Younger sibling gets his chance with Mavericks
DALLAS — Classes seemed painstakingly long to Seth and Stephen Curry on days the Charlotte Hornets had home games because after that final bell rang, the two elementary school students knew what awaited: rides to Charlotte Coliseum with their father, Hornets sharpshooter Dell Curry.
Before the crowds arrived and players began their warmup routines, the Curry brothers heaved shots as Dell rebounded. Those pregame sessions are what Seth, 2½ years younger than his two-time reigning NBA MVP brother, now considers his introduction to the “family business.”
Long known as Dell’s son or Stephen’s sibling, Seth is receiving attention these days for being Dallas’ starting shooting guard. His 42.2 percent clip beyond the arc, which is 2.3 percentage points better than Stephen’s, ranks sixth in the league. In 14 games since the All-Star break, Seth Curry is averaging 16.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
“He obviously deserves to be in this league,” said Stephen after he and the Warriors routed Seth’s Mavericks 112-87 on Tuesday night. “He’s been proving that every day since he’s shown up in Dallas.”
The car rides to Charlotte Coliseum stopped in 1999, when Dell signed with Milwaukee as a free agent. A year later, after the family moved to Toronto and Dell began to play for the Raptors, 9-year-old Seth and 11-year-old Stephen slid into a game-night routine: spend the first half watching their dad from the stands at Air Canada Centre and the second half playing one-onone on the arena’s practice court.
Overmatched by his bigger brother, Seth often threw a fit and quit mid-game. It wasn’t until several years later, after Dell retired and the games moved to the court behind their Charlotte home, that Seth started beating Stephen. The younger Curry could hit a deep three-pointer one possession, then knife through the key for a floater the next.
It is Seth, not Stephen, who owns Charlotte Christian High School’s single-season scoring record. During his jersey-retirement ceremony at the Knights’ gymnasium in January, Stephen told a standingroom-only crowd that he probably wasn’t the best player to ever don a Charlotte Christian uniform. Seth was.
Because a hamstring injury suffered the summer before his senior season cost him scholarship offers from bigger programs, Seth signed with Liberty, a small Christian school in the Big South Conference. He was the top-scoring freshman in the nation, then transferred to Duke.
Instead of taking a medical redshirt to undergo surgery on the stress fracture in his right shin, Seth wore a walking boot at every practice his senior season. His chances of being drafted were ruined in the spring when, after leading the Blue Devils to the regional final, he finally relented to surgery. In August 2013, he signed a nonguaranteed deal with the Warriors and was assigned to the Development League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
In one of his first practices, while being closely guarded by point guard Kiwi Gardner, Seth stopped at the top of the arc, dribbled between his legs and hit a fade-away threepointer without breaking eye contact with his defender. Gardner turned to his teammates and yelled: “Did you see what he did to me? My God!”
“One thing I’ve always thought about Seth is that he just needs to get into a situation where he’s going to get legitimate minutes to show what he can do,” said Casey Hill, Seth’s Santa Cruz coach. “The talent and the confidence have always been there.”
Seth played one game for the Grizzlies, one game for the Cavaliers and two for the Suns. Last summer, after averaging 6.8 points in 44 games with the Kings, he signed a two-year, $5.9 million deal with Dallas. Since cracking the starting lineup in mid-January, he has flashed the scoop shot of his brother and the catchand-shoot ability of his dad.
He is shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 83.7 percent from the foul line this season. After four 20-point outings in his first three NBA campaigns combined, Seth has 10 such performances with the Mavericks. Dallas owner Mark Cuban, who affectionately calls Seth “Swaggy Swag,” asserted recently that he wants the combo guard to stay with his club “forever.”
“He’s taken advantage of an opportunity,” Stephen said. “It’s been amazing.”
With their dad watching from the stands, Stephen (17 points, nine assists) led Golden State in Tuesday’s thumping of the Mavericks. It gave the younger Curry, who had 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting, an 0-6 career record against his brother.
More than the result, Tuesday was about celebrating Seth’s breakout season. They both wore the “Family Business” Under Armour Curry 3 shoes. On the sock-liner of each shoe was a “Shotgun!!!” seat belt graphic, an ode to those childhood rides with Dell to Charlotte Coliseum.
“It’s like a dream come true,” Seth said.