Dell, Sonya Curry reveal reasons for not wanting Warriors to draft Steph originally appeared on nbcsportsbayarea.com Ten years ago this June, Don Nelson changed the direction of the Warriors' franchise when he chose to draft Steph Curry with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Almost a decade later, Curry has ascended to the top of the NBA, leading the Warriors to three NBA titles while becoming the best shooter in NBA history along the way. And to think, Curry's parents, Dell and Sonya, didn't want the Dubs to draft their son initially. "We got back to draft day, I remember Don Nelson calling me and saying, 'Hey, what's your feelings toward us drafting your son?'" Dell Curry said in an interview Tuesday. "I said, 'Don't. You ask me the question, I'm going to tell you the truth. Don't.' Conversation went on and he said, 'Well if we get the opportunity we're going to do it.' I said, 'Coach, that's your decision.'" While it's well known that the Currys didn't want Steph to go to the Warriors, each parent had a different reason. "We just thought his game fit a better team, a better scenario," Dell Curry said. "The way another team was playing. Up and down, faster and had a better locker room." While Dell was focused on the on-court fit, Sonya's reason didn't have to do with basketball at all. "Well, that's the dad answer and the professional athlete answer," Sonya Curry said. "Mine was, 'Golden State was too far away. Where is my baby going? I don't know where Golden State is.'" Things worked out pretty well for both the Currys and the Warriors. Dell and Sonya have gotten to watch their son become a two-time NBA MVP and three-time champion during his first 10 years in the league. [RELATED: Steph pokes fun at parents for rooting for both Warriors, Blazers] Story continues Now, the parents have to watch Steph and his brother, Portland Trail Blazers guard Seth Curry, battle in the Western Conference finals. Steph and the Warriors drew first blood Tuesday, as Golden State coasted to a 116-94 win over the Blazers that saw Dell and Sonya flip a coin to decide which team to root for. The NBA playoffs are a family affair for the Currys.<doc-sep>Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry’s 33-point comeback performance after going scoreless in the first half of last night’s 118-113 win over the Houston Rockets served two purposes: Close up the semifinals series with the Rockets to ensure an extra few days of rest before the Western Conference Finals begin on Tuesday, May 14; and Keep his parents, Sonya and Dell Curry, from splitting up. Mission: ACCOMPLISHED. Had the Houston Rockets forced a Game 7, it would have taken place on Sunday — the same day middle Curry child, Seth, competes with the Portland Trail Blazers for a chance to advance to the conference finals. Had the Warriors lost, Dell and Sonya joked they’d have to “split up” to attend their sons’ big games, “AAU style.” Really nice postgame moment with Steph and his mom, Sonya. Had Steph’s Warriors gone to a Game 7, with Seth Curry’s Blazers already playing a Game 7 themselves, Sonya & Dell told me they were gonna have to split up, “AAU style” on Sunday. 😂 Now both parents can be in Denver. pic.twitter.com/1NSDeWZZtB — Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 11, 2019 Thanks to every player who took the court for the Warriors stepping up with significant contributions, Dell and Sonya can stay together. They can support Seth and the Trail Blazers in their battle against the Nuggets, in Denver, for the right to advance to the conference finals. Both the best- and worst-case scenario is that Portland advances to the conference finals for a Curry vs. Curry Western Conference Finals. (It would be a worst-case scenario because only one Curry will make it to the championship round, while the other will be headed for vacation). The decisive Game 7 between the Trail Blazers and Nuggets is Sunday, May 12, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. The winner will tip off against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals on Monday, May 14, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.<doc-sep>Everything else, though? It was new territory for the quartet sitting together: Dell; Sonya; Stephen’s wife, Ayesha Curry; and the boys’ sister, Sydel Curry-Lee, 24, who is married to Golden State guard Damion Lee. (Callie Rivers, Seth’s fiancée and the daughter of Los Angeles Clippers Coach Doc Rivers, was seated in a different location but is expected to sit with Dell and Sonya when the series shifts to Portland for Game 3.) “I normally don’t get nervous at all,” Dell said on the half-hour drive to the arena. “Playing 16 years in the league, I thought all my nerves were gone. But this has changed that. I’m nervous.” The Game Before the Game Hours before tipoff, as the uneasiness was starting to set in, 54-year-old Dell was introduced to a new game. Sonya decided that a lunchtime round of rock-paper-scissors at Curry-Lee’s house in nearby Hayward, rather than a simple coin toss, was the fairest means to decide which hybrid jersey each parent would wear, since they both had two. Only one problem. “That was the first time I ever played rock-paper-scissors,” Dell said. After a false start or two, Sonya went rock. Dell opted for scissors. Curry-Lee then flipped a coin she prepared by taping a W on one side for Warriors and a P on the other side for Portland. When the coin landed on P, Sonya “won” the right to wear the jersey featuring the Blazers on the front. [Read: