Steph Curry's shot at the spotlight

THE FORMULA for transcending from tops in your sport to larger than life is a varying and unpredictable one. Connection to others, though, is the one constant. The athlete must not only be great at what he does, he must be great to watch at what he does. And when he finishes, it sure doesn't hurt if he also allows you inside of his world, bares his soul, makes it seem as if you are somehow part of his process.

Stephen Curry's name is already well-known to NBA fans and most sports fans, at least on this side of the globe. But many of his unbelievable plays are made at a time when the majority of his American public is asleep. So, for many of us on this side of the country, he has been our daily entertainment as we sip our coffee in the morning or peruse our favorite Internet site before beginning the workday.

That has changed somewhat this postseason as the Golden State Warriors have gone through two Central Time Zone opponents to reach the Finals against Cleveland. And it has the potential to change his life forever over the next 2 weeks as he plays his first NBA Finals in prime time, starting tomorrow, against the world's most recognizable and marketable basketball superstar, LeBron James.

James' jersey was again the top seller this season, but Curry has climbed over a slew of established but oft-injured stars such as Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant to the second spot on that list. Lowballed by Nike as he was shunned by major-college programs out of high school, Curry made his sneaker deal with Under Armour last year instead, instantly entering them into the lucrative sneaker conversation dominated by Nike's Jordan brand and currently ruled by shoes with James' name attached.

Curry's MVP season made it a louder conversation, but James has been in the league for 12 seasons, already has four MVP trophies and at age 30, is entering his sixth NBA Finals, having won two of them. While he has his detractors, he is a likable player who takes care of himself and treats his talents with respect, as he does teammates and those who work around him.

These are characteristics that ooze from Curry as well. It is no surprise then that fellow Akron native James has been a fan of Curry since his Davidson days. They are a lot alike, even as their tracks to this point are much different. Like Curry, James is married to his high school sweetheart. That happened in 2011, though, after James had two children and a third on the way.

But James' upbringing was, to say the least, more challenging. Curry was raised by two doting parents, one a 16-year NBA vet, the other a former volleyball standout at Virginia Tech and Type A personality who bets him every game that he can not stay under three turnovers. She was also the founder and principal of the Montessori school he and his two siblings attended as youngsters, and his faith-based upbringing was so stringent that any girl he wished to date in high school had to - with her parents or caregivers - first meet Mr. and Mrs. Curry.

So James and Curry differ there. And they differ radically in how they look, play, and in how they are so often perceived. James is sculpted like a Greek god, and his game has the thunder of Zeus. Powerful, intimidating, menacing - these are the descriptors he should and does embrace.

His art, though, is often obscured by that size and power. Yet when the three work in tandem, he is virtually unstoppable.

Curry is an artist. He even looks the part, with his soft, sensitive features and trusting smile. He is an earnest interview because, it seems, he is an unusually earnest man - especially given his profession. As longtime Bay Area columnist Lowell Cohn noted in an excellent piece written earlier this season, "You ask a question and he listens. Actually listens. He finds questions interesting, even stupid questions. As you speak, he looks you in the eye. Before answering, he thinks what he wants to say. The thinking part is unusual. He's actually trying to form a thoughtful answer which includes a subject and a verb.

"When he's done answering, you feel grateful. You wish everyone could be Stephen Curry. Or at least try."

That sentence is likely to flip around over the next 2 weeks, if it hasn't already. Curry may get off that ridiculously accurate jumper of his as quick as Zeus fires off lightning, but he looks and acts like the guy mowing his lawn across the street.

Truth is, most everyone who watches him play, and watches how he conducts himself, wishes they could be Steph Curry.

And when I've laid my head to rest after these spectacular games of his, sometimes I dream that I am.

LeBron already sits atop Olympus, his largeness peering down from that perch. But Curry and his rapid-fire arrows are a peak away and closing in, and the theater about to take place over these NBA Finals should embody all that we love about watching competitive sports. So enjoy.

On Twitter: @samdonnellon

Columns: ph.ly/Donnellon