Steph Curry is arguably the greatest Golden State Warriors player of all time. What fans don’t know is that there was a decent chance of Curry never being a member of the Warriors. As it turns out, Dell Curry really wanted his son on the Knicks during draft night.
During an episode of Heat Check with Stephen and Dell Curry, Dell Curry revealed just how stressful draft night was for the family. He spent the majority of the day convincing people not to draft Steph, starting with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“I got a call from Minnesota as well, asking about drafting [Steph],” Dell said. “I told them, ‘Please don’t. Please don’t.’ It was J. B. Bickerstaff. They said, ‘OK, we won’t.’ They didn’t.”
When it came to convincing the Golden State Warriors and Don Nelson, Dell Curry’s lobbying didn’t quite work out. Fortunately for both Steph Curry and Warriors fans, former head coach Don Nelson was too stubborn to listen.
“So draft day, we’re in New York, I get a call from Don Nelson,” Dell said. “He says, ‘Dell, you got a problem if we select Steph at No. 7? I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ He’s like, ‘What?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, we want him in New York.’ We talk for five or 10 minutes. He’s like, ‘Well if he’s there, we’re going to take him anyway.’ I’m like,’ It’s your choice. You asked me for my opinion, I gave it to you.’”
The way history worked out, it turned out beneficial to the entire sport of basketball that Steph Curry ended up as a member of the Golden State Warriors. The game would not be anywhere the same as it is today if he was drafted to any other team, including the New York Knicks.