In his 13-year career, Steph Curry has only ever played for the Golden State Warriors, the team who drafted him and who he’s won four rings with. This kind of loyalty is a rarity in the modern NBA — just ask Steph’s ex-teammate, Kevin Durant.
And while Curry has made it clear he wants to retire as a Warrior, there is one other team he would consider playing for: the Charlotte Hornets, his hometown squad.
Curry grew up in Charlotte where his dad, Dell, played for much of his NBA career. He also went to school just up the road at Davidson College.
The reigning MVP Finals MVP recently received a key to the city of Charlotte and admitted he has considered suiting up for the city’s team.
“All I would say is if there was a team I did wanna play for that wasn’t the Warriors, (the Hornets) would be it,” Curry said while speaking at the key to the city ceremony, according to the Charlotte Observer.
"Everybody asks me, 'You wanna play one year for the Hornets and come back?'…I am not breaking any news right now, I'm not making any promises. All I would say is if there was a team that I did want to play for that was not named the Warriors, that would be it."
- Stephen Curry pic.twitter.com/ocWlkbl2qZ
Curry was already in North Carolina to pick up his diploma from Davidson earlier in the week. Despite the incredible heights his career has reached in Northern California, Curry still considers his peak years to have been in the Tar Heel state.
“I am from Charlotte,” Curry said. “Best 21 years of my life spent here and I carry that with me wherever I go.”
Bay Area fans must try not to take offense. Ironically, had fate turned out just slightly differently, Curry could have ended up on his hometown team.
In 2009, after a legendary career at Davidson, Curry was expected to be a high draft pick (although notoriously, not as high as he should have been). The Warriors and Hornets, then known as the Bobcats, both held lottery picks, with Charlotte having finished the previous season with only a marginally better record than the Warriors.
Had the Warriors not taken Curry with the 7th overall pick, it’s conceivable that he could have been available when the Hornets selected him at No. 12.
But Golden State jumped at the chance to land Steph, and the rest is history. The Warriors have won four championships since 2009, while the Hornets have yet to make it out of the first round in the same timeframe.
And though Curry entertained the idea of playing for Charlotte at the key ceremony, it doesn’t sound like Warriors fans have too much to worry about.
“I always said I wanted to finish my career at Golden State because of how much it means to me, the experiences and the teammates and the journey that we’ve been on,” Curry said.
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