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With a new season dawning, the Warriors legend also spoke about how his condition was first spotted, plus the work he's doing with kids.

A month out from the start of NBA season, news outlets were hot to learn about the status of Steph Curry’s contract with the Golden State Warriors with his 18th season approaching.

Within days, word had broken of his two-year extension through the 2028-29 season—but that wasn’t the topic the 38-year-old had gathered reporters to discuss on a recent afternoon. The four-time NBA champion, who is widely considered the greatest shooter in the league’s history, was focused on the future in a different way: Curry’s foundation, Eat.Learn.Play., had partnered with ophthalmic technology company Glaukos to talk with Oakland area kids about the role of health and self-care in achievement.

Among an audience of grade schoolers and middle schoolers at Oakland’s Madison Park Academy, Curry announced that for a decade, he’s dealt with keratoconus, which the Mayo Clinic defines as “an eye condition in which the clear, dome-shaped front of the eye, called the cornea, gets thinner, steeper and bulges outward into a cone shape.” Mayo adds that this can cause blurred vision, as well as sensitivity to light and glare.

The Healthy was onsite for a media Q&A with Curry and the Eat.Learn.Play team to learn about the impact of the diagnosis. “You kind of see shadows, light sensitivity, headaches, all that type of stuff,” Curry shared. “But you chalk that up to a lot of different things.”

What finally led to the diagnosis was when former Warriors general manager Bob Myers “kind of called it out,” Curry said. “Bob was watching the game and saw me squinting the entire time that they had the camera on me on the sidelines. That was kind of the call-out: ‘Hey, that’s not normal. Go get it looked at.’ I was able to find out what it was, what I needed to do and get a treatment plan that was right for me.”

Often abbreviated to “KC,” keratoconus is said to most often affect teens and individuals into their 30s. “We understand certain communities and the age range that this can affect, and it’s not really talked about as much,” Curry said.

On any adjustments that became necessary to his lifestyle or routine, Curry said one major aspect needed managing. “The only real thing is the anxiety of understanding what it was,” he said. “I joke, hopefully these kids can understand: I didn’t even know what the word meant. I didn’t know how to spell it. And then you say, ‘Oh, I’ve got to get checked every six months to make sure it’s not progressing.’ And anything that’s sensitive to your vision, you’re kind of on a little bit of an alert, especially as an athlete. That’s my way to play the game.

“Other than having that part of the biannual checks to make sure I was keeping track of it, the treatment plan for me that worked for me, which healthcare providers can kind of guide you in the right direction for what’s right for you. Thankfully it’s worked. So that kind of eased the anxiety after a while, but it is a new normal of stuff that you have to do to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”

He added why sharing the message with kids was important to him. “Our whole mission of our foundation—the bus, the playground refurbishments we’ve done, the courts, the play spaces—they allow kids to be their best selves, build confidence, just have fun. The literacy aspect of making sure kids are prepared for reading proficiency levels that need to be, especially by third-grade level. And then the essentials of a healthy, nutritious meal that kids can have. A lot of kids rely on the school system for breakfast and lunch programs. So for us, we’re just trying to be the—we call it ‘the village’ that the kids need to achieve their highest potential. And our work has really, I think, shown in terms of the energy and the belief that we’re trying to instill in these kids on these elementary campuses all across Oakland.”