SAN FRANCISCO — The job requirements for being a Harlem Globetrotter go beyond the silly slickness and parlor-trick moves. There’s also the matter of showcasing charisma, a difficult thing to hone on the practice court.
“Skill is one thing, but to have it, like what Meadowlark Lemon had, what Curly Neal had? That’s not taught,” said Harold “Lefty” Williams, a former Globetrotter. “That’s God-given. The Creator gives you that. Very few people have it.”
Does Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors have it?
“Absolutely, without a doubt,” Williams said.
“He would be a 2025 Curly Neal,” added Charles “Choo” Smith, another former Globetrotter.
“He’s probably one of the top players I would consider as far as potential to be a Globetrotter,” said Herbert “Flight Time” Lang, a third former Globetrotter.
Curry has partial Globetrotters experience on his résumé, spending time with them during a practice in 2018, though he four-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP stayed with his day job. The Golden State Warriors have Curry locked up through the 2026-27 season, with a $62.6 million contract that puts him a tad out of the Globetrotters’ price range.
Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, played this year on Curry’s home court, Chase Center, most likely will be as close as fans will ever get to seeing what he would do against the hapless Washington Generals.
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With the loosey-goosey All-Star defense — even with the new game format — and a spirit of showmanship, Curry tends to dig a little deeper into his bag of wonders during these exhibition games.
Herbert “Flight Time” Lang feels a kinship with Curry’s game: “It’s about doing the little bit of shimmy. It’s about the connection with the crowd.” (Saul Loeb / Getty Images)
Across town from Chase Center, members of the National Basketball Retired Players Association gathered in a hotel ballroom for their annual media day. With several former Globetrotters in attendance, we asked three of them to analyze how Curry’s game sits at the intersection of skill level and entertainment value.
Cue up “Sweet Georgia Brown,” and listen in.
‘Choo’ Smith: Joy to the basketball world
They’re called the Globetrotters for a reason. They remain a popular attraction all over the planet, and there is some international diplomacy at stake with every tipoff.
“With the Globetrotters, we’re ambassadors of goodwill,” Smith said. “We put smiles on people’s faces, and your personality has to be impeccable as it relates to engaging people. Steph is the prototypical person who does that. He smiles. He has fun. He enjoys the game. He loves people.”
Steph Curry with an insane full-court shot from the tunnel!
🎥 @NBCSWarriorspic.twitter.com/DqxI4RhcDi
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 15, 2024
Curry also happens to come with a ready-made stage name — “The Baby-Faced Assassin” — and offers a skill set that Smith compared to those of two memorable Globetrotters, Marcus Haynes and Larry “Gator” Rivers.
“God bless his soul, Gator is probably one of the best ballhandlers that ever lived,” Smith said.
Curry is not alone. Smith’s list of other NBA players over the years who would have fit with the Globetrotters includes Muggsy Bogues, Rod Strickland, Tim Hardaway, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard and Vince Carter.
Curry, though, probably would be the top pick in the first round, should the Globetrotters ever get to select in an NBA dispersal draft.
“He creates an entertainment value with his talent and his gifts,” Smith said, “and he includes the whole family experience when you come to a game: the 3s, getting the crowd involved and doing some type of trick play.
“He handles the ball well. He can shoot from deep. You know, we used to practice those shots. He can do ’em naturally off a jump shot.”
Smith credited Curry’s upbringing as the son of longtime NBA player Dell Curry. He reasoned that being around the culture for so long taught him how to blend fun with professionalism.
“You can’t teach that. It has to be in you, and then you have to be around others who exude that,” Smith said. “Growing up with his dad, he’s been around so many different personalities. He’s learned what to do, what not to do. And then, (there was) the discipline that his father had as far as the fundamentals. Now he can add the flair because he’s mastered those fundamentals.”
Curly Neal is one of the most famous ballhandlers in Harlem Globetrotters’ history. (Westchester County Journal News)
‘Lefty’ Williams: ‘It’s more mathematical’
One of Williams’ coaches and influences was the legendary Charles “Tex” Harrison, a colorful character who played and coached for the Globetrotters for six decades. Harrison had a favorite saying.
