Chicago-area native Eddy Curry was a star high school basketball player. Nicknamed "Baby Shaq," he had a lot of eyes and pressure on him.
His hometown Chicago Bulls selected him in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2001 NBA draft. Curry played four seasons with the Bulls, never playing up to the projected potential. He followed that with five seasons with the New York Knicks, and off season and one more each with the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks.
In 11 seasons, he played 527 games, averaging 12.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. That's a solid NBA career. The perceived problem is he did not live up to the hype. Perhaps he would have been better not playing for the Bulls. Maybe his status was overrated. It's hard and even unfair sometimes to ask why a player did not live up to expectations.
Maybe Curry was just meant to have a nice NBA career. He played 11 seasons and made more than $70 million. On its own, that is a major success. I don't care about his high school scouting report. I just see a successful NBA player.
At BullsFest 2025, I met Curry. He was extremely engaging and seemed to enjoy interacting with fans and even us annoying press members. Actually, I pretty much took off my press hat and just talked to him a bit about being a local star. Ever humble, Curry just thanked me for being a fan and knowing his career.
Eddy Curry and me in Chicago, IL-August 2025.
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