Stephen Curry hopes for a lucky 13th homecoming 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 moving on to nearby Davidson for his college career.
Drafted by the Warriors in 2009, and now in his 17th NBA season, Curry has been forced to sit out four times on his homecoming.
He and the Warriors have walked away victorious eight of the 12 times he’s played, as Curry has topped 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 dad did – the same No. 30 – for 10 years.
“I love the journey with the Warriors, and there’s never been any real interest in playing for any other team,” he told the Charlotte Observer in 2022. “But the curiosity around what it would be like to play for your hometown, what it’d be like to live in Charlotte, to possibly set up roots and all that? You think about it for sure.
“If I can play for the Warriors my entire career and be one of those guys where I’ve 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, that can be true, and also the curiosity of like, ‘What would it be like to wear No. 30 in Charlotte like my pops?'”
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 have split games to open the current three-game trip.
The Hornets are coming off a 123-113 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. Charlotte won four of six leading into that game, with victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic in that stretch.
It’s possible Curry’s first head-to-head with Hornets rookie star Kon Knueppel will have to wait until the rematch in San Francisco on Jan. 17 after the sharpshooter sustained an ankle injury in Friday’s win over the Magic and sat out the loss to the Bucks.
Hornets coach Charles Lee left the door open for Knueppel to return against the Warriors, listing him as “day-to-day.”
“Kon is attacking 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 from our coaching staff and performance staff is … just a daily evaluation of where he is and where his symptoms are.”
Knueppel began the weekend ahead of Curry in the NBA 3-point race. But the eight-time 3-point champion has since added nine on 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 seven consecutive games this season but can reach that mark Wednesday.
