Before Stephen Curry became the greatest shooter of all time, he was a baby-faced assassin destroying people’s March Madness brackets.
In 2008, Curry sparked an NCAA Tournament run with mid-major Davidson College that will never be forgotten. It was a sign of things to come for a player who would eventually turn out to be one of the best players in NBA history.
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Prior to his historic Cinderella story, Curry wasn’t exactly a no-name. The Southern Conference Player of the Year averaged 25.9 points and shot a scorching 43.9 percent from 3-point range (on 10.3 attempts per game!) in the 2007-08 season, solidifying himself as one of the most dangerous scorers in the country.
But playing for a Davidson team that never got the national spotlight until tournament time, no one could have imagined the sophomore guard would lead the Wildcats on the run he did.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look back on one of the most electrifying March Madness moments in the history of the tournament.
Remembering Stephen Curry’s legendary 2008 March Madness run
Round of 64 vs. Gonzaga
Davison entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 10 seed, going up against known powerhouse Gonzaga as a No. 7 seed.
The Bulldogs were led by three future NBA players in Jeremy Pargo, Robert Sacre and Austin Daye, but the trio had no answer for the show Curry was about to put on.
Curry erupted for 40 points, knocking down a jaw-dropping eight 3-pointers to lead Davidson over Gonzaga in a close 82-76 victory. He flashed his quick release that NBA fans would come to know and love years later, needing no time to get his shot off and light the Bulldogs up from beyond the arc.
He added five steals, three rebounds and two assists to the stat sheet as the Wildcats advanced to the Round of 32 against No. 2 seed Georgetown.
Round of 32 vs. Georgetown
Curry’s first tournament game was a fun March Madness moment, but no one expected him to do it again versus one of the best teams in the country. No. 2 seed Georgetown was loaded with talent, from Roy Hibbert and DaJuan Summers to Austin Freeman and Jessie Sapp.
Curry didn’t shy away from the moment, though. Even when Davidson trailed by as much as 15 points, he continued to fire away to help his team claw back into the game, eventually winning a close 74-70 battle.
He dropped 30 points and another five 3s, including a big-time triple in traffic after a smooth behind-the-back dribble to put the Wildcats up five with three minutes to play.
He really set brackets aflame with this upset, pushing Davidson to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in school history.
Sweet 16 vs. Wisconsin
Curry can’t do it again, right? Wrong.
Davidson and No. 3 seed Wisconsin were in a back-and-forth battle in the first half, but Curry made things comfortable for the Wildcats in the second half. Impressing LeBron James in the process, the sharpshooter racked up his third-straight 30-point game, going off for 33 points with six 3-pointers to cruise to a 73-56 victory.
With the win, Davidson advanced to its third-ever Elite Eight.
Elite Eight vs. Kansas
Davidson took down the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in its bracket, but now it had to go through top-seeded Kansas.
The eventual champion Jayhawks were littered with NBA players, from Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush in the starting lineup to Sherron Collins, Sasha Kaun and Cole Aldrich off the bench.
Kansas did a better job containing Curry than most, holding him to 25 points while shooting 9-for-25 from the field and 4-for-16 from 3.
He hit a huge 3 with under a minute to go to bring Davidson within two and even had the ball with a chance to win or tie the game on the last possession, but Jayhawks made sure someone else would have to beat them. They double-teamed Curry to the point that he had to pass up the last shot, and Curry’s teammate missed the game-winning 3 to bring Davidson’s Cinderella run to an end.
Even though the Wildcats came up short, Curry’s 2008 March Madness will always be remembered as one of the defining moments in the tournament’s history. Over four games, he averaged 32.0 points and made 5.8 3-pointers per game while shooting 44.2 percent from beyond the arc.