise you? Something most people don’t know. Something I’ve never talked about publicly before?’”

Shaq was curious. What could possibly surprise him about Steph Curry? He had watched Steph revolutionize basketball, break records, and win championships. What secret could there be?

“But then Dell said something that stopped me cold,” Shaq said. “He said, ‘There were years when absolutely everyone told Steph he’d never make it to the NBA. Coaches, scouts, even family friends. They said he was too small, too skinny, too soft for professional basketball.’”

Shaq’s massive frame seemed to deflate as he remembered Dell’s words. “And I’m sitting there thinking, ‘How is this possible? This is Steph Curry we’re talking about! The kid who changed everything about basketball. How could anyone have doubted him?’”

Dell continued, “Sha, when Steph was 16, just a sophomore in high school, after another coach told him he’d never make it past high school basketball, he came home that night completely devastated. Not just sad or disappointed—absolutely broken, like his whole world had collapsed.”

Shaq’s voice grew thick with emotion. “Dell told me Steph sat in their kitchen that night, at the same table where he’d eaten breakfast every morning since he was a little boy. But instead of feeling safe, he felt completely defeated. He looked at his father, tears streaming down his face, and said, ‘Dad, maybe everyone’s right about me. Maybe I’m just not good enough. Maybe I should give up on this dream that’s causing me so much pain.’”

The silence that followed was heavy. Every parent knows the pain of seeing their child’s dreams crushed. How many parents have faced that moment, trying to find the right words to rebuild their child’s confidence?

“And that’s when Dell said the words that absolutely broke me,” Shaq said. “He told me, ‘Shaq, I looked at my 16-year-old son sitting there in our kitchen and realized this was one of those moments that would define not just his future, but the kind of father I was going to be. So I said to him, Steph, the world doesn’t get to decide your worth. The world doesn’t get to determine your destiny. The only opinion that truly matters is the one you have of yourself and the faith we have in you as a family who loves you unconditionally.’”

Shaq’s voice shook as he continued. “But Dell wasn’t done. He told Steph, ‘Son, I’ve watched you in that backyard for hours every single day since you were 8 years old. I’ve seen your dedication when nobody was watching, your heart when shots weren’t falling, your refusal to quit even when everything seemed hopeless. The world sees a small kid who might not make it. I see a giant who hasn’t grown into his power yet.’”

Shaq wiped away tears as he recalled Dell’s next words: “I told Steph that night that I would rather have a son who chased impossible dreams with everything he had than a son who settled for what others thought was realistic. I told him that believing in yourself isn’t arrogance when it’s backed up by hard work and dedication. It’s survival. It’s the only way to make it through a world that’s constantly trying to convince you to accept limitations that don’t really exist.”

Shaq took a deep breath, the emotion in his voice now unmistakable. “And then Dell told me the part that completely destroyed me. He said, ‘Shaq, I made Steph a promise that night that I’ve kept every single day since. I promised him that no matter how many people doubted him, no matter how many doors got slammed in his face, no matter how many times the world tried to convince him he wasn’t good enough, he would always have one person who believed in him completely. One person who saw his greatness even when he couldn’t see it himself.’”

Shaq paused, letting the words sink in for everyone listening. “Dell looked me straight in the eyes and said, ‘I told Steph that every great person in history was once somebody that somebody else believed in when believing seemed impossible. I told him that his job wasn’t to prove the doubters wrong. His job was to prove himself right. His job was to become the person he was meant to be, regardless of what anyone else thought was possible.’”

Shaq’s voice dropped to a whisper. “But the part that hit me the hardest was when Dell told me about the next morning. Steph came down to breakfast, looked his father in the eye, and said, ‘Dad, I’m going to make you proud. I’m going to show the world what happens when someone refuses to stop believing in their dreams, no matter how impossible they seem.’”

Shaq looked down, tears streaming down his face. “Dell smiled at me and said, ‘Shaq, that 16-year-old kid who everyone said was too small, too weak, too unlikely to succeed, just finished his third NBA championship. But you know what I’m most proud of? Not the rings, not the records, not the recognition. I’m most proud that he never stopped believing in himself, even when the world gave him every reason to quit. I’m proud that he became living proof that dreams don’t have size requirements.’”

