Steph Curry Reveals Tiger Woods Called Him for Pump-Up Talk During 2015 Playoffs

There was a time when it appeared as if the Golden State Warriors' dynasty was never going to happen when they were down 2-1 in the second round of the 2015 playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies before they won any of their three titles in a four-year stretch.

Warriors fans might have to thank Tiger Woods for sparking the championship runs.

During an appearance on the Huddle & Flow podcast (h/t Drew Shiller of NBC Sports), Stephen Curry told a story of the time Woods called him and gave quite the motivational speech:

"We've talked a couple times. He actually called me out of the blue back in 2015 during our playoff run—in the second round against [the] Memphis [Grizzlies]. We were down [two games to one] and my PR director for the Warriors said, 'Hey, if this Florida number calls, you might want to answer it.' I was like, 'All right.'

"[Tiger] called me about an hour later and it was the biggest pep talk of all time—just out of the blue. He spoke some life into our comeback during that round. I said, 'I'm ready for it. I know we're gonna get it done.' And he dropped the mic at the end of the call, he was like, 'Prove it,' and then just hung up [laughter].

"It don't get no better than that. He lit the fire under me for sure."

Something Woods said must have worked because, as Shiller noted, Curry averaged 21.3 points, 6.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals a night during the first three games prior to the phone call and 27.7 points, 6.7 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals a night in the next three games after the call.

The rest is history, as the Warriors won the series and the 2015 title, which was their first of five straight appearances in the NBA Finals.