Curry’s in Cleveland: Hoopers’ relationship with the Cavs
A bit over 33 years ago, Akron, Ohio birthed a soon-to-be basketball phenom. A generational talent who would go on to win multiple MVP awards, NBA championships and his own signature shoe. He’s just a kid from Akron…..He’s…..Stephen Curry.
The reigning NBA Three Point Shootout champ came into this world at a hospital less than an hour’s drive from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Twenty-plus years later, the Golden State Warriors’ surefire Hall of Famer returned to his birth state for four consecutive NBA Finals versus the Cavs. Thanks in large part to Curry’s play, the Warriors won three of those four Finals, two of which were clinched in Cleveland.
Thankfully, the Cavs were able to come back in historic fashion in 2016 to win that one, and Kyrie Irving’s amazing go-ahead shot in the closing moments of Game 7 definitely helped.
Steph Curry, LeBron James, the Warriors and the Cavaliers seemingly shared real estate with one another on every sports debate show and tweet for four years running, though. You couldn’t mention one without the other.
The Curry family was hitting the hardwood in Cleveland long before that Cavs-Warriors 2015 NBA Finals, though.
In March of 1988, Steph was born in nearby Akron, because his father Dell was playing his lone season with the Cavaliers. Dell Curry, the 1994 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award winner, averaged an even 10 points a game for the Cavs before joining the then-expansion franchise Charlotte Hornets.
Two plus decades later, Steph Curry became a household name and another Curry found himself calling Cleveland home, albeit, not for long. In March of 2014, Seth Curry, younger brother of Steph, signed a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Seth played just one game for the Wine and Gold connecting on just one shot, fittingly, a three-pointer.
After bouncing between the NBA and the D-league (which is now called the G League) for a few seasons, Seth began to find his footing with the Dallas Mavericks when given considerable run.
In that 2016-17 campaign, he had 12.8 points, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per contest, and after a year with the Portland Trail Blazers, he returned to Dallas. Then last season, he again made his presence felt for them, and his knockdown shooting meshed well with Luka Doncic. Curry ultimately had 12.4 points a game, and hit 45.2 percent from deep as mostly a bench sniper.
This past offseason, however, Seth, in particular, found a lucrative contract and a fully established starting gig with the Philadelphia 76ers. All together, he owns a very Curry-family-like mark of 44.2 percent from three over the course of his career.
As Cavaliers, Dell and Seth combined for 791 points (which includes one postseason game for Dell). By comparison, in NBA Finals matchups alone (22 total games), Steph Curry tallied 533 points himself when matching up against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Landing two of three Curry’s over the years would seem to be a dream for the Cavaliers. But it’s the Curry who got away, Steph, if you will, who’s been a nightmare for Cleveland.