SAN FRANCISCO – Shortly after the Warriors play the Celtics in Boston on March 18, Steph and Seth Curry will likely jump on the next available flight to Charlotte, North Carolina.
They won’t be heading there to play a basketball game. No, the trip is for a far more important reason.
Their father, Dell Curry, will have his No. 30 jersey retired by the Hornets on March 19, and the Curry brothers have made sure they will be there.
“I’m looking forward to March, to show him some love,” Steph Curry said on Thursday.
No man embodies the Charlotte Hornets, who visit the Warriors Saturday night, quite like Dell Curry. He told ESPN that having his jersey retired is a “dream come true.”
He played for the team for 10 seasons and has been a television announcer for over a decade. Now, he will join Bobby Phills as the only Hornets to have their jerseys raised in the Spectrum Center rafters.
“Special, special, special,” Steph Curry said. “The Curry name, and especially in Charlotte, we call him ‘The Originator’ because when the expansion draft happened in 1988, our family moved up there and set up shop, he was part of the original Hornets team, and he was the last original Hornet to leave.”
The weight of such an honor is not lost upon the elder Curry, who will be in the Bay on Saturday to broadcast the Warriors-Hornets game.
“I never imagined it would happen,” Dell Curry told the Associated Press. “It means so much to me. I do it because it’s what I love to do. The game gave me so much, the fans gave me so much and I want to stay involved just to give back what I can and make this organization what it should be.”
These days, he is playing the role of Hornets color commentator, where he provides a level-headed counterpart to play-by-play man Eric Collins’ excitable catch phrases.
“There’s not going to be another person who comes into that building, looks up to the rafters and sees No. 30 and doesn’t smile,” Collins told the Bay Area News Group on Saturday.
Though he’s more known for his announcing and as “Steph’s Dad” these days, Dell was a threat on the court back in the day.
The Hornets’ record book has Dell Curry’s name sitting atop a plethora of leaderboards, despite playing his last game for Charlotte in 1998.
He has the most games played (701), 2-point field goals (3,022) and, ignominiously, personal fouls (1,357) in Hornets history while also winning the 1993-94 Sixth Man of the Year award. Warriors coach Steve Kerr saw Dell’s jersey retirement as a no-brainer, even if he will probably not join his son in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
“I always like seeing when teams retire the numbers of players who were hugely impactful to their franchise, who maybe weren’t Hall of Famers, but obviously great players,” Kerr said on Friday. “Guys who meant so much to an organization, and Dell’s one of those.”
Of course, Kerr wanted to make sure that Dell’s playing ability wasn’t ignored. Kerr had his fair share of matchups with the Hornets guard when the franchise was in its heyday with the elder Curry, Larry Johnson, Muggsy Bogues and Alonzo Mourning.
“They were a really good team, and you knew who you were going against when you played the Hornets, and Dell was a huge part of that,” Kerr said.
So, in a story he told to The Athletic, Dell thought that an impromptu interview with Collins and a few of the top Hornets brass at the Spectrum Center a few days ago was a little odd but nothing bizarre.
Mid-interview, an announcement of the jersey retirement started playing on the arena’s video board, prompting Dell to shed a few tears.
“It’s rare you get to see that man share some tears, so it was pretty special, the way they surprised him,” Steph Curry said.
The video included a message from Steph, and the ceremony concluded with a message from Hornets co-chairmen Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin.
“He exemplifies what it means to be a Hornet through his professionalism, work ethic and commitment to excellence,” said the team executives. “Dell’s impact on our organization, our fans and our community is undeniable, and he is truly deserving of this honor.”
Collins was in on the plans from the start, and has seen Dell blossom as a TV personality while remaining a highly respected figure in the sport.
“He’s the reason I am who I am, because I don’t think there’s anyone in the league who is as respected as him as a former player, a father, as a person who is connected to the league,” Collins said. “He allows me to do my thing, and I think a lot of other people are like we’ll give this different guy a chance because they know Dell respects me.”
Dell will have a few months to figure out what to tell the hometown crowd during the ceremony.
His sons will be there too, even if the schedule will be tight.
“Oh for sure, for sure,” Steph Curry said when asked if he planned to make it to the festivities.
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