CHAPTER ONE Young Star Stephen Curry was born Wardell Stephen Curry II on March 14 1988 in Akron Ohio His father Dell Curry played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA at the time His mother Sonya whose maiden name is Adams was a school administrator The Currys met when both were college students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University commonly called Virginia Tech Dell Curry was a standout player for Virginia Tech’s basketball Dell Curry left Stephen’s father started playing with the Charlotte Hornets for the 1988 89 season Here Dell looks for a way to pass around Calbert Cheaney of the Washington Bullets during a 1995 game Dell’s position throughout his career in the NBA was shooting guard 6
team the Hokies while he attended the college from 1982 to 1986 Sonya played college volleyball for the school Dell Curry was not a superstar player in the NBA but he was Young Star well-regarded for his ability to come off the bench and make three-point shots He played in the NBA for 16 seasons from 1986 to 2002 He enjoyed his greatest successes while with the Charlotte Hornets from 1988 to 1998 The family lived in Charlotte during those years The Currys had two more children born after Stephen a son named Seth and a daughter named Sydel Sonya founded Christian Montessori School at Lake Norman near Charlotte in 1995 The Currys briefly moved to Toronto Ontario while Dell played his final NBA seasons for the Toronto Raptors They moved back to Charlotte after he retired in 2002 Sonya Curry center enjoyed a successful career as a school administrator She encouraged Stephen left and his brother and sister to work hard at everything 7
Young Stephen left often attended his father’s NBA practices and games Here he sits with his father along the sidelines at a shooting contest during the 1992 All-Star Weekend 8 STEPHEN CURRY NBA SHARPSHOOTER
Young Star Discovering Basketball Stephen became interested in basketball at a very early age during visits to his grandparents home in Virginia Stephen and Seth played on a homemade backboard that their grandfather Jack Curry had put up years before when Dell was a child The ground around the backboard was uneven and the boys had to dodge around obstacles like puddles Stephen developed very good ball-handling skills by dribbling over the uneven ground He perfected his shot so that he could avoid having to chase the ball into the cluttered yard around the backboard Stephen started playing basketball in a recreational league when he was seven or eight years old He was small for his age but he worked hard to develop his basketball skills Dell worked with Stephen to improve his shot so that he could compete against bigger kids Stephen liked to watch Dell practice with his NBA teammates They sometimes let 9
