| |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 25 1964 Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Fort Defiance (Fort Defiance, Virginia) |
| College | Virgina tech 1982 / 1985 |
| NBA Draft: | 1986 / Round: 1/ Pick: 15th overall |
| Selected by the Utah Jazz | |
| Playing career | 1986-2002 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 30 |
| Career history | |
| 1986-1987 | Utah Jazz |
| 1987-1988 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1988-1998 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 1999 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1999-2002 | Toronto Raptors |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| 12,670 (11.7 ppg) | |
| Rebounds | 2,617 (2.4 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,909 (1.8 apg) |
Wardell Stephen "Dell" Curry Sr. (born June 25, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1986 until 2002. He retired as the Charlotte Hornets' all-time leader in points (9,839) and three-point field goals made (929).
Curry currently works as a color commentator, alongside Eric Collins and Stephanie Ready, on Charlotte Hornets television broadcasts.
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Early years[]
Born in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Curry was raised in Grottoes and played high school basketball at Fort Defiance, where he used his coach's barn to practice shooting daily. He finished as the all-time leading scorer in school history, and was named a McDonald's All-American in 1982. Curry also played baseball, and won state championships in both sports; he was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 1982 Major League Baseball draft.
College career[]
Curry was a four-year starter at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg along with contemporaries Bobby Beecher, Perry Young, Al Young, and Keith Colbert. The Hokies appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1983 and 1984, finishing third in the latter. Although the team qualified for at-large bids to the NCAA tournament in 1985 and 1986, it lost in the first round on both occasions. In his senior season in 1986, Curry was named the player of the year in the Metro Conference. Prior to the 1986–87season, NCAA basketball did not feature a three-point line; Curry's accurate long-range shooting was not rewarded, as it would be later in his NBA career. (In the early and mid 1980s, the three-point line was introduced in many conferences at varying distances, but it was not recognized by the NCAA.)
Curry also played baseball for Virginia Tech.[3] He was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 14th round of the 1985 MLB draft but opted to continue playing basketball.[4]
Curry finished his Virginia Tech career with 2,389 points (second all-time) and 295 steals (all-time leader) in basketball, and a 6–1 record with a 3.81 ERA in baseball.
NBA career[]
Curry was selected with the 15th overall pick by the Utah Jazz in the 1986 NBA draft. He played one season in Utah before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1987, where he spent the 1987–88 season. He was selected by one of the NBA's two newest teams for the 1988–89 season, the Charlotte Hornets, in the expansion draft after he was made available by the Cavaliers. Curry spent 10 seasons in Charlotte, mostly coming off the bench to provide instant offense, utilizing three-pointshooting. He was a regular in the discussions for Sixth Man of the Year, but didn't actually win the award until the 1993–94 season. He currently ranks among the franchise's all-time statistical leaders in points, games played, three-point field goals made and attempted, and three-point field goal percentage. Upon departing the franchise in 1998, he was the last player remaining from its inaugural season 10 years earlier.
Curry played one season for the Milwaukee Bucks before playing his final three seasons in the NBA for the Toronto Raptors. He holds career averages of 11.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. Curry retired as the all-time leading scorer in Hornets history with 9,839 points.
