It’s Curry vs. Curry when the Mavericks host Golden State
DALLAS—Seth Curry recalls that when he was a youngster playing basketball in his back yard with his older brother, Stephen Curry, the games occasionally got a bit intense.
“My mom used to have to come out and break up some fights and things like that, and referee the games,” Seth Curry said. “It was very competitive games that got us that competitive spirit that we need right now.”
When asked if his mom was a good referee, Seth Curry said: “I don’t think so.”
The Curry brothers’ mom might have retired her referee’s whistle, but she’ll be inside American Airlines Center on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. when Seth and the Dallas Mavericks entertain Steph and the Golden State Warriors.
Seth, 26, is looking forward to playing against Steph in what is affectionately known as the Curry Bowl.
“Being on the same court with Steph is always special, it’s fun,” Seth Curry said. “Definitely playing against that team, one of the best teams in the league the past few years.
“So it’s a great test for me individually and a test for our team to see where we are.”
Steph is more accomplished as a basketball player. A fourtime All-Star, 2015 NBA champion and the league’s reigning two-time MVP, Steph was the seventh overall pick of the 2009 draft out of Davidson, is extremely polished and is one of the most feared players in the game’s history.
Seth went undrafted out of Duke in 2013 and is best described as a journeyman who has played for two NBA Development League teams and is working for his fourth NBA team since 2013.
But Seth, who signed a twoyear, $6 million free agent contract with the Mavericks last summer and has worked himself into the starting lineup, averages 12.7 points and appears to have found a home in Dallas.
“He’s taken advantage of an opportunity to be in that starting lineup, getting significant minutes and playing well,” 29-year-old Steph said of his younger brother. “He has crazy confidence and swag about him—you love to see that.
“He obviously deserves to be in the league and he’s been proving that every day since he’s shown up in Dallas.”
The Currys’ dad, Dell Curry, also had sharp-shooting skills. He played in the NBA from 1986-2002 and was the league’s Sixth Man of the Year in 1994.
The Mavericks tip-toe around talking to Seth about his brother. Except for a few occasions.
“I’d say (to Seth), ‘Hey did you see Steph last night,’ but it had nothing to do with him being his brother,” forward Dirk Nowitzki said. “It’s just sometimes Steph makes incredible plays and it’s being talked about.
“I sometimes bring it up when we play one-on-one in pregame, I always tell (Seth) I’m going to treat you like your brother and your dad.
But other than that, (Seth is) his own guy and he’s carving out a nice little career for himself.”
Owner Mark Cuban has
been so pleased with Seth’s performance this season that he doesn’t even bring up Steph.
“I’ve never mentioned Seth’s brother to (Seth),” Cuban said. “I’ve never brought it up and I don’t have any intention of starting to.
“I don’t know what team his brother is playing on, I haven’t paid much attention to the rest of his family. When it comes to Seth, he’s our guy. I don’t care about the rest of his family.”
Seth is 0-5 in his NBA career against his brother, and said his parents always “stay neutral” whenever he and Steph play each other. And since they’re both guards, what theatrics will occur when they have to guard one another on Tuesday?
Will they, for a milli-second, think back to those brotherly backyard confrontations when their mother had to be the referee?
“I’m sure we’ll have our chances to go at each other,” Seth Curry said. “We’ll be on the floor a lot together, I’m sure.
“As long as he’s not resting that game.”
The Warriors played at Oklahoma City on Monday and could rest some of their starters Tuesday. Steph was one of the players the Warriors rested when they played the Spurs in San Antonio on March 11 on the second night of a back-toback.
But the Mavericks are operating under the notion that Steph will be in uniform against his brother.
“It’s just going to be an incredible family reunion,” said Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks’ president of basketball operations. “We’re just so happy because Seth’s got the integrity genes, he fits in great in our locker room, and obviously he’s got the genes that his dad had and his brother has with the ability to shoot the ball.
“He’s grown up around the game and like a lot of good young players, he’s got a real good understanding. He’s a true pro in every sense of the word, and a winner.”