Wardell Stephen Curry (born June 25, 1964) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA) from 1986 until 2002 and 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 A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

, alongside

Eric Collins Eric Collins (born June 16, 1969) is a play-by-play sports announcer, currently the voice of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets on Bally Sports South. Education Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Collins is a graduate of St. Lawrence University. He earned ...

, on Charlotte Hornets television broadcasts. He is the father of NBA players Stephen Curry and

Seth Curry Seth Adham Curry (born August 23, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one year at Liberty University before transferring to Duke. ...

Early years

Born in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Curry was raised in

Grottoes Grottoes may refer to: *The plural form of Grotto (disambiguation) * Grottoes, Virginia, a town named for the nearby cave system Grand Caverns {{Disambig ...

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 McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...

in 1982. Curry also played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

, and won state championships in both sports; he was selected by the Texas Rangers in the

1982 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd ro ...

.Dell Curry, Steph's Dad: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
/ref>

College career

Curry was a four-year starter at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

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 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, finishing third in the latter. Although the team qualified for at-large bids to the NCAA tournament in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, 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 1986–87 season,

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

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

for

. He was selected by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

in the 14th round of the 1985 MLB draft but opted to continue playing basketball. 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. He was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, his first year of eligibility.

NBA career

Curry was selected with the 15th overall pick by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

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 left unprotected by Cleveland for the 1988 NBA expansion draft and was the second player selected, the first by the Charlotte Hornets. Curry spent 10 seasons in Charlotte, mostly coming off the bench to provide instant offense with three-point shooting. He was a regular in the discussions for Sixth Man of the Year and won the honor in the 1993–94 season. He was once the franchise's all-time statistical leader in points, games played, three-point field goals made and attempted, and three-point field goal percentage. When he left the team in 1998, he was the last player remaining from its inaugural season 10 years earlier. Curry played one season for the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

before playing his final three seasons in the NBA for the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. 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

Regular season

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Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, 67 , , 0 , , 9.5 , , .426 , , .283 , , .789 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 79 , , 8 , , 19.0 , , .458 , , .346 , , .782 , , 2.1 , , 1.9 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, 48 , , 0 , , 16.9 , , .491 , , .345 , , .870 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , .1 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 67 , , 13 , , 27.8 , , .466 , , .354 , , .923 , , 2.5 , , 2.4 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 14 , , 19.9 , , .471 , , .372 , , .842 , , 2.6 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 10.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 0 , , 26.2 , , .486 , , .404 , , .836 , , 3.4 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 0 , , 26.2 , , .452 , , .401 , , .866 , , 3.6 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 0 , , 26.5 , , .455 , , .402 , , .873 , , 3.2 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 69 , , 0 , , 24.9 , , .441 , , .427 , , .856 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .3 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82, , 29 , , 28.9 , , .453 , , .404 , , .854 , , 3.2 , , 2.1 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68 , , 20 , , 30.6 , , .459 , , .426 , , .803 , , 3.1 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .2 , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , 1 , , 18.7 , , .447 , , .421 , , .788 , , 1.9 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .1 , , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, 42 , , 0 , , 20.6 , , .485 , , .476 , , .824 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .1 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, 67 , , 9 , , 16.3 , , .427 , , .393 , , .750 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .1 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 1 , , 13.5 , , .424 , , .428 , , .843 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .1 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 56 , , 4 , , 15.8 , , .406 , , .344 , , .892 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .1 , , 6.4 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career , 1,083 , , 99 , , 21.7 , , .457 , , .402 , , .843 , , 2.4 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .2 , , 11.7 , -

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , — , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 8.5 , , .250 , , .000 , , — , , .5 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .5 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 24.7 , , .433 , , .286 , , .818 , , 3.6 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 26.8 , , .471 , , .429 , , .909 , , 2.3 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 1 , , 16.7 , , .294 , , .250 , , 1.000 , , .3 , , 1.7 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 19.0 , , .593 , , .250 , , .857 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .3 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 16.3 , , .404 , , .125 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .133 , , .667 , , .500 , , .7 , , .3 , , .7 , , .0 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001 , style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , 0 , , 15.2 , , .500 , , .378 , , .833 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .422 , , .800 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 7.0 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career , 51 , , 1 , , 17.5 , , .400 , , .350 , , .870 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .1 , , 6.7 , -

Post-playing career

In 2004, Curry was inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

. On June 18, 2007, Curry was named an assistant coach of the NBA's

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...

, but he stepped down before the season began so that he could attend his sons' basketball games. In 2009, Curry started working as a 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

On June 21, 1991, Curry and Charlotte Hornets teammate

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is a former American basketball player. The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14-season caree ...

appeared in a Minor League Baseball game for the

Gastonia Rangers The Gastonia Rangers were a class A minor league baseball team located in Gastonia, North Carolina. The team played first as the Rangers in the Western Carolinas League (1973–1974). In 1983 and 1984, they played as the Gastonia Expos, as an affil ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

George Shinn George Shinn (born May 11, 1941) is the former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, as well as the Charlotte Knights and Gastonia Rangers minor league baseball teams, along with the Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks, of the World League of Americ ...

, as owner of both teams, arranged the

publicity stunt In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utilize ...

. Curry allowed only one run and struck out four batters in a three inning start. In 1995, Dell and his wife, Sonya ( 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 Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. The foundation runs five learning centers in Charlotte to provide educational training and drug abuse counseling. Curry married his college sweetheart Sonya in 1988. They have three children,

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

, Seth, and Sydel. Stephen is the starting point guard for the Golden State Warriors. While he has been with them, they have won four NBA championships alongside 2

NBA MVP Awards The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Starting with the 2022–23 ...

. Stephen is married to

Ayesha Curry Ayesha Disa Curry (née Alexander; born March 23, 1989) is a Canadian-American actress, cookbook author, and cooking television personality and the wife of basketball player Stephen Curry. After guest roles in several television shows and movies, ...

. Seth currently plays for the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

. He is married to Callie Rivers, sister of current NBA player

Austin Rivers Austin James Rivers (born August 1, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rivers led Winter Park High School to back-to-back Florida 6A state championship ...

and daughter of former NBA player and current NBA coach

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing for Marquette Universit ...

. Curry's daughter Sydel played volleyball at

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctora ...

and is married to NBA player Damion Lee. She was featured on ''

Say Yes to the Dress ''Say Yes to the Dress'' is an American reality television series on TLC which follows events at Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan. The series shows the progress of individual sales associates, managers, and fitters at the store, along with profi ...

'' in 2018. On August 23, 2021, Curry and his wife, Sonya, announced that they were divorcing after 33 years of marriage.

References

External links

*
Virginia Tech Hall of Fame bio

NBA.com profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, Dell 1964 births Living people African-American basketball players African-American Christians All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players Basketball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Basketball players from Virginia Charlotte Bobcats announcers Charlotte Hornets expansion draft picks Charlotte Hornets players Cleveland Cavaliers players Curry family Gastonia Rangers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Milwaukee Bucks players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Grottoes, Virginia People from Harrisonburg, Virginia Shooting guards Toronto Raptors players Utah Jazz players Utah Jazz draft picks Virginia Tech Hokies baseball players Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball players