If the Warriors are to fulfill Mark Jackson's lofty promises, he says Stephen Curry has to be the most vocal player in the locker room and the most important player on the court.

"I challenged him in our first meeting to stop deferring, and he's made incredible strides," Jackson said. "I'm proud of him. He very easily could have said, 'I'm going to be who I am, I'm going to be very successful, and I'm going to make a lot of money doing it.'

"But he's listened, made the adjustments and become a better player because of it."

Curry has all of the personality traits of a leader, but, on a team full of strong personalities, he has spent his first two seasons often choosing to go along in order to get along.

"I'm still growing and learning as a player, but I understand that I'm in a leadership position," Curry said. "Hopefully, I can become the vocal leader, because I think that's important as a point guard, to be willing to shoulder that load.

"I want to be here for a while and help this organization get to another level."