Shaq’s voice grew stronger. “And then Dell said the words that changed everything for me. He said, ‘Shaq, every child in this world needs someone who believes in their impossible dream. Every child needs someone who sees their greatness before they do. Someone who refuses to let them give up on themselves when times get difficult. And if you’re blessed enough to be that person for someone, you have the power to change not just their life, but potentially the entire world.’”

Shaq realized, in that moment, that Dell Curry hadn’t just raised a basketball player. He had raised a human being who believes in the impossible because someone taught him that impossible is just another word for not yet.

Shaq’s massive shoulders shook as he confessed, “After Dell finished telling me that story, I sat there in that banquet hall, surrounded by hundreds of people, and I felt completely alone with my own thoughts. I realized I had been missing something fundamental about what it means to be a father.”

He continued, “Dell kept talking, telling me more stories about Steph’s journey, about the doubt he faced at every level, about the coaches who overlooked him, about the scouts who dismissed him. But honestly, I wasn’t really hearing those stories anymore. I was hearing echoes of conversations I’d had with my own children. Words I’d spoken that suddenly felt heavy, maybe even harmful, without me ever realizing it.”

Shaq admitted, “I thought I was being a good father. I provided for my kids financially. I showed up to their games. I told them I loved them. But I realized that night in Charlotte that I had never done what Dell did for Steph. I had never looked my children in the eyes and promised them I would believe in their impossible dreams.”

He reflected on all the times he had been “realistic” instead of supportive, pointing out challenges and reasons why things might not work out. “But what I was really doing was limiting their dreams before they even had a chance to chase them,” Shaq realized.

That night changed everything for Shaq. He called his oldest son from his hotel room, even though it was almost midnight. He apologized for not believing in his dreams the way Dell believed in Steph’s. He asked for forgiveness for being a dream manager instead of a dream amplifier.

His son was quiet for a long time, then replied, “Dad, I stopped sharing my big dreams with you a long time ago because I was afraid you’d give me all the reasons they wouldn’t work instead of helping me figure out how they could work.”

Shaq realized the full magnitude of what Dell Curry had accomplished. Dell hadn’t just raised Steph to be a great basketball player—he had raised him to be someone who believes that impossible is just another word for not yet. Someone who approaches every challenge with the confidence that comes from having at least one person who believes in you completely.

Shaq spent the next six months having important conversations with all his children, asking about dreams they had stopped sharing, about goals they had abandoned, about possibilities they had given up on. “My children had never stopped dreaming those impossible dreams,” Shaq discovered. “They had just stopped sharing them with me because they had learned I was more likely to point out obstacles than to help them overcome those obstacles.”

“But when I became the kind of father Dell was to Steph,” Shaq said, “when I became someone who believes in impossible dreams instead of someone who points out why they might not work, my children started dreaming out loud again. They started sharing their biggest hopes, their wildest possibilities, their most ambitious goals, because they knew I would be their believing voice instead of their cautionary voice.”

Shaq concluded, “Dell Curry taught me that the greatest gift you can give another human being isn’t success, isn’t money, isn’t even love in the abstract. The greatest gift you can give someone is the unshakable belief that they are capable of achieving anything they’re willing to work for. Anything they’re willing to dream. Anything they’re willing to pursue with the kind of determination that only comes from knowing that at least one person sees their greatness, even when they can’t see it themselves.”

Every time Shaq sees Steph Curry make one of those impossible shots from 40 feet away, he doesn’t just see a great basketball player. He sees what happens when a father refuses to let his son give up on himself seven different times. He sees the power of believing in someone’s impossible dream until they’re strong enough to believe in it themselves.

“That’s Dell Curry’s real legacy,” Shaq said, his voice filled with gratitude. “Not just raising a son who became a great basketball player, but showing all of us what becomes possible when someone refuses to let you quit on your dreams. No matter how many times the world tells you those dreams are unrealistic, no matter how many obstacles stand in your way, no matter how impossible the journey ahead might appear.”

And in that moment, everyone in the studio understood: the most powerful truth of all is that every one of us has the capacity to be someone’s believing voice—someone’s anchor against the storms of doubt, someone who refuses to let dreams die, someone who helps make the impossible possible.