The Warriors have the Splash Brothers. The Bucks have Splash Mountain.] Yet it wasn’t until the second half of the actual game that the mood in the Currys’ row began to noticeably lighten. The family members spent the first half working through all sorts of emotions and imagined restrictions, especially once Seth checked in for the final 2 minutes 55 seconds of the first quarter and frequently guarded his brother. Dell noted that it was the first time in their sons’ basketball lives that he and Sonya could not go “all-in for both kids,” who never played in a competitive game against each other until both were in the N.B.A. Sonya wondered aloud how strained the postgame conversations might be when “you can’t critique the other team because then you’re critiquing one of your sons.” Curry-Lee described the dynamic as “the whole world is watching and critiquing about who we’re favoring.”<doc-sep>Jeff Chiu/Associated Press Dell and Sonya Curry have a unique plan in place should their sons, Stephen and Seth, face each other in the Western Conference Finals. According to ESPN's Rachel Nichols, a coin flip will determine which parent roots for which son if the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of the teams' second-round playoff series Sunday: Steph and the Golden State Warriors are already through to the conference finals for the fifth consecutive season, as he went off for 33 points in the second half after a scoreless first half in a 118-113 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of a second-round series Friday. 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Portland hasn't reached the conference finals since 1999-2000. Steph is one of the NBA's top players and of even more importance to the Warriors now with Kevin Durant nursing a right calf strain, while Seth is a role player for Portland. Seth's production is inconsistent as he serves as a backup behind starting guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, but he did score 16 points in Game 4 against Denver, and he is among the best three-point shooters in the league, having made 45 percent of his attempts during the regular season. Steph and the Warriors will be heavy favorites if Portland advances, but considering the teams split their regular-season series 2-2, Seth and the Blazers could be a tough out.<doc-sep>
With Steph and Seth both in the Western Conference Finals, the family is just going to enjoy the moment. Dell, Sonya Curry enjoying Warriors-Blazers moment with Steph, Seth originally appeared on nbcsportsnorthwest.com On Tuesday night, it'll be all business at Oracle Arena when the Blazers and Warriors meet in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. But in the two days leading up to the all-Curry Western Conference title bout, the family is just going to enjoy the moment as Steph and Seth prepare to vie for the right to go to the NBA Finals. "It's a dream come true for both of us," Seth Curry said Sunday following Portland's 100-96 win in Game 7 over the Denver Nuggets, via ESPN. "Obviously, it's the first time it's been done. It's going to be a lot of fun for our families to be in the building. I'm looking forward to it." Dell and Sonya Curry already have prepared a plan for which son they'll cheer for during each game. While the tension of the Steph vs. Seth matchup will be high, Sonya is choosing to look at the positive side of the matchup. "It's going to be so much fun," Sonya Curry told ESPN. "It is. From our end, to see both of our sons to compete at this level and for the goal to be a championship is such a blessing. We never could imagine this. "One of them might go home. But we're going to the championship!" Since it's Seth first time competing in the playoffs, Sonya is especially excited to watch the younger brother on this big of a stage. "It's fun," she said. "It is really. I actually look forward to watching Seth and doing that. I want him to steal the ball and want him to shoot over Stephen and all that good stuff. I want him to have his moments too." After going down three-games-to-two to the Nuggets, the Blazers rallied for wins in Game 6 and Game 7 to punch their ticket to their first conference finals berth since 2000, thanks in large part to CJ McCollum's 37-point bonanza in Game 7. Story continues The Blazers now will face a Warriors team looking to head to its fifth straight NBA Finals. The last time the Blazers made the conference finals they faced another juggernaut: The 2000 Shaq-Kobe Lakers. [RELATED: Warriors vs. Blazers Western Conference finals schedule] While the Blazers were battling the Nuggets in their grueling seven-game series, the Dubs had their hands full with James Harden and the Rockets. After Kevin Durant suffered a right calf strain in Game 5, it appeared the Rockets might finally be able to knock off the NBA's Goliath. But Steph exploded for 33 second-half points in Game 6 on Friday night to send Harden, Chris Paul and the Rockets on summer vacation. Durant's status for the Western Conference finals is still up in the air. If he remains out, the load will fall on Curry, the two-time NBA MVP, to carry the Warriors past his brother and the Blazers. The brothers Curry now will meet a conference title on the line. Steph is 7-2 lifetime in head-to-head meetings with Seth, but both those losses came this season. Portland might appear to be outgunned, but the Blazers have posted a 4-3 record against the Warriors over the past two seasons, so don't count Seth and Rip City out before the opening bell rings.