Steph Curry Masterclass Review 2024: Is It Worth the Hype?

What Did I Learn in Steph Curry’s Masterclass?

Steph teaches basketball shooting from the ground up. He discusses lower body alignment, hand placement, aiming, and typical release faults. Stephen values preparation and practice.

As a shooter, he says, “do your job early.” My philosophy… From scratch.”

You need thousands of hours of practice to be excellent, like Steph Curry, who won the NBA scoring champion. Steph encourages you to start near the basket and shoot 100 consecutive times in the following session.

He helps you practice alone and learn from your mistakes. Steph says, “you want to be as specific as possible on your mechanics right here in front of the basket because it takes ten perfect makes to erase just one terrible mechanic shot.”

After mastering your shooting skills, you may learn to fire instantly after a pass to score quickly. He teaches “body to ball” and shot-ready catching. He also covers shooting-off-the-pass blunders.

Ball handling improves shooting. Steph teaches the three fundamental ball-handling movements and game-changing drill regimens.

Success depends on foundations, says Steph. “The keys to becoming a great ball-handler…are extremely similar to those of a great shooter since your foundation is the same.”

After mastering ball handling and shooting, combine them. Steph teaches off-the-dribble shooting, pick-up shooting, and dribbling aggressively and confidently into your “shot pocket.”

“To have total and absolute trust in your shot…you have to have the muscle memory that you need, and the only way to accomplish that is to simply live in the gym. To improve, do those repetitions. Try.”

Stephen teaches how to dribble along the court after you’re comfortable with your stationary ball-handling skills and can dribble with your eyes closed.

The lesson seven workbook includes ball-handling activities. Steph says, “the fun part about ball handling — and the one thing that you should take to the bank is that it doesn’t matter where you are, what kinda surface you’re on, whether you have a basketball hoop or not. Dribbling can be improved.

In this session, Stephen shows how advanced movement and footwork combined with shooting off the dribble can make you a dominant scorer.

Steph integrates shooting and dribbling skills, “…we’re just beginning to blend all of our mechanics from the lesson thus far.” Stay balanced, press the ball forward, and move straight up into your shot.” Right?

Steph talks separately from your defender and reads your opponent’s feet, hands, and nose to determine how to strike. “It’s hard to move your body and change your weight without moving your nose,” says Steph.

I know he’s leaning if I observe his nose move to the left. I can oppose it… Knowing he’s swaying side to side, I can do anything I want.”

Steph Curry has years of expertise reading opponents, but with practice and attention to the intricacies of evaluating a defender, you can shatter ankles at Equinox.

Steph watches game footage of him assaulting defenders in lesson 10. He emphasizes demonstrating Lesson Nine tactics in-game.

He shows how to lower your opponent’s lead foot, read their hands to protect the ball, create space between yourself and an aggressive, close defender, and monitor the time.

He also emphasizes the need to fear your defender. Steph says, “basketball is such a fast-paced game,” when seeing his game footage. It has poetry and rhythm.

Steph and Brandon return to the court to demonstrate how ball screen training improves basketball skills and teamwork.

Steph thinks it’s better to practice ball screens with friends or teammates, but if you’re the only one in the gym and want to practice, he advises placing a chair or other object in front of you to simulate a defense. 

In lesson twelve, Steph analyzes some of the Golden State Warriors’ best ball screens using game footage. Because lesson twelve focuses on film studies rather than skills, the workbook is just two pages long.

The workbook states, “Stephen’s somewhat small stature makes him a more nimble player. Thus, he prefers to match himself up against bigger defenders who are less agile than he.”

Steph feels he has an edge when a defender outweighs and towers over him, but a young basketball player could think otherwise.

Steph can scan the court and choose a matchup that fits him best since he knows a smaller but speedier defense is harder for him. It’s important to pick your best matchup on the floor, but opponents may rotate a superior defender to cover him.

Every superstar boosts his stats and keeps his team in a game by shooting high-percentage rim shots. If your shot isn’t falling (*cough* Lonzo Ball *cough*), drive to the basket and score.

Steph returns to the film room to demonstrate in-game layups, floaters, and paint protection. “The ball, myself, and my [defender] is always the concept that I want to preserve whether I’m dribbling, shooting, or finishing at the rim.”

Curl, pop, and fade allow players to score off ball screens without the ball. Stephen shows how to lose a defender off a ball screen. This usually opens a high-percentage shot.

“Stephen demonstrates five ways he employs to generate space from his defenders and take shots after leaving screens,” the lesson fourteen booklet states.

A chair lets you practice these skills at home. Remember, you start each play behind the net.” Steph emphasizes that practicing hours are never an excuse.

No opponent? Well, practice dribbling and ball-handling. No ball screen buddies? Use a reliable chair, stop making excuses, and drill.

Stephen shows “overloading” exercises, which add components to your ball-handling routine. Adding a second ball to his dribbling routine makes him concentrate even more than in a game.

He learns to dribble two balls at once by overloading his capacity, making it simpler to manage one ball in a game.

“When it comes to ball-handling, the duty is on you to…take those exercises to the next level…whether it’s taking a drill you perform with one basketball to two basketballs, adding a tennis ball—maybe even throwing in a heavier ball.”

You’ll feel like you’ve mastered every technique by lesson sixteen. You’re ready to play pick-up games at Venice Beach but wait. You lack a vital talent. Mindset.

Stephen explains how elite athletes psychologically prepare for games in lesson sixteen. He recommends visualizing the game script and following a pre-game ritual. Imagine high-pressure circumstances and imagine your mechanics and practice carrying your team through them.”

When there are 20 seconds left in the fourth, and you’re down by one point with the ball, you’ll be more comfortable and able to respond positively since you’ve imagined yourself in high-pressure circumstances and succeeded.

Stephen concludes his Masterclass by encouraging students to continue. He encourages you to appreciate what you do, be your greatest fan, and strive to be your best on and off the court.

To remain challenged, he advises surrounding oneself with better, tougher, sharper, and more skilled individuals. Practice. Steph concludes, “I hope you learned a lot about the game, about myself, and my journey.

I hope you can use the information to establish objectives for yourself. Know that you can do anything, but it will take time and effort. Never-ending. I’m still working.”