Steph Curry's Popcorn Problem

Steph Curry Ranks the Popcorn at All 29 N.B.A. Arenas

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Pass the popcorn

Data: New York Times, 2019

Golden State Warriors superstar guard Steph Curry is a self-professed “popcorn addict.” Asked by The New York Times if he was prepared to officially compile a 1-to-29 ladder for publication, Curry not only agreed but also suggested scoring five factors on a scale of 1 to 5 to support the rankings: freshness, saltiness, crunchiness, butter and presentation.

“I really get off on popcorn. It's not even a joke.”

— Steph Curry

He proudly shared a story of Miami Heat ball boys, at the morning practice on Feb. 27, assuring him that he would be “impressed by their efforts on the popcorn front”, and then being greeted later that evening by a table with popcorn bags lined up on wood planks under heat lamps.

Curry says he never adds anything to the popcorn to change its appearance, taste or temperature.

Stephen Curry's NBA arena popcorn scorecard for the Dallas Mavericks.
Stephen Curry’s Dallas Popcorn Ballot

The original graphic appeared in the NYT April 2019, "Stephen Curry Has a Popcorn Problem":

A heatmap ranking the popcorn at 29 NBA arenas based on five qualities: butter, crunchiness, freshness, presentation, and saltiness. Top arenas: Mavericks (24), Nets (23), and Heat (22). Scores are color-coded from light to dark orange.