Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has revealed that the foundation of the team’s modern dynasty under coach Steve Kerr was inspired by Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona and their famous Tiki-Taka football philosophy.
The Warriors secured NBA championships following Kerr’s arrival in 2014. From the outset, Kerr introduced subtle tweaks to the offense, encouraging quick ball movement and fluid positioning—hallmarks of the tactic popularized by Guardiola.
Speaking on the Mind the Game podcast, Curry recalled the unusual introduction to their new system. “He was like, ‘I just wanna make a couple of tweaks to the way that we’re creating shots,'” Curry said of Kerr.
He continued, detailing the lesson: “So, once we got in training camp, he showed a clip of Barcelona tiki-taka, and he was talking about that as a philosophy of how we’re gonna create shots, how we’re gonna keep things simple… so that you can find the right shot.”
Curry admitted it took time for the team to trust the philosophy. “It took a minute to be comfortable with not calling a play and just letting the ball kind of dictate where you’re supposed to be.”
Tiki-taka, reliant on short, precise passes and constant ball movement, proved its success transcended sports, having also fueled the Spanish national team to World Cup and European Championship victories.
