NBA Great Floats Conspiracy About Moon Landings

Stephen Curry is one of the NBA's biggest stars—in fact, the Golden State Warriors great just picked up Player of the Week honors for the second time this season, notes NBC Sports. But the most recent headlines about him have nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with conspiracy theories. In a podcast, Curry suggested that NASA faked the moon landings. NASA would love the chance to prove him wrong. The details:

• Listen: You can hear Curry make the comments in this podcast called "Winging It." They come after the 46-minute mark, when Curry asks, "We ever been to the moon?" A number of voices chime in, saying no, and Curry says, "I don't think so, either," reports the San Francisco Chronicle. He adds, “Sorry, I don't want to start conspiracies," per the New York Times.
• Kubrick: Host Annie Finberg gives Curry a chance to backtrack. "You don't think so?" she asks. "Nuh uh," he responds. Then fellow NBA player Kent Bazemore adds, "You gotta do the research on Stanley Kubrick." The reference is to the conspiracy theory that the director helped NASA concoct the moon landings.

• NASA's response: The space agency wants Curry to visit so he can see evidence "firsthand," including moon rocks and the Apollo mission control. "We'd love for Mr. Curry to tour the lunar lab at our Johnson Space Center in Houston, perhaps the next time the Warriors are in town to play the Rockets," a NASA spokesman tells the Times.
• Ask Russia: NASA also has a web page devoted to the "moon hoax" idea. "One of the strongest arguments" against it, says the page, "is that all the Apollo missions were independently tracked by England and Russia (our allies and enemies), both of whom sent letters of congratulations after the Moon landings. In the midst of a heated space race, the Russians would have called our bluff if the landings had not actually happened."
• It matters: In an editorial, the Charlotte Observer heaves a sigh. Is it a big deal if one person makes one dumb comment? Yes, "if that person is an NBA star and Charlotte son whom children and others look up to." The editors add, "It's not that we want you to shut up and dribble. The opposite, in fact. We want you to understand the weight of your words."
• Agreed: "If the way teens play pickup basketball these days is any indicator, Curry's every single act and word is holy gospel for the youth," writes Giri Nathan at Deadspin. "Can we fast-forward past the playful doubling-down straight to the meandering semi-apology?"
• Similar controversy: Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics made headlines of this kind last year when he insisted the Earth was flat. He eventually recanted and apologized, saying he had fallen under the sway of conspiracy theorists.

(More Stephen Curry stories.)