Steph Curry Demands Apology Over Wife Ayesha Criticism, Ex-NBA Stars Respond

Stephen Curry is coming to his wife's defense ... and two former NBA stars were quick to apologize after the Warriors superstar called them out for criticizing Ayesha Curry.

Steph fired back Wednesday afternoon in a video posted to social media ... taking aim at figures like Gilbert Arenas, Nick Young and Emmanuel Acho over their comments about Ayesha's acting career.

The backlash erupted after a kissing scene between Ayesha and actor Matthew Daddario in her new Roku movie, "Second Chance Holiday," went viral ... with critics questioning why she'd kiss another man on camera while married to Steph.

Well, Steph wasn't having it ... accusing the guys of tearing down his wife's accomplishments and questioning their attitudes toward women.

"Something needs to be said," Steph declared ... calling out their "ignorance behind how acting works" and suggesting their apologies should be just as loud as their criticism.

And it didn't take long for Young and Arenas to respond ... both addressed Steph's comments almost immediately during a live stream of their "We Said What We Said" podcast.

Swaggy P apologized directly to Steph ... while Arenas offered a more qualified apology, explaining he was simply praising Steph as a nearly perfect family man and didn't intend to offend him.