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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA) from 1986 until 2002 and retired as the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

' 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 a m ...

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

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, ...

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 Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. At the 2 ...

, Curry was raised in Grottoes and played

high school basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

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 ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

. 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 ...

.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 The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York Cit ...

(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 en ...

, 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 The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members did ...

. 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 ...

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 First round draft picks The following are the first round picks in the 1985 Major League Baseball draft. Supplemental First Round Selections Background Six of the first eight draft picks from the June regular phase had at least one full ...

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 The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

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

. 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 The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substitu ...

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 196 ...

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

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

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 its ...

, 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 United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, 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 i ...

, 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 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

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

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

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, 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. 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 popu ...

, 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 appeared in a Minor League Baseball game for the Gastonia Rangers 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, 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 Huntersville is a large suburban town in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. A part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, the population was 61,376 at the 2020 census, making Huntersville the 15th largest municipality in North Carol ...

. 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 popu ...

. 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 Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. ...

, and Sydel. Stephen is the starting point guard for the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. While he has been with them, they have won four NBA championships alongside 2 NBA MVP Awards. 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, ...

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 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 Damion Lee (born October 21, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for three years at Drexel University and transferred to Louisville ...

. 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