Stephen Curry is hoping for a lucky 13th comeback when the Golden State Warriors make their annual visit to Charlotte to take on the Hornets on Wednesday afternoon.
The son of former NBA star Dell Curry attended Charlotte Christian High for three years before transferring to nearby Davidson for his college career.
Drafted by the Warriors in 2009, and now in his 17th NBA season, Curry was forced to sit out four times during his return home.
He and the Warriors came away victorious eight of the 12 times he played, with Curry topping 40 points twice in his hometown: 43 in a 2013 loss and 40 in a 2015 win.
Curry, who was born in Akron, Ohio, has never ruled out one day wearing a Hornets uniform like his father did — the same No. 30 — for 10 years.
“I love the journey with the Warriors, and there was never any real interest in playing for another team,” he told the Charlotte Observer in 2022. “But the curiosity of what it would be like to play for your hometown, what it would be like to live in Charlotte, to possibly put down roots and all that? You think about it, for sure.
“If I can play for the Warriors my whole career and be one of those guys where I had a lot of success — individually and collectively as a team — and become a one-team guy? That list is pretty short. … But like I said, it can be true, and also the curiosity of like, ‘What would it be like to wear No. 30 in Charlotte like my dad?'”
The 37-year-old had 39 points in a loss at Toronto on Sunday and 27 in a win at Brooklyn on Monday, as the Warriors split games to open the current three-game road trip.
The Hornets are coming off a 123-113 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. Charlotte has won four of the six games leading up to this matchup, with victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic during that stretch.
Curry’s first face-off with Hornets rookie star Kon Knueppel may have to wait until the rematch in San Francisco on Jan. 17 after the sharpshooter injured his ankle in Friday’s win over the Magic and missed the loss to the Bucks.
Hornets coach Charles Lee left the door open for Knueppel’s return against the Warriors, describing it as “day to day.”
“Kon attacks his rehab plan like I would expect Kon to attack his rehab plan,” Lee said. “Every day he sees a little bit of improvement. The goal of our coaching staff and our performance team is…just a daily assessment of where he is and where his symptoms are.”
Knueppel started the weekend ahead of Curry in the NBA 3-point race. But the eight-time 3-point champion has since added nine during the Warriors’ trip, currently giving him a 114-113 lead in their battle for second place behind Donovan Mitchell (121).
Brandon Miller had 31 points and LaMelo Ball scored 26 in the loss to the Bucks. Ball has yet to play in seven consecutive games this season but can reach that mark on Wednesday.
– Field level media
