- Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo was blown away when Stephen Curry hit a near-half-court shot during a scrimmage.
- DiVincenzo called it his "Welcome to Golden State" moment, because everyone else barely reacted to the play.
Donte DiVincenzo is still getting used to the majesty of Stephen Curry.
The 25-year-0ld DiVincenzo signed a two-year, $9.2 million contract with the Golden State Warriors this past off-season.
Speaking to Insider while promoting "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II" coming out on October 28 (DiVincenzo said he is so seasoned in the game that he now finds it "soothing" to play), DiVincenzo said his "Welcome to Golden State" moment came during a scrimmage.
DiVincenzo recalled Curry bringing the ball up, using a screen at half-court, and then launching and making a three-pointer from just inside half-court.
"The thing that blew my mind is absolutely no one reacted in the gym," DiVincenzo said. "Like it was normal, and I'm over here like, what the hell? And nobody reacted. Everybody just turned around, jogged down the other end. So I think that was like my welcome to Golden State moment, like, [Curry]'s gonna do these things."
Since joining the Warriors, DiVincenzo has been blown away by Curry, both as a player and a leader. DiVincenzo, who spent the first three and a half years of his career with the Milwaukee Bucks, compared Curry to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"[Curry]'s work ethic is insane and going back to when I was in Milwaukee as well, like Giannis' work ethic is insane," DiVincenzo said. "There's no 'Just because I won MVP, things slow down. Just because I signed a max deal, things slow down.' They're in the gym every single day.
"And I think with Steph doing that, it sets a precedent in the locker room and for people when they're stepping on the court, like, nothing's easy when we step on the court. So, work extremely hard and then you'll see the results. And he's honestly, I mean, a great role model for all of us."
DiVincenzo has grown to appreciate the Warriors after seeing them up close. DiVincenzo was traded from the Bucks to the Sacramento Kings at last year's trade deadline. He joined the Warriors, in part, to get back to a winning culture. He praised everyone from the stars to the coaches to the training staff, saying everyone has made him feel welcome and that while everyone works hard, they also have a lot of fun.
"I've only been here for, you know, a couple months and it feels like I've been here for a year already."
Once again, DiVincenzo attributed that culture to Curry's influence.
"It's not a 'Me' thing, it's a 'We' thing here," DiVincenzo said. "And even the superstars — like when Steph comes in, he is one of the most unselfish people I've ever met. So when you have that from your leaders and everything's already established, it's easy to prepare for that because you're just trying to be the best person you can be, but fit into what the big concept is and the big goal that they have here in winning games."