In a 2015 film about Stephen Curry’s high-school years, the Golden State Warriors spoke with Chad Fair, the drama, film and broadcasting teacher at Charlotte Christian School in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Curry graduated in the class of 2006. Fair had Curry in his introduction to theater production class when Curry was a senior, in his last year at the school. Fair didn’t know who he was, he said, and had no frame of reference for his father, the NBA player Dell Curry.
It was an elective Curry could have blown off, Fair said, but he went after it 100 percent: he did costume design, set up the stage for a play and made posters for a play. “I did a theater production class though,” Curry said years later in a Vanity Fair interview, as Sports Illustrated reported. “I was one of those black-shirt kids running around on the stage.” When a national program, Teachers Count, created its campaign “behind every famous person is a fabulous teacher,” the Warriors’ film said, Curry picked Fair to be recognized. Their friendship, the Fair family later wrote, “didn’t start until during Stephen’s time at Davidson.”
On May 31, 2018, the Golden State Warriors hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. That morning, as the family’s own video shows, Fair and his family flew from Charlotte, through Atlanta, to San Francisco, with a friend’s help: “Join us as we take a last minute trip to San Francisco for the 2018 NBA Finals in order to surprise Stephen,” they wrote. At the arena, they stood by the tunnel he was due to come out of, hoping to say hi and hoping he would recognize them.
Curry was warming up on the court when he saw them and smiled, the video shows; then he walked over to the courtside, and he and Fair hugged and talked. That night the Warriors beat Cleveland 124–114 in overtime, and on Friday, June 8, they won Game 4, 108–85, to finish a 4–0 sweep. In 2025, in his Vanity Fair interview with Ayesha Curry, as Sports Illustrated reported, Curry named his old teacher himself: “Chad Fair was my theater production teacher.”
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- His old teacher flew across America on Finals day, unsure the superstar would see him. The Fair family’s video, in its description: “Join us as we take a last minute trip to San Francisco for the 2018 NBA Finals in order to surprise Stephen.” In the video, they fly from Charlotte through Atlanta to San Francisco and go to Oracle Arena for Game 1 the same day; waiting by the tunnel, they say they hope he will recognize them. 2
- His name is Chad Fair, and he taught drama in North Carolina. The Warriors’ 2015 film: Curry picked Chad Fair, the drama, film and broadcasting teacher at Charlotte Christian School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Curry, as Sports Illustrated reports: “Chad Fair was my theater production teacher.” 13
- Years earlier, a senior walked into his theater class. The Warriors’ film: Fair had Curry in an introduction to theater production class when Curry was a senior, in his last year at the school. Curry (Sports Illustrated): “I did a theater production class though.” 13
- Fair had no idea who he was. The Warriors’ film: Fair didn’t know who Curry was, and had no frame of reference for his father, the NBA player Dell Curry. 1
- The boy was Stephen Curry. The Warriors’ film: Curry graduated from Charlotte Christian in the class of 2006. 1
- In a class he could have blown off, he designed costumes, built sets and made posters. The Warriors’ film: Fair said it was an elective Curry could have blown off, but he did costume design, a stage setup for a play and posters for a play, and went after it 100 percent. Curry (Sports Illustrated): “I was one of those black-shirt kids running around on the stage.” 13
- Later, Curry picked Fair when a national campaign asked stars to honor teachers. The Warriors’ film (2015): when Teachers Count, a national program, created its “behind every famous person is a fabulous teacher” campaign, Curry picked Fair to be recognized. 1
- Then in 2018, Fair and his family flew to California for Game 1 of the Finals. The Fair family’s video: a last-minute trip to San Francisco for the 2018 NBA Finals. Basketball-Reference: “2018 NBA Finals Game 1: Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors Box Score, May 31, 2018”; “Oracle Arena, Oakland, California.” 24
- They waited by the players’ tunnel, hoping he’d recognize them. The Fair family’s video: by the tunnel he is due to come out of, they say they hope to say hi to him and hope he will recognize them. 2
- Curry was warming up, then he spotted his old teacher. The Fair family’s video, at about 6:00–6:10: Curry warming up on the court, then smiling at them at the courtside. 2
