Nathaniel Stolle, a 4-year-old cancer patient from Middlefield, Ohio, called for Stephen Curry in the hallway outside the Warriors’ locker room Dec. 5 in Cleveland. Curry had just scored 42 points to lead his team to victory over the Cavaliers.
“Oh, Curry!” Nathaniel, smiling, shouted playfully. “Where are you?”
Nathaniel wore a blue No. 30 Warriors jersey and held Curry’s children’s book, “The Boy Who Never Gave Up.” He had played as Curry on the “NBA 2K” video game, watched his practice videos, tried to emulate his moves and savored his animated celebrations.
Curry spent about 10 minutes with Nathaniel and his family, offering encouraging words and posing for photos. He autographed several souvenirs, including the children’s book, and gave his game shoes to the boy. Curry was struck by Nathaniel’s engaging and talkative nature, especially for a kid his age.
Six days later, little Nathaniel died.
