Friday 17 June 2022 11:22 PM Stephen Curry's inspiration: Retired NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry taught his son ... trends now
Stephen Curry's NBA career outpaced his father Dell's long ago.
Even before the Golden State Warriors legend won his fourth NBA title and first Finals MVP award on Thursday in Boston, Dell Curry's eldest son was known to be the best basketball player in the family: Better than brother Seth, a Brooklyn Nets guard, better than brother-in-law and Warriors teammate Daimon Lee, and even better than dad, the former sharpshooting guard who helped popularize the 3-point shot in the 1990s.
'He's definitely better than I was,' Dell Curry told GQ in 2016. 'I had a two-dribble limit. He's probably best off the dribble. His range is definitely farther than mine was. But it's a different NBA. I would never take 35-foot 3-pointers with 17 seconds on the shot clock.'
But while Stephen's Hall of Fame career outshines Dell's 16-year tenure, the humble, role-playing father was very much his basketball inspiration.
'I saw my dad and how he carried himself as a professional and it helped me transition into the NBA,' Curry told an audience on a promotional tour in 2018.
Stephen Curry poses for pictures alongside his father, Dell, as well as the Larry O'Brien and Bill Russell trophies
(From left) Dell Curry of the Charlotte Hornets and his son Stephen Curry sit with Mitch Richmond of the Sacramento Kings and Drazen Petrovic of the New Jersey Nets as former NBA player and then-Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson looks on from behind
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dell Curry drives into the lane against Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird in 1988
Stephen was born in the same Akron, Ohio hospital as the city's favorite son, LeBron James. At the time, in 1988, Dell was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but would go on to make a name for himself with the Hornets in the 1990s while winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors.
Dell ultimately finished his career in Toronto, where Stephen would often be seen hoisting up shots alongside his father and younger brother Seth at what was then known as the Air Canada Centre.
The family, along with mother Sonya and sister Sydel, moved back to the Charlotte area after Dell's retirement in 2002, and Seth became a high school standout at a local Christian school with eyes on following in his father's footsteps to Virginia Tech. (Sydel is now married to Warriors guard Daimon Lee, while Sonya has recently filed for divorce from Dell)
The problem was, for all of his shooting ability, Curry's release point was far too low for the college game. A shot coming from his waist could easily blocked by taller players in the NCAA, so the slender, 160-pound guard was forced to rework his shooting form at a time when college recruiters were scrutinizing his chances at the next level.
He and Dell spent the summer before his sophomore year reworking his jumper from the inside out with a seemingly endless regimen of drills. Consequently, Stephen struggled in summer basketball camps.
'[It was] the most frustrating summer for me,' Stephen told Sports Illustrated in 2013.
'I really couldn't shoot outside the paint for like the first three weeks,' Stephen continued. 'All summer when I was at camps people were like, ''Who are you, why are you playing basketball?'' I was really that bad for a month and a half [before] I finally figured it out.'
Dell Curry is best remembered for winning the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award with the Charlotte Hornets in 1994
Seth Curry (right), who now plays for Brooklyn, has the highest career 3-point percentage in the family (43.9 percent) followed by Stephen (42.7 percent) and father Dell (40 percent)
Curry (left) poses alongside his teammate and brother-in-law, Damion Lee, and his nephew, Daxon Wardell-Xavier Lee
Curry is pictured after the Warriors clinched the Western Conference Finals alongside his family: Wife Ayesha and children Riley, Ryan and Canon
There was also an issue of selfishness with Stephen, or lack thereof. As Dell saw it, his son wasn't assertive enough with the basketball and was deferring to his teammates too often.
'He always wanted to make sure his teammates were involved, probably too much so,' Dell told the Warriors' local NBC affiliate in May. 'In high school, we had to get on him to be more selfish with the ball.'
Without much buzz,
