The NBA superstar connected with the man heading up the White House Coronavirus Task Force for a video chat Thursday to get as much info as he could about the pandemic, without President Trump trying to sugarcoat it.

Oh, and there was a bonus (comment) cameo from Barack Obama!

The whole conversation was fascinating -- not only did Steph get answers about what needs to happen before we can have major sporting events and public gatherings, but Curry also revealed he was tested for COVID-19 a few weeks ago when he was showing symptoms.

Steph says his symptoms were minor and he appears okay now -- and Dr. Fauci praised the 32-year-old for not rushing to the hospital right away.

"You did the right thing! If someone right now gets flu-like symptoms, a fever, aches and a bit of a cough, the first thing you do is stay at home. Don't go to the emergency room because you might be affecting others."

Fauci added, "Get on the phone with a physician, a nurse of a healthcare provider. Get instruction from them on what to do and if available, you can get a test."

"But, the critical issue is don't flood the emergency room. Stay at home. If you're really obviously seriously ill, then you gotta go quickly there but if you just have aches, pains and a fever stay where you are but contact your physician."

There's more ... during the chat, Steph's good pal President Obama added some words of encouragement to the guys.

FYI, Dr. Fauci is a HUGE basketball fan -- he's even got a hoop in his office (which you can see in the shot!).