Steph Curry and Draymond Green were bopping to Taylor Swift’s old hit during the Golden State Warriors’ open practice on Wednesday. The Warriors also held their annual “rookie hazing,” where the first-year players sing at center court in front of thousands of fans at the Chase Center.
In a post by 95.7 The Game on X, formerly known as Twitter, Blake Hinson sang Swift’s 2009 hit “You Belong With Me.” Hinson is an undrafted rookie out of Pittsburgh and was initially signed by the LA Lakers. He was waived but was given a chance by the Warriors.
As Hinson “serenades” the Chase Center crowd, Curry and Green were singing along to “You Belong With Me” before they started to pump up the crowd. The song became a hit and is one of Swift’s greatest songs. It was even nominated for Song of the Year at the 2010 Grammy Awards.
The Golden State Warriors have held an annual open practice for fans to see them preparing for the upcoming season. It’s also the perfect time to introduce the rookies and “haze” them as they become a part of the team. Singing in front of the crowd is one of the things used around the NBA.
While Blake Hinson sang “You Belong With Me,” Quinten Post chose Journey’s classic hit “Don’t Stop Believing,” and Reece Beekman went with “Love” by Keyshia Cole. It was a bit different back then because veterans would give rookies a ton of errands all season long.
When Steph Curry was a rookie, the veterans made him carry their bags from practice to their bus. “Hazing” has been part of the NBA’s culture although it has mellowed down over the years.
The four-time NBA champion was drafted in 2009, so the league was in a different era, and social media was not as big as it’s today.
Steph Curry shares the wildest prank done on him when he was a rookie
Speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area in 2019, Steph Curry opened up about the pranks pulled on him by his vets when he was a rookie. Curry didn’t name the players who did it to him, but his phone was kept away from him before heading into a road game.
“Take my phone, locks it in his locker,” Curry said. “I get all the way to the airport and realize I don’t have my phone. I get off the plane in Oklahoma City. Not only did he make me leave my phone at home, I had to go to the store to get another one.
The two-time NBA MVP added:
“He sent me on basically a two-hour errand run to go get video games and snacks. This is before Uber or Lyft, so I’m in the yellow cab and paying for everything. That’s just a headache.”
Some of the top veterans during Curry’s rookie season include Devean George, Corey Maggette, Mikki Moore, Anthony Tolliver, Ronny Turiaf and Vladimir Radmanovic.
