Steph unearths a new Weibo 'baller'

NBA megastar Stephen Curry has once again been scouting young basketball talent on Chinese social media, and reckons he has found another star in the making.

The Golden State Warriors guard on Saturday posted a video of a children's game in Beijing, accompanied by the message: "This kid is a baller! He really took the whole bag, and then some chili. Can someone help find this future basketball star?"

The kid in question is an 8-year-old boy named Song Yihong.

Curry later posted more footage of the youngster showcasing some Steph-like skills, including crossovers, spins, step-back jumpers and long-range shots.

Fittingly, Song Yihong was donning Steph's No 30 Warriors shirt.

"Don't you know your classmate?" joked one fan, whose comment earned over 12,000 likes.

"He really plays like you," wrote another fan, going by the name "Mamba Hang".

One video of Song's Steph-esque moves has garnered over 237,000 likes and 16,000 comments on the popular Chinese short-video platform Douyin.

"He deserves the No 30 jersey," one netizen commented.

Curry, 33, is no stranger to Chinese social media. Last year, one-armed teenager Zhang Jiacheng also wowed Curry with his skills, with the three-time NBA champion launching a similar appeal to find the young prodigy.

"Who is this kid? Help me find him! Keep doing you and don't let anyone tell you that you can't," Curry wrote on Weibo.

"I will work harder," Zhang replied to his idol in Chinese.

Curry responded with more words of encouragement, adding: "You are an inspiration. You don't take 'no' for an answer. You've found a way to overcome and get out there on the basketball court and show people how much the game means to you."

Curry, widely considered one of the greatest shooters of all time, enjoyed another stellar season with Golden State last term, taking the Warriors to the playoffs and earning his seventh appearance in an NBA All-Star Game.

Xinhua