SAN FRANCISCO — Quincy Olivari could not hold back his awe. The significance of what happened to him this night at Chase Center swelled as he spoke about it.
He met Steph Curry. He talked to Steph Curry. He was encouraged by Steph Curry.
The symbolism of the moment he shared with someone he holds in such high esteem was such an accomplishment it moved him to tears. It didn’t matter that he was being recorded. It didn’t matter that millions would see it.
It didn’t even matter that he is a Los Angeles Laker.
Olivari organically adhered to an age-old principle, one many would argue is lost to his generation: Give honor to whom honor is due.
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“It’s crazy because I’ve liked him since I was in the sixth grade,” the rookie Olivari said of Curry, the Golden State Warriors star entering his 16th NBA season. He then let out a deep breath, wiped his brow, his only defense against the surging emotions.
“That’s my favorite player ever. … I had his jersey. He signed it twice. I used to sleep under that jersey.”
What does it take to swell the sentiment in an athlete enough to tremble his voice?
What overwhelms a professional such that — with all his determination, all his resilience, every ounce of which it took to make it pro — he can’t resist the tears.
Friday night at Chase Center, inspiration was enough.
On an evening when LeBron James’ son had his best game of the preseason, Olivari painted a portrait with his tears of how the NBA’s biggest legends have circled the block. Moments like this are possible because of Curry’s persistent greatness, because of LeBron’s rebellion against physical norms.
Curry, his Olympic heroics still fresh, isn’t close to done yet. But he’s been at the top long enough to see the fruits of his impact in the most visceral ways. In the high schoolers at his camp. In his franchise growing into one of the largest in the world. In a kid — one of the millions of youngsters for whom Curry devotedly signs autographs before and after games, at home and on the road, as part of his ritual — making it all the way to the NBA.
In the era of brand saturation, self-proclaimed influencers and fabricated auras, real superstars still have real impact. The intangible benefits of sports still pack a mighty punch.
It would be a waste to take for granted the specialness of Curry, and James, and the league’s era of 30-plus stars still putting in work. Someday, they’ll be gone, replaced by a new crop of adoration magnets. But it shouldn’t be lost on us how they’re still here. Still elite. Still delivering.
This mundane Friday night in the preseason began with James wearing a cream Liverpool FC tracksuit and a bucket hat, watching his eldest son start for the Lakers. The night ended with Curry in a gray sweatsuit bearing his own logo chatting with Olivari in the locker room and signing a pair of shoes to commemorate the moment. Just the latest example of how the NBA’s two biggest stars have so far outlived the usual superstar lifecycle.
Olivari went undrafted out of Xavier and is giving everything he has to stick in the Lakers system. You can imagine what the 23-year-old from Atlanta has put into making it to this mere preseason game. You can imagine the grind he’s put in and doubt he’s overcome.
So to take the court with Steph Curry’s team was validation of the heart he’s poured into this and the progress he’s made and the belief that’s been at his foundation since he was a boy.
“So to be able to meet him,” Olivari said, “and for him to have some respect for me … that meant the world to me. My dad knows. My mom knows.”
Olivari, a 6-3 guard, impressed in his final audition. He scored 22 points on 8 of 16 shooting, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range to go with seven rebounds. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to stew over his seven turnovers, as you know someone trying to make the team might.
But before he saw a box score, he saw his GOAT. Before he could sit at his locker and relive his performance in his head, he relived his journey from childhood. From an encounter with Curry as a child to one with him as a pro.
Because Curry is still around, and ever relevant. And Olivari’s bond with his favorite player can find a new moment to relish. Making the Lakers, or landing with another team, might afford him the distinct privilege of competing against Curry in the NBA. And Olivari, if he’s really lucky, might be able to say he went from sleeping on Curry’s jersey to going, “Night, night.”
(Top photo of Stephen Curry and Quincy Olivari chatting after Friday’s game: Noah Graham / NBAE via Getty Images)
