Stephen Curry lives a charmed life.
The guard was little-known when he went to Davidson aside from his famous last name and then caught the world on fire with a pair of NCAA Tournament runs. He quickly became a fan favorite in the league, an All Star, an elite player and, now, a key member of the U.S.’s national team bid in the FIBA World Cup.
How is that supposed to make little brother Seth Curry feel?
He has the pressure of the family name to live up to and some of the same skills (although not to the same extent). He put the pressure on himself even more when he transferred from Liberty to Duke and took on more of the spotlight. He increasingly got better, but never made the impact his brother did.
Curry played in just three NBA games last year, his rookie year, but he dominated the D-League. Curry averaged 19.7 points per game and 6.0 assists per game for the Santa Cruz Warriors, earning an All-Star nod. He was clearly a dominant player in the D-League.
If there was one thing Curry was trying to show this summer in a Summer League stint in both Orlando and Las Vegas, it was that he is ready for his shot in the NBA to get out of his brother’s shadow.
“That’s my dream,” Curry said. “I feel like I can play at this level. Every time I step on the court, I try to show different ways I can help teams win. I am trying to get better at every aspect, take the feedback that teams give me and try to work on my game. Just trying to pursue this dream and try to get better every single day.
“I feel like I am a NBA player and I bring a lot of things to a NBA team. I’m just out here trying to prove that every day.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXS_MqcABh4
During Curry’s Summer League run, he averaged 9.8 points per game shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc. He scored 26 points in his second game against Milwaukee and scored in double figures three times in his five games with the Magic.
With training camp a few weeks away, reports came out that Curry would be receiving a training camp invite with the Magic. That offers no guarantee that he will make the roster. It seems guaranteed though that he will find a place in or around the NBA. His chance is coming.
It will take more than his familial shooting ability to make it though. Curry knows he has to show he can do other things on the floor and, especially, improve his defense. That was something he knew he would have to improve and what the Magic, at least, harped on him throughout his week in Orlando.
“Right now, I’m focusing on the defensive aspect,” Curry said during Summer League. “Me being able to guard the ball, fighting over screens. Guys know I can shoot the ball at this level, it’s just a matter of doing the other little things that will get me on the court. Playing defense, being able to execute offense, giving guys like Elfrid [Payton] and Vic[tor Oladipo] a break bringing the ball up the floor.”
That versatility is something the Magic are looking for. Oladipo is not a true point guard, but figures to play at both positions. Curry is someone that possibly fits that mold. He also noted that during the summer he was looking to improve and showcase some of his playmaking abilities as well as his ability to play off the ball.
Seth Curry has been on the fringes of the NBA for a while now. He is searching for his chance to break through.
Being a great shooter — something that seemingly comes with the Curry name — helps with that part too.
The Magic saw something in him for sure too. They do not hold his D-League rights (if he plays in the D-League, he would remain with the Santa Cruz Warriors) and so will either have to sign him, find a way to have Erie, the Magic’s D-League affiliate, acquire him or let him go back into the big D-League pool.
Magic assistant coach Wes Unseld, Jr. is sure Curry can play in the league. He just has to find his identity as his own Curry.
“I think at some point he can be a guard in this league,” Unseld said. “He is respected as a shooter, but his playmaking is underrated.
“I think he is comfortable in his own skin. I think at some point he has had that conversation. I can relate on some level, but I don’t play NBA basketball. But being in that same family with a brother playing at the level he plays at, I’m sure it dwells on him a little bit.
“He feels like he is comfortable at where he is. He’s going to be a heck of a player. If he continues to get better, I think he has a great chance.”
Another year, another chance for Seth Curry to make his own name.
