CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dell Curry was fighting back happy tears Thursday night.
He knew what was coming. He had known for the past two months or so that the Charlotte Hornets were finally going to retire his No. 30 jersey, that it was forever going to hang in the rafters as a tribute to the team’s first pick in the 1988 expansion draft.
And it still took everything he had, in the moment, to keep his emotions in check. The Hornets raised the jersey at halftime of their 130-111 win over the Orlando Magic, and it will eventually hang beside the one that immortalizes the Charlotte tenure of Bobby Phills.
“I can’t thank them enough for this. I’m just a country boy from Grottoes, man,” Curry said, referencing his Virginia hometown. “I had no idea that this was even happening. I’m just playing basketball because I love it and now to have my jersey in (these) rafters besides Bobby, I cannot explain how grateful, blessed, fortunate I am to be here in this moment.”
Curry, currently a TV broadcaster and analyst for the Hornets, was joined by his NBA-playing sons, Stephen and Seth — both members of the Golden State Warriors — along with daughter Sydel, wife Nicki, mother Juanita, six grandchildren and a number of team officials, including co-chairmen Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, president of business operations Shelly Cayette Weston, and president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson.
“Last night at a quiet, intimate family dinner is when it really hit me,” Dell Curry said Thursday before the ceremony. “I got a little emotional thinking about it. … This is a big deal. I understand how big of a deal this is.”
He received video tributes from Don Londes, his former high school coach in Fort Defiance, Virginia; former Hornets teammates Larry Johnson, Muggsy Bogues, Glen Rice, Kenny Gattison, Rex Chapman and Tim Kempton; his three children; and longtime broadcast partner Steve Martin.
“A special night for the Curry family,” Stephen Curry posted on social media after the ceremony. “The originator is in the rafters forever. Congratulations, Dad.”
Dell Curry, 61, spent 10 years of his 16-year career with the Hornets and was the franchise’s last original player when he left via free agency after the 1997-98 season. He was the NBA’s sixth man of the year winner in 1994, and Charlotte has been the place he has considered home for nearly 40 years.
Curry was involved with Hornets community events and briefly served as an assistant coach in the summer of 2007 before joining the team as a full-time TV color commentator in 2009 alongside original Hornets play-by-play broadcaster Martin. Curry is currently in his 11th season as color commentator for the franchise’s second TV voice, Eric Collins, who emceed Thursday night’s ceremony.
When Curry left the Hornets in 1998, he was the franchise’s all-time leader in games played (701), scoring (9,839 points) and made 3-pointers (929). He remains the Hornets’ all-time leader in games played and is second to Kemba Walker in both scoring and made 3-pointers.
“I want to thank all of you fans,” Curry told the crowd. “You wrapped your arms around me when I was a 24-year-old kid. And you’ve supported me and my family ever since.”
The Hornets hosted a private pregame reception attended by family, friends and other officials, including North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein — who presented Curry with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of North Carolina’s highest civilian honors. A donation was also made to the Boys & Girls Club of America in Curry’s honor.
“Dell Curry is synonymous with the Charlotte Hornets, he truly epitomizes what it means to have Hornets DNA,” Schnall and Plotkin said in a statement. “Dell’s impact extends far beyond basketball. His excellence on the court, his continued leadership, and his deep connection to this community make him a foundational figure in our franchise’s history.
“Retiring his jersey is a tribute to everything he has meant — and continues to mean — to this city, this team and to the Carolinas.”