“He used to say, ‘I can do more things with a basketball than a monkey can with a peanut,’” Williams recalled. “And that’s the truth.”
The quote came to mind as Williams discussed Curry’s game, which overflows with creativity even at age 36.
“Greatest shooter I’ve ever seen,” Williams said. “But being a Globetrotter myself, it’s all about the show and entertainment. Steph is definitely a show within himself, from ballhandling to tricks to the shots. With his playmaking ability, is there anything he can’t do?”
“For someone who ‘ruined the game,’ gosh, if that’s ruining the game, then put me in that class.”
Williams, like the many Warriors fans who arrive early to Chase Center, knows Curry’s pregame routine might be the most enthralling part of the night. That includes shots from a distant tunnel and what Williams calls “bowling ball shots” — launching the ball underhanded like a bowler unleashing a Brunswick with a flourish.
“That’s one that I used to do, which is pretty cool,” Williams said.
Steph Curry trick shot season coming 🔜 pic.twitter.com/LMWqjlvMMp
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) September 19, 2024
Williams is the first left-handed showman in Harlem Globetrotters history. Before his debut in 2007, all of the trick plays were designed for righties. The New Jersey native said the key to captivating fans is to make the gimmicks look effortless, which involves endless hours of painstaking discipline.
“It’s more mathematical when it comes to trick shots from the half court,” Williams said. “It’s about lining your leg up properly with the front of the rim.”
His favorite Curry trick? Williams cited the now-11-time All-Star’s trademark personal touch whenever he delivers in the clutch.
“His on-court persona is second to none,” Williams said. “Especially in closeout games, everyone wants to see him make the 3 and then do the ‘Night Night.’ When he does that, to us Globetrotters, it just comes back to Steph and his greatness.”
Steph’s NIGHT-NIGHT resume continues to grow 💤 pic.twitter.com/AsGuYvly0w
— NBA (@NBA) November 13, 2024
‘Flight Time’ Lang: Curry changed the game
Back in 2017, the Globetrotters implemented the 4-point shot, raising the ante on long-range shooting by moving back points value to 35 feet.
It’s a wonder Curry didn’t sign with the Globetrotters on the spot.
“Steph Curry, he changed the game with the way he would shoot the ball from pretty much anywhere on the court,” Lang said. “Those are the shots we used to get in trouble for back in the day. I think it’s great.
“You see it now like it’s a regular shot. I like to think that the Globetrotters were part of the evolution of a lot of things in basketball, even with the way you see guys like Victor Wembanyama, pulling up from 35, 40 feet. You see LeBron James pulling up from the Lakers logo at half court without the coaches even getting mad.”
CURRY FROM THE LOGO 😱 pic.twitter.com/SnmqI4NF4C
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 14, 2025
Lang’s mentors include legends like Neal, “Sweet” Lou Dunbar and his first coach, Hubert “Geese” Ausbie. But Lang knows showmanship beyond the court, too. He’s participated in three seasons of “The Amazing Race” with a fellow Globetrotter, Nate “Big Easy” Lofton. Lang’s also been on “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” during celebrity week.
Lang’s brush with the entertainment industry gives him some insight into audiences, which is why he said other NBA players who might make the best Globetrotters include slick ballhandler Kyrie Irving, the famously flashy Magic Johnson … and an unlikely choice.
“Probably the personality — not for the antics, but for the entertainment phase — is Dennis Rodman,” Lang said. “He probably would have been a great Globetrotter because of the way he interacted with the crowd.”
Still, the A-lister remains Curry.
“It’s about the behind-the-back pass. It’s about doing the little bit of shimmy. It’s about the connection with the crowd, the audience,” Lang said. “The high-fives and things like that are probably things you didn’t see quite as much about 10 or 15 years ago in the game.
“I love it. You have to look at the court as a stage that you get to perform on. When you’re on stage, you put on a show.”
(Top photo of Steph Curry: Kavin Mistry / Getty Images)
