Quincy Olivari's Dream: Meeting Stephen Curry and Making it to the NBA

Stephen Curry has taken over 9,000 shots and counting from 3-point range in his NBA career, but even more impressive is the fact that he has been asked for his autograph an estimated 2 million times.

A few hundred requests come from fellow players, mostly awestruck rookies who approach cautiously after games for sneakers and advice.

The good news for those who crave a minute with Curry is he usually obliges. Polite and patient by nature, Curry handles a Sharpie as he does a ball, scribbling letters quickly yet neatly.

Again: This happens a ton off the court and countless times on the court. It’s all a blur to him, comes with the superstar territory.

So what are the chances of one of those kids who risk a limb getting Curry to sign … actually making it to the league? And of all the nervous rookies who’ve gushed directly to Curry — “you were my idol, etc.” — why would Curry connect with that one in particular?

There are a million stories in the NBA and every so often comes a one-of-a-kind. This one was created by ambition, the power of social media, a basketball long-shot who refused to surrender, the compassion of a legend and a shoe company that saw a marketing opportunity and smartly seized it.

“All of this happened for real,” said Quincy Olivari, “and I still can’t believe it.”

Actually, all of this was his destiny.

There are good players and great players. And then there are generational players so sublime they ripple beyond basketball. A mixture of skills, personality, ability to win championships and also capture the casual fan allows them to hypnotize the population. Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, they all had it.

Also, Stephen Curry — refreshingly likable, easy to root for and a game-changer.

His unimposing 6-foot-3 height makes him appear human, yet the ability to shoot from deep distances reminds you, in the basketball sense, he isn’t.

His global appeal, evident in the 2024 Paris Olympics – which he won with an iconic shot – goes well beyond the Bay Area and those who follow the Golden State Warriors. It’s a reach that penetrated a home in Atlanta a decade ago and never left.

That’s when Olivari, a typical teenager with hoop dreams, decided Curry would be his inspiration.

Olivari was typical because he was marginally talented then, not lumped with the better players in the city, state and certainly not the country.

He had big dreams, though:

The first took strategy. Olivari succeeded initially, catching Curry when the Warriors visited the Atlanta Hawks, but the wrong ink pen made Curry’s signature barely legible.

When Olivari and his father, Gerald, later took a spring break trip to Dallas, another opportunity presented itself at a Mavericks game. Olivari arrived early, boxed out the competition and got his jersey signed, caught on video by his dad.

“It was the best thing ever because you could see the signature; it was in silver,” Olivari said. “I wore it for that game, then put it away. I didn’t want to spill anything on it. Went home put a thumbtack on it and hung it on the wall over my bed. Slept under it every night.”

The next goal was much trickier. By his senior year at Westlake High School, Olivari showed good instincts, an improved outside shot and a sharper dribble, but nothing screamed NBA — or even Division I. His options were Rice and Cornell, mainly because of academics; he graduated third in his class.

“That really bothered him,” said his mother, Courtney. “He believed in himself in a way that nobody else did. He kept saying, `All I need is someone to give me a chance.’ He could’ve gone anywhere and walked on because of his grades, but he didn’t want that. On his way to Rice, he said he was breaking records and then going to the NBA.”

He was unaware at the time, but this presented a connection with Curry, who also was bypassed by major colleges, settled at an academic school in Davidson, and kept a soft spot for overlooked players ever since.

Olivari stayed four years at Rice and became the school’s fifth all-time scorer. Solid, but again: Not exactly NBA credentials for a 6-foot-3 guard. He spent his final year of eligibility at Xavier, averaged 19.1 points, led the Big East in 3-point percentage at 40.9% and earned the nickname “Quincynati” at the Cincinnati-based school.

His mother, having recently beat cancer, pressed him to get his degree, and he did twice — at Rice, and recently his masters at Xavier.

He also burned midnight oil by studying his favorite subject.

“He would stay up late to watch the Warriors,” said Adam Cohen, an Xavier assistant who worked closely with Olivari. “Watched every single game. We would talk about it the next morning. He modeled his practice the way Steph worked, his conditioning, everything.”

