CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When Steph Curry wrapped up his elaborate pregame routine, he walked over to the sideline to sign a young fan’s cap. The school-aged boy hopped up and down as if his favorite cartoon character popped out of a screen and became his best friend.
Around the corner on the Spectrum Center baseline, an 11-year old held up a sign that read “My dad bet me $500 that I could get Steph Curry’s autograph.” He might’ve been jealous of the courtside fan, but simply seeing his favorite player ever in-person curtailed any ire.
When Curry returned to Golden State’s locker room, Curry jerseys draped over the tunnel railings. Here, more than anywhere besides the Chase Center, is the Church of Curry.
Fans travel far and wide to see Curry play every game. In fact, a mom and daughter from Switzerland and China flew in to see Friday’s Warriors-Hornets game. But Charlotte always has a different energy.
The Spectrum Center, one of the quietest arenas in the league, got the most rowdy on Friday night whenever Curry scored or checked into the game. They erupted when he sank a buzzer-beating 3 to end the first half. Curry, more than any Hornet in years, is Charlotte’s star.
“He’s GOATED,” said Banks Williams, the 11-year-old holding the soliciting sign.
For a franchise that will have missed the playoffs for eight straight seasons, any semblance of hope that Curry, maybe, one day, could possibly don a Hornets jersey is blind faith. But there are believers nonetheless.
“That’d be a big deal,” said Hunter Williams, Banks’ dad. “(My kids) play all the AAU basketball, and they try and practice, and they hope to be like (Curry) one of these days.”
It’s true. Hunter’s two kids, Banks and Buddy-Dawson, said they want to shoot like Curry, be in the NBA like Curry, have a shoe-line like Curry, and be as popular as Curry. When Hunter got his kids tickets to the March 29 Warriors-Hornets game for Christmas, Banks cried tears of joy.
“I wish he would play for the Hornets, because then we’d see him a lot more,” Banks said. “If I could, I would buy every ticket.”
Mo Lawless also got his son, JP Lawless, tickets to the Warriors-Hornets game for Christmas. They drove 315 miles from West Virginia for JP’s first ever NBA game — one in which Curry dropped 23 points in a Warriors blowout.
Demetrius Henderson and his son, Landon, also went to their first NBA game together because Curry was in town. The seven-year-old Landon could only laugh and nod when asked what it’d be like if Curry played for the Hornets one day.
Curry grew up in Charlotte, wearing purple and teal since he was a toddler. He’d shoot on the court with his dad, Dell, before games and hang around the team. Dell and teammates like Muggsy Bogues and Rex Chapman would babysit him and drive him around, not knowing the best player in the car was strapped in a booster seat.
Now, when he comes home, he plays in front of his dad, a television analyst for the Hornets, and against his brother, Seth (who missed Friday’s game with an ankle sprain).
“I enjoy the experience of knowing there’s a huge Curry presence in the Hornets organization, and obviously tonight I get to join the party,” Curry said. “
The connections make it easy for fans to fantasize. Curry was naturally asked multiple questions in his postgame press conference about what it’s like to play back home. He looks forward to playing in Charlotte — in front of familiar faces, with a crowd that can energize him.
“Knowing at this stage, you can probably count on one hand how many more times I get to come back,” Curry said. “It’s definitely fun.”
There’s an innate connection with the Charlotte-based fans. The Williams family has followed Curry since his Davidson days. Cece, the fan living in Switzerland, spent hours creating a poster with Curry photo collages.
Steph Curry fans taking over in Charlotte pic.twitter.com/DakUQMN22r
— Danny Emerman (@DannyEmerman) March 29, 2024
Isaiah Carrol, 8, and his mom, Summer, drove down from Greensboro to see Curry play. Isaiah’s a Hornets fan, unless Curry and the Warriors are playing them.
Isaiah and his relatives collaborated to make a poster, one side of which read: “Steph Can Do All Things,” with the bible verse Philippians 4:13 noted underneath. Since was in college, Curry has been known to write a variation of that verse — I can do all things through him who strengthens me — on his sneakers as it motivates him to achieve greatness.
The message is one Summer wants to instill in her son, too. Summer thinks that by acknowledging the bible verse, Curry is setting a virtuous example for Summer’s son.
“Because all things, just like Steph, all things lead to Christ,” Summer said.
For fans like the Carrols, Curry is only scheduled to come home to Charlotte once per year. That would obviously change if he one day decided to sign with the Hornets. Unfortunately to the locals, that has always seemed like a pipe dream.
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“You have thoughts all the time, but nah, I want to stay in the Bay and that’s something that I’ve talked about,” Curry said when asked if he’d want to play for the Hornets.
“There is a curiosity of what it would be like to play here, for sure. I feel like I ask Seth a lot of questions about what it’s like to be back here, because you’re so familiar with the city, with the history of the organization. I’m sure he’s getting calls for tickets every single night, that’s probably that’s a little overwhelming. But that’s it.”
So the Carrols and other Curry fans will just have to pray.