There will be plenty of storylines to follow in the Golden State Warriors second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, including a number of individual matchups that could dictate the final result.
Yet perhaps one of the more underrated elements is Donte DiVincenzo coming up against his former team, and how Stephen Curry's tuition of his ex-teammate could come back to haunt the Warriors over the next fortnight.
Donte DiVincenzo has credited Stephen Curry with his improvement
After a couple of injury-interrupted seasons, DiVincenzo joined the Warriors in the 2022 offseason in an attempt to recoup his value. The 2021 NBA champion did just that, proving a valuable pickup for Golden State in averaging 9.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 39.7% from 3-point range.
With Golden State unable to match contract terms, DiVincenzo headed to the New York Knicks in 2023 on a four-year, $46.9 million deal. The 28-year-old has since become an even better player, becoming one of the best 3-point shooters in the league which he in part credits to his time playing alongside Curry.
“I used to think feet squared, shoulders squared, release and everything had to be aligned and everything,” DiVincenzo told Fred Katz and Anthony Slater of The Athletic in February 2024. "And I get he’s (Curry) almost an anomaly. But what’s so much different is as long as his shoulders are good, he doesn’t care about anything else.”
The relationship between the pair extended to DiVincenzo calling Curry to ask about his thoughts before joining the Knicks, with the 2x MVP confirming that it would be a good move to make. That it was as DiVincenzo made the third most threes in the league last season, sitting only behind Curry and Luka Doncic.
That of course made him a valuable piece in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade just before this season, with DiVincenzo having since found his footing in Minnesota after a rough start. He now presents as a potentially big factor in this second-round series against his former team, though he'll be looking to improve on the 19.4% he shot from 3-point range against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first-round.
The Warriors meanwhile we'll be hoping DiVincenzo remains cold, and that everything he learned from Curry two years ago doesn't come back to haunt them in this series. This is just the swings and roundabouts of the NBA, with Curry having just gone through a tough first-round matchup against Amen Thompson -- a Bay Area native who once attended Curry's camp.