How Eddy Curry ate his way out of the NBA
Eddy Curry
© Alonzo Adams - USA TODAY Sports
Some modern NBA fans may not have heard of the name Eddy Curry. Well, we can’t really blame them, as the former NBA star never managed to prolong his prominence in the league.
In the past, a host of NBA stars who never reached their full potential were prompted to leave the game due to career-ending injuries. However, Curry’s case was pretty unique.
An unidentified heart problem
After becoming one of the most promising high school players of his generation, Curry entered the league in 2001 at 19 years old. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls, and after just four seasons, he became the team’s primary center.
Gifted with size and skills, Curry reached a crescendo in the '04/'05 season when he became the team’s leading scorer, having finished the campaign with 16.3 points and 5.3 boards per game.
However, as the 2001 McDonald’s All-American Game MVP edged closer to his peak form, he also began experiencing unexplainable chest pains. Doctors couldn’t identify what it was precisely but believed it was some sort of a heart condition.
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Worried about Curry’s health, the Bulls were forced to release their dominant big man in the summer.
The resurgence and massive excess weight
The following season, Curry found a new home with the New York Knicks after the Bulls dealt him via sign-and-trade. Despite possibly having some heart ailment, the then-23-year-old quickly made his mark on the Knicks squad, registering his career-best 19.5 points and 7 rebounds per outing in his second season with the team.
To everyone’s shock, Curry failed to pick up where he left off as he one day showed up in training camp for the 2007-08 season tremendously overweight.
According to Fitness Volt’s TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) at 28, Curry’s ideal weight should not have been over 250 pounds. However, he was believed to have shockingly reached a whopping 400 pounds at the time.
Things then began to fall apart for Curry. Aside from being out of shape, he never saw then-Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni eye to eye, and he also incurred a few injuries.
For the next two seasons, Curry would be limited