- He walked straight over and wrapped him in a hug. The Fair family’s video, at about 6:12: Curry and Fair hug at the courtside, then talk. 2
- That night, the Warriors won in overtime, and eight days later they were champions. Basketball-Reference, line score: Cleveland 30, 26, 22, 29, 7 = 114; Golden State 29, 27, 28, 23, 17 = 124 (OT). The series: “Golden State Warriors over Cleveland Cavaliers (4-0)”; Game 4, “Fri, June 8,” Warriors 108, Cavaliers 85. 45
- “Chad Fair was my theater production teacher,” Curry said in 2025. Sports Illustrated (February 13, 2025), from Curry’s Vanity Fair interview with Ayesha Curry: “Stephen: Chad Fair was my theater production teacher.” 3
Sources
- Stephen Curry’s High School Years (Warriors TV, December 3, 2015) Golden State Warriors, on YouTube
- We surprised Stephen Curry at Game One of the 2018 NBA finals (June 7, 2018) The Fair family, on YouTube
- Steph Curry reveals hidden passion wife Ayesha never knew before (February 13, 2025) Sports Illustrated
- 2018 NBA Finals Game 1: Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors Box Score, May 31, 2018 Basketball-Reference
- 2018 NBA Finals: Cavaliers vs. Warriors Basketball-Reference
Notes
The distance: a popular retelling says the teacher flew 3,000 miles; Charlotte to San Francisco is about 2,300 miles in a straight line, so the Short says “across America.”
A surprise, not a reunion: the popular retelling has a teacher hoping to reconnect after years apart; the family’s own description says the two had been friends since Curry’s time at Davidson, and that they went to surprise him. The Short keeps only their doubt while they waited.
The goatee: the popular retelling says Curry walked past him until the teacher complimented his goatee and Curry knew his voice; that can’t be checked in the video’s sound, so it isn’t used.
The hug’s timing: the family’s video shows the hug at the courtside during warm-ups, before the game; the Short puts the win “that night,” after it.
The class: the Warriors’ film says Curry did costume design, a stage setup for a play and posters for a play; the Short says he “designed costumes, built sets and made posters.” The film is read from its automatic captions, so Fair’s words there are given in our own words, never quoted.
Chad Fair and Stephen Curry are alive. Fair is a private person, named here because Curry named him himself, the Warriors’ film named him and his family’s video names him; only his job, the class, the campaign and the 2018 trip are used. His family and the friend who helped with the trip aren’t named, shown or described. For Curry, only his public words and game results are used, and nothing about his private life.
Pictures: there is no free photo of Chad Fair, Charlotte Christian School, the 2018 meeting or the hug; every picture of the meeting is a frame of the family’s own video, and every photo of the 2018 Finals we found is agency or NBA work, so none is used. Fair is never shown, and no one else is shown in his place. Stephen Curry is at Davidson, warming up before the 2008 NCAA Midwest Regional final at Ford Field in Detroit on March 30, 2008, two years after high school (Dave Hogg); at Oracle Arena on April 6, 2014 (Noah Salzman); in Washington on February 24, 2015, and February 3, 2016 (three photos by Keith Allison); and in Denver on November 4, 2017, warming up and talking to reporters after a shootaround (three photos by Cyrus Saatsaz). None is from the 2018 Finals. Oracle Arena is seen from outside on October 29, 2012 (David Jones), and its court before a Warriors home game on March 15, 2009 (BrokenSphere). The central atrium of Charlotte Douglas International Airport is seen on July 3, 2017 (SunDawn). The empty stage is another high school’s theater, photographed on June 6, 2013, not Charlotte Christian School (Thejqa).
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
The photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain or shared under open licenses; each one is credited below with its license. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, captions and graphics in the Short are our own; its music and sound effects are credited below.
Music and sound effects
Music: Schumann, Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 1 'Of Foreign Lands and Peoples (Musopen, public domain); Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition: IV. Bydlo (piano) (Musopen, public domain); Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 'From the New World': II. Largo (Musopen, public domain).
Sound effects: Freesound, CC0.
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