Life must be pretty good for Dell Curry. The man had a 16-year NBA career, then got to see both of his sons play in the NBA. Steph, of course, has gone on to win four titles and become one of the defining players of his era, while Seth has carved out an 11-year career himself as a quality outside shooter and role player.
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Cheering for your two sons as they live out their dreams—what could be better, right? It’s all fun and games until they happen to meet in the Western Conference Finals.
Let’s go back to 2019, when Steph’s Warriors met Seth’s Trail Blazers for the right to go to the NBA Finals. The Warriors were the heavy favorites, as they were back-to-back NBA champs at the time and seeking a three-peat. The underdog Blazers had gotten hot at the right time behind Damian Lillard’s clutch play, and this was their first Western Conference Finals since 2000.
Dell and his then-wife Sonya were faced with a dilemma. They’d both attended hundreds of their sons’ games before, but this one was different. How would they choose whose jersey to wear?
In the end, they let fate decide with the flip of a coin. Dell had told Blazers guard CJ McCollum the plan, and though many people thought he was joking, he most definitely was not.
Dell and Sonya’s daughter Sydel flipped the coin and recorded the occasion. You can tell how nerve-wracking this was for the family, as she said “toin coss” instead of “coin toss.”
It went something like this: If Sydel flipped heads, Sonya’d wear Blazers attire for Seth, while Dell would wear Steph’s Warriors colors. If the coin landed on tails, Sonya’d dress in Warriors clothing, and Dell would don Blazers gear. And the system would repeat until the series was decided.
Dell and Sonya Curry really did flip a coin to decide who’d wear Steph’s jersey and who’d wear Seth’s jersey at Game 1
(via @SydelCurryLee) pic.twitter.com/fzZbrYFnWf
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 14, 2019
Steph came out on top, but the Currys still made history together
Dell and Sonya ended up wearing split jerseys with one team on the front and one on the back, and they attended all four games as Steph’s Warriors went on to sweep Seth’s Blazers before ultimately coming up short of the three-peat by losing to the Raptors in the Finals.
This was, and still is, the only time that brothers have met in the NBA playoffs, though it has happened in other sports. Most recently, the Kelce brothers faced each other in Super Bowl LVII. Their mother Donna Kelce also opted to wear a split jersey as she watched Travis’ Chiefs come out on top of Jason’s Eagles in a classic, 38-35.
The Currys won’t have to worry about splitting their allegiances this year, as Seth’s Hornets are lottery-bound and hopeful of landing Cooper Flagg after a 19-63 season. Steph’s Warriors have been on a tear since acquiring Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline and are currently up 1-0 in their first-round series against the Rockets after winning Game 1 in Houston on Sunday night.
