* State Farm All-Star Saturday Night (TNT, 8 ET): Event Page | Watch
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Curry family didn’t wait until State Farm All-Star Saturday night to commence their weekend takeover of their hometown.
Sonya Curry, mother of Stephen and Seth and wife of Dell, did the honors Friday afternoon during a Stephen & Ayesha Curry Family Foundation event at the Carole Hoefener Center, sinking an underhanded half-court shot during, what else, a shooting contest consisting of nothing but family.
Steph’s mom hit an underhand half-court shot and the entire Curry family lost it 🤭 pic.twitter.com/AfupESIgUo
— NBCSAuthentic (@NBCSAuthentic) February 15, 2019
Call it the official kickoff of the 68th NBA All-Star Weekend, a Queen City shindig Golden Sate Warriors coach Steve Kerr dubbed the “Curry Family All-Star Weekend.”
There will be Currys all over the city, generations of them, great-grandparents all the way down to infant great-grandkids. Friday’s showcase was just an appetizer and a snapshot of the family’s quality of depth when it comes to the game.
Two-time Kia MVP Steph and his wife, Ayesha, teamed up to take on his parents, Seth and his fiancée, Callie Rivers, daughter of LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers, and their sister, Seydel and her husband, Warriors reserve guard Damion Lee, in the four-team shooting exhibition.
It’ll be Curry against Curry again Saturday night, with both Steph and Seth set to participate in the MTN DEW 3-Point Contest at Spectrum Center.
Steph fueled the rumors that Dell, a beloved Charlotte Hornet during his 16-year NBA career, might get it on the fun as well.
“I doubt he’ll be in the 3-Point Contest,” Stephen told reporters Friday afternoon. “But there may be something happening [Saturday]. I’m not sure if the plans have been finalized. But Saturday night, there’s obviously surprises all over the place no matter what year it is. Just this year with me and Seth being in there it takes it up another notch.”
It would be fitting to have Dell involved. He was a feared sharpshooter in his own right, retiring in 2002 as the Charlotte Hornets’ all-time leader in points (9,839) and 3-point field goals made (929).
And he is the reason this homecoming for the second generation of NBA Currys is generating some of the best buzz of a star-studded weekend.
That no one in the family saw all this coming when both Steph and Seth were trying to carve out space for themselves in what has become a rich family history in the game, makes it that much sweeter.
“Incredible,” is the way Dell, the color analyst for the Charlotte Hornets TV network, described the Currys “mini family reunion.”
Seth is convinced a Curry will win the 3-Point Contest; he’s betting on himself and refuses to give an inch to big brother, same as always.
But the big winner, of course, will be the extended Curry family and friends, hundreds of them by Seth’s count, who will enjoy a raucous Saturday night and All-Star Weekend in the place where this current chapter of the family history has its deepest roots.
“It’s special, very special for a lot of family and friends who watched us play growing up,” Seth Curry said. “From being little kids and living my whole life growing up in Charlotte, it’s very special for us to go back and participate. It’s always been a dream to compete in a 3-point contest, ever since seeing my dad do it when we were younger. It should be a fun weekend and to see me and Steph out there on the court, I’m sure there are going to be a lot of proud people in the building and in the Charlotte area just watching us.”
Steph is used to all eyes being on him, having gone from an under-the-radar high school player at Charlotte Christian to late-blooming college star at Davidson to lottery pick. No one outside of the close-knit Curry clan saw his rise to global superstardom with the Warriors coming, and even their wildest dreams didn’t envision a day when he’d return home on top of the basketball world.
He was in the stands at his alma mater Friday night, watching Davidson knock off St. Joseph’s. And he’ll be in great demand all over the place all weekend, including Sunday night’s main event.
Seth said he’ll take advantage of any opportunity available to come out victorious, even a little fatigue on Steph’s end.
He plans on applying the same pressure that he did when the ultra-competitive Curry brothers were battling each other in basically everything while growing up.
“It was competitive, like any siblings,” Seth Curry said. “But we always worked out together growing up, playing 1-on-1 in the backyard and just having fun. It got real intense, real heated at times. So as a younger brother, always having someone that was a little bit better than me at every step, I was always trying to use any trick or edge to win a game of 1-on-1 or any shooting contest. That’s what helped me get to where I am.”
Seth is already up 1-0 this week, with the Trail Blazers knocking off the Warriors Wednesday in both team’s final game before the break.
He refuses to engage in any trash talk before the contestants hit the floor tonight. The rest of the field, he said, is too strong for that. But he is shooting slightly better from beyond the arc this season than his big brother (46.5% to 44.4%). And there’s that bump from the pro-Curry crowd that is sure to be there.
“I’m confident in myself. I expect to win,” Seth said. “But I can’t really trash talk right now. I’ll say a few things if I get the job done. He already has a 3-Point Contest win and a few more accolades over me right now, so I’m trying to add one to my trophy case.”
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Sekou Smith is a veteran NBA reporter and NBA TV analyst. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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