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Guard · 1986–87

Dell Curry

Long before his sons redefined shooting, Dell Curry honed his stroke in his coach's barn in rural Virginia. The Jazz drafted the Virginia Tech star 15th overall in 1986 but kept him just one season before trading him to Cleveland — and Charlotte grabbed him in the 1988 expansion draft. There he became the Hornets' beloved sixth man, winning the award in 1993–94 and retiring as the franchise's all-time leading scorer with 9,839 points. Charlotte retired his number 30 in 2026.

Curry built his post-playing life in Charlotte too — a youth foundation begun in 1998, years as the Hornets' television color commentator, and fatherhood to NBA players Stephen and Seth.

HOW HE CAME & WENTUtah took him 15th overall in 1986 and he averaged 4.9 points in 9.5 minutes as a rookie. In October 1987 the Jazz traded him and Kent Benson to Cleveland for Mel Turpin and Darryl Dawkins, wanting insurance behind Mark Eaton.

Full name
Wardell Stephen Curry Sr.
Utah Jazz tenure
1986–87
Position
Guard
Born
1964, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Height
6′4″ (193 cm)
Weight
190 lb (86 kg)
College
Virginia Tech
Drafted
1986, 1st round (No. 15), Utah
Signature in the archive 2021-22 Panini Flawless Draft Gem Signatures 19/25 #DGS-DCU 3d3

No photograph of this signature is online yet.

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With the Jazz

DELL CURRY · 1986–87 · PER GAME
SEASONTEAMGMPGPPGRPGAPGSPGBPGFG%3P%FT%
1986–87UTA679.54.91.20.90.40.1.426.283.789
JAZZ TOTAL1 SEASON679.54.91.20.90.40.1.426.283.789

Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗  ·  Wikipedia ↗

Did you know

DELL CURRY · 9 NOTES
  • NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1994.
  • A gifted pitcher, he was drafted by baseball's Texas Rangers in 1982 and by the Orioles in 1985.
  • Accepted a Charlotte assistant coaching job in 2007 but stepped down before the season began so he could attend his sons' games.
  • He pitched in the minor leagues for the Gastonia Rangers, with future NBA teammate Muggsy Bogues playing second base behind him.
  • He left Virginia Tech second in school history with 2,389 points and remains its all-time steals leader, all without a college three-point line.
  • In 1995 the Currys opened a Montessori school in Huntersville, North Carolina, which still serves toddlers through sixth grade.
  • Frank Layden explained the trade plainly: 'I felt last season we were very fragile if anything happened to Mark Eaton.'
  • Of the Jazz veterans he watched as a rookie, Curry said in 2018 that they 'set the stage for me of how to go about myself in the league and be a pro.'
  • All seven players in the October 1987 trade were former first-round picks, and none of them had been a starter at the end of the previous season.