Social media fans have crowned a new darling – 2-year-old Riley, daughter of Golden State Warriors Point Guard Stephen Curry – who successfully upstaged her daddy during a news conference Tuesday night.
While Curry is known as a star player for his team – helping them earn their 110-106 victory over the Houston Rockets — his daughter Riley proved to be the queen of the post-game conference, creating one of the cutest post game pressers in NBA history.
The toddlers’ sweet-natured giggles and dramatic gestures made it difficult for Curry and the reporters to focus on the questions at hand as she sat perched on Curry’s lap, interrupting him with giggles, gestures, and even a “be quiet” that quickly enticed laughs from the audience.
She may have stolen social media hearts – but some sports fans and commentators are publicly debating if Curry should have kept his daughter off the podium as he fielded reporters’ questions.
Curry says he didn’t plan to bring Riley to the podium – and it was a split second decision.
“I didn’t know how she was going to act because that’s the first time I’ve ever brought her up there,” he said Wednesday, a practice day for both teams, Curry told the Associated Press about the interview. “Once she started laughing after the first question when she heard my voice in the microphone, I knew it was going to be downhill from there.”
The toddler grew restless on Curry’s lap, crawling under the table , peaking under the table skirt to smile and wave to reporters.
“I thought she was going to fall off the stage once she started going underneath the table,” Curry said. “I’m trying to answer questions to feel around to make sure she’s kind of within arm’s reach. My family was in the family room down the corner, and they were just watching the whole thing dying laughing.”
Having just celebrated a series-opening win, Curry probably felt emboldened enough to share the victory with his daughter on stage.
But will he bring her back? Curry says he’s unsure, but for the meantime he’s created a special father-daughter moment that little Riley will not soon forget.
“It’s special for sure,” Curry told the Associated Press . “When you’re a kid, you go to school and all your friends are asking you what it’s like.”