Stephen Curry, Warriors make 6-year-old fan's dream come true

OAKLAND - Little Isaiah Simpson never expected to meet Stephen Curry, much less talk to the Warriors superstar or pass a ball to him.

But on Sunday, the 6-year-old from Georgia got more than he ever imagined.

“You going to toss me the ball? That sound good?” all 6-feet-3-inches of Curry asked as he bent down to be face-to-face with the first-grader before the game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

Isaiah had done his best to earn it. The youngster had improved his schoolwork, did extra chores and saved quarters in his piggybank to see Number 30 in action - only to be turned away at the arena doors in Atlanta because of a ticket snafu.

Sunday, Isaiah was all smiles. His mother, Alex McDonald, was all tears.

“I told him I was going to take him somehow,” she said, choking up. “It's his dream to see Steph Curry. I'm so thankful.”

The Warriors organization flew mother and son from Atlanta to San Francisco for Sunday's game when they learned the pair had been left heartbroken at Philips Arena after purchasing tickets through an unreliable third party ticket vendor instead of Warriors.com or Ticketmaster.

Isaiah had been begging to watch Curry play since his birthday last summer. His mother told him to work harder in school and improve his reading and writing. He had to keep his room clean, clear his plate from the table “and be a good boy.”

He did all that. McDonald knew she had to deliver. Isaiah had suffered a number of disappointments, she said, and she wanted him to know he could count on his mom.

McDonald, a single mother making $13 an hour working in sales at a mobile phone carrier, saved $545 for the pair of tickets to see the Warriors play the Atlanta Hawks on March 6. She cut back on spending and earned extra money doing hair on the side.

“It took a long time for me to decide it's worth it because there are so many things we could have done with that money,” she said. “This was the one thing I was going to be able to do for him and I knew that I was going to make it happen.”

She had printed tickets in hand and an email confirmation. She picked up Isaiah from school and went straight to the arena, getting there early in case they could see Curry up close. Isaiah was outfitted head to toe in his Curry jersey, basketball shorts and socks. McDonald carried a Sharpie pen and an extra jersey for autographs.

But at the gate, when she pulled out the tickets, they didn't scan. They were ushered from one gate to the next, customer service and back again. It was cold outside. Isaiah was crying. She was crying. The game was half over when they were offered seats high in the stands. She declined. She had worked so hard to get good seats so they could see Curry - “close enough so he's not a little speck, to see he's real.”

Isaiah blamed himself, she said.

“He said next time we'll come earlier,” she said. “He told me it's OK.”

But to McDonald, “I felt like the worst mom ever. I felt like he thought I was a liar or something.”

When they got home, McDonald was so upset she began posting her story to Facebook. It was shared so many times that the local TV station picked it up. The Warriors heard about it and called.

“I thought it was a prank,” McDonald said.

At the Sir Francis Drake Hotel on Saturday, their hotel room was decorated with blue streamers and gold ribbons. A cake with Curry's jersey painted in frosting sat on the counter. A driver took them to the game Sunday.

And Isaiah, who had his hair shaved with a “30” on one side and the Bay Bridge on the other, was ushered to the court. In the midst of all the pre-game commotion, with reporters asking him questions and cameras pointed in his face, he stood straining his neck for a look at the players. One minute Isaiah was watching Curry swish one basket after the other. The next, the basketball great was at Isaiah's side, his hands on the boy's shoulders. This is the star player with a reputation for connecting with fans, whose mother won't let him wear headphones to tune them out or hide behind sunglasses indoors.

“What's up, bro?” Steph asked, with a big smile.

He asked Isaiah to throw him the ball a few times. One toss went wild.

“It's OK,” Curry told the boy. “One more try?”

To Isaiah, Curry wasn't a speck anymore. And neither the boy nor his mother were disappointed. This time, Curry was up close and real.