“Steph Couldn’t See”: Draymond Green Reveals Inside Details of Curry’s Irreversible Eye Condition

Stephen Curry’s eye condition became public earlier this month when the Warriors star opened up about a diagnosis he had been living with since 2018. Now, Draymond Green is filling in some of the details that happened behind the scenes after Curry discovered there was a problem with his vision.

Curry was diagnosed with keratoconus, a progressive condition in which the cornea thins and changes shape, potentially causing blurred or distorted vision. Curry had become so accustomed to seeing that way that he did not initially realize his vision was impaired.

Green remembered how the discovery unfolded after then-Warriors general manager Bob Myers noticed Curry squinting on the bench during a game. Myers contacted Green afterward, telling him, “You’re just squinting, looking like you couldn’t see anything. You should probably go get that checked out.” Green also put the extent of Curry’s vision problem into perspective, saying, “Y’all all know now, I’ve been knew. Steph couldn’t see.” Green detailed Curry’s experience on the podcast.

Draymond Green Remembers How Steph Curry Adjusted to His Vision

Green said the diagnosis stuck with him because he was already wearing contacts himself at the time. He remembered Curry approaching him after finding out that he would need them.

“I remember him coming to me like, ‘Yo, I gotta go get my eyes checked.’ Then he’s like, ‘Yo, I got to wear these contacts now.’”

Getting comfortable with the lenses was not immediate. Green recalled an adjustment period involving Curry and the training staff as they worked out how to put the contacts in properly.

The two teammates even found some humor in the situation by remembering former Warriors center Andrew Bogut, who had his own eye condition and wore a specialty contact lens. Green recalled Bogut standing at the scorer’s table and applying eye solution to his eye before games.

“Me and Steph used to always laugh like we’re douching our eye with contact solution,” Green said.

Green eventually tried the same approach himself and found that his contacts felt better afterward. Curry later came back to him looking for advice on how to put his own lenses in more easily.

That adjustment period eventually led Green to think about something bigger: how Curry could maintain such a precise shooting motion while dealing with impaired vision.

Green connected Curry’s experience to conversations he had previously had with other great shooters, including Joe Dumars and Steve Smith. According to Green, both had explained that a shooter can rely on catching the front of the rim at the final moment before the release.

That made Curry’s situation particularly interesting to Green. Even when Curry’s vision was not clear, the repetition behind his mechanics had become deeply ingrained.

“And to shoot that way, it also just shows you how much muscle memory it is and how pure the jump shot is.”

Green stopped short of suggesting Curry could literally shoot with his eyes closed. He pointed out that closing your eyes would affect balance and equilibrium. His larger point was about how much repetition goes into the mechanics of an elite shooter.

Curry had previously described the difference once he started wearing contacts. In 2019, he told Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, “I started wearing contacts. No, I’m serious. It’s like the whole world has opened up.” He also explained that he had become so accustomed to squinting that it had simply felt normal. NBA.com reported on Curry’s adjustment at the time.

The adjustment took some trial and error before Curry found contacts with the right fit and prescription that remained stable while he played. More recently, Curry said he gets his eyes checked every six months and has been following a treatment plan to manage the condition.

For Green, the bigger takeaway was how deeply Curry’s shooting mechanics were already ingrained. His timing, release and feel remained reliable even while dealing with a condition that affected his vision.

Curry’s diagnosis added another layer to a period already defined by his shooting and Golden State’s championship run. The condition changed how he approached his vision, but it did not take away the precision that had become one of the defining parts of his game.

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