His best pre-Draft workout was with the Clippers, but Olivari wasn’t drafted last June; at 23, he’s older than most rookies. He weighed a number of Exhibit 10 contract offers from teams, and one stood out:

“We knew with Bronny (James) coming to the Lakers there would be lots of exposure in summer league and we felt they were best for us,” said his mother.

Olivari finished the summer strong with 20 points in the final game, then stayed in L.A. the rest of the summer on his own dime to train at the team’s practice facility. When the doors swung open for fall training camp, he looked even better and earned a two-way contract, which locked a spot on the team’s G-League affiliate at the very least.

“When it came to convincing teams on every level, I always approach it like I’m the answer,” he said. “You’re missing out on something special because the answer to what you need is right here.”

His two-way status allowed him to spend the entire preseason with the Lakers, and as fate would have it, a chance to play in an exhibition game against the Warriors … and his greatest inspiration.

There are times in life when destiny cannot be denied, when the moment is finally explained, when something is simply meant to be. How else can anyone comprehend the following:

Olivari having his best game of the preseason: 22 points and seven rebounds?

Curry, inactive for the game, watching and being impressed from the bench?

And Olivari not getting tongue-tied when seizing the chance to say hello after the game?

“I just wanted to meet him and have a picture and talk to him about shooting and his journey and his workout,” he said. “Just tell him my name, to be authentic. Not to be too cool, not to be cocky, just tell the history of how long I looked up to him and go from there.”

Here’s where it went from there: An encounter that didn’t even last five minutes went viral, especially after Olivari, pressed by reporters after the Oct. 18 game, let his emotions show:

“Honestly, I really didn’t even know what I was saying. I was vulnerable, I was honest. I didn’t plan on crying. Just thinking about how much that moment meant to me. That’s all it was.”

There was a sense of innocence, a dreamy scenario that the everyman could relate to if given such an opportunity. That’s why the journey leading up to and including the meeting with Curry connected with millions.

Curry himself was touched because he finally realized how he hooked the next generation, as Jordan, Iverson, etc., did before him.

“My guess is Steph appreciated Quincy’s dream,” Cohen said. “And Quincy tried to emulate who Steph was as a person. I give him a lot of credit for being able to communicate that with Steph and also to Steph for being able to appreciate who Quincy is.”

Then everything snowballed.

Darrell Comer, Olivari’s agent, had the idea of approaching Under Armour to gauge the attention of Curry’s shoe sponsor. Until then, Olivari wore borrowed shoes from Lakers teammate D’Angelo Russell.

“The agent light bulb went off in me,” Comer said. “Turns out we were both trying to contact each other.”

The company was on the search for players to wear Curry’s signature shoe, and while Olivari wasn’t a star like De’Aaron Fox, also signed by Curry, he presented a unique case — a hungry and developing talent who happened to be in a large market and with a marquee franchise.

So they signed him to the Curry Brand for a mutually beneficial relationship.

For Olivari, the sneakers and the gear are only part of the prize:

“I mean, I have Steph’s number. I can call and ask him questions.”

Curry said: “I’m happy to have him on the squad, for sure.”

The Lakers play the Warriors on Christmas Day (8 ET, ABC/ESPN), because of LeBron James and Curry, naturally; the league wants its biggest names on the regular season’s biggest day.

Suppose, though, the Lakers activate Olivari and actually play him, if not Christmas, then at some point in the future against the Warriors?

“Then it’s gonna be hell for Steph,” he said. “I’m picking him up full court and I’m giving him buckets. When we get between the lines I’m not cool with anybody, no matter if you’re my Dad, Steph, my agent. When it comes to basketball I’m trying to run over everything in front of me.”

That would be quite the scene for a dreamer who’s carrying the flag for dreamers everywhere.

“The run I’ve had has been crazy,” he said. “But I’m a two-way player who has scored three points in the NBA. I’m chasing something bigger than what I already have.

“I don’t carry the flag because I haven’t done anything yet. Steph is the perfect person to be the head of that train. He’s an MVP, Finals MVP, won championships and still one of the faces of the league. He has the flag. I’m just getting started. I’m just a disciple.”

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

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