NBA career statistics[]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season[]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986–87 | Utah | 67 | 0 | 9.5 | .426 | .283 | .789 | 1.2 | .9 | .4 | .1 | 4.9 |
| 1987–88 | Cleveland | 79 | 8 | 19.0 | .458 | .346 | .782 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.2 | .3 | 10.0 |
| 1988–89 | Charlotte | 48 | 0 | 16.9 | .491 | .345 | .870 | 2.2 | 1.0 | .9 | .1 | 11.9 |
| 1989–90 | Charlotte | 67 | 13 | 27.8 | .466 | .354 | .923 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 1.5 | .4 | 16.0 |
| 1990–91 | Charlotte | 76 | 14 | 19.9 | .471 | .372 | .842 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 1.0 | .3 | 10.6 |
| 1991–92 | Charlotte | 77 | 0 | 26.2 | .486 | .404 | .836 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 1.2 | .3 | 15.7 |
| 1992–93 | Charlotte | 80 | 0 | 26.2 | .452 | .401 | .866 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 1.1 | .3 | 15.3 |
| 1993–94 | Charlotte | 82 | 0 | 26.5 | .455 | .402 | .873 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 1.2 | .3 | 16.3 |
| 1994–95 | Charlotte | 69 | 0 | 24.9 | .441 | .427 | .856 | 3.4 | 1.6 | .8 | .3 | 13.6 |
| 1995–96 | Charlotte | 82 | 29 | 28.9 | .453 | .404 | .854 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.3 | .3 | 14.5 |
| 1996–97 | Charlotte | 68 | 20 | 30.6 | .459 | .426 | .803 | 3.1 | 1.7 | .9 | .2 | 14.8 |
| 1997–98 | Charlotte | 52 | 1 | 18.7 | .447 | .421 | .788 | 1.9 | 1.3 | .6 | .1 | 21.9 |
| 1998–99 | Milwaukee | 42 | 0 | 20.6 | .485 | .476 | .824 | 2.0 | 1.1 | .9 | .1 | 10.1 |
| 1999–00 | Toronto | 67 | 9 | 16.3 | .427 | .393 | .750 | 1.5 | 1.3 | .5 | .1 | 17.6 |
| 2000–01 | Toronto | 71 | 1 | 13.5 | .424 | .428 | .843 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .4 | .1 | 16.0 |
| 2001–02 | Toronto | 56 | 4 | 15.8 | .406 | .344 | .892 | 1.4 | 1.1 | .4 | .1 | 6.4 |
| Career | 1,083 | 99 | 21.7 | .457 | .402 | .843 | 2.4 | 1.8 | .9 | .2 | 14.7 | |
Playoffs[]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Utah | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 0.0 | |
| 1988 | Cleveland | 2 | 0 | 8.5 | .250 | .000 | .5 | 1.0 | .0 | .5 | 1.0 | |
| 1993 | Charlotte | 9 | 0 | 24.7 | .433 | .286 | .818 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 1.4 | .0 | 11.0 |
| 1995 | Charlotte | 4 | 0 | 26.8 | .471 | .429 | .909 | 2.3 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | 12.8 |
| 1997 | Charlotte | 3 | 1 | 16.7 | .294 | .250 | 1.000 | .3 | 1.7 | 1.3 | .0 | 4.7 |
| 1998 | Charlotte | 9 | 0 | 19.0 | .593 | .250 | .857 | 2.1 | 1.1 | .8 | .3 | 5.8 |
| 1999 | Milwaukee | 3 | 0 | 16.3 | .404 | .125 | 1.000 | 1.3 | .3 | 1.0 | .0 | 3.0 |
| 2000 | Toronto | 3 | 0 | 10.0 | .133 | .667 | .500 | .7 | .3 | .7 | .0 | 2.3 |
| 2001 | Toronto | 12 | 0 | 15.2 | .500 | .378 | .833 | 1.2 | .8 | .5 | .1 | 6.5 |
| 2002 | Toronto | 4 | 0 | 14.8 | .422 | .800 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | .5 | 7.0 |
| Career | 51 | 1 | 17.5 | .400 | .350 | .870 | 1.7 | 1.1 | .8 | .1 | 6.7 | |
Post-playing career[]
On June 21, 1991, Curry and Charlotte Hornets teammate Muggsy Bogues appeared in a Minor League Baseball game for the Gastonia Rangers of the South Atlantic League. George Shinn, as owner of both teams, arranged the publicity stunt. Curry pitched three innings, allowed only one run and struck out four batters in a three inning start.
In 1995, Dell and his wife Sonya (née Adams) founded the Christian Montessori School of Lake Norman, a preschool in Huntersville, North Carolina.
In 1998, Curry established a charitable foundation, the Dell Curry Foundation, which is a youth oriented program in Charlotte, North Carolina. The foundation runs five learning centers in Charlotte to provide educational training and drug abuse counseling.
In 2004, Curry was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
On June 18, 2007, Curry was named an assistant coach of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, but he stepped down before the season began so that he could attend his sons' basketball games.
In 2009, Curry started working as a color commentator, alongside longtime play-by-play announcer Steve Martin, for the Charlotte Bobcats (now Charlotte Hornets).
In 2016 Curry was the recipient of the Bobby Jones Award at the Athletes in Action All Star Breakfast, which is held each year at the NBA All Star Weekend.
Personal life[]
jCurry lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife former Virginia Tech women’s volleyball player Sonya Adams, his college sweetheart. His oldest son, Stephen, plays in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors and has three championships. His youngest son, Seth, currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, while his daughter, Sydel, played volleyball at Elon University. Curry has five grandchildren.
In 1998, Curry established a charitable foundation, the Dell Curry Foundation, which is a youth oriented program in Charlotte, North Carolina. The foundation runs five learning centers in Charlotte to provide educational training and drug abuse counseling.
