Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry

Thompson, a columnist for the Mercury News and East Bay Times, frequently gets up-close looks at Curry, the cherubic scoring savant for the Golden State Warriors, who is just entering the prime of his basketball career at age 28. Examining a still-active sports figure is difficult; Thompson mostly manages it by detailing Curry’s relentless drive. Curry went from getting zero scholarship offers from major colleges to being an NBA lottery pick. After two NBA MVP awards, Curry still endures punishing off-season workouts and keeps giving his trainer more to work on. Unfortunately, Thompson never finds the balance between tone and content, stumbling into game recaps and observations on his subject that can be overwrought (“[Curry’s tactics] are tools for revenge, to announce his superiority”), simplistic (“He makes the kind of shots people daydream about”), or dossier-dull statistical. He fails to unite the disparate themes to profile a new kind of athletic superstar, a devout, humble family man who turned craftiness and outside shooting into sexy, marketable qualities. (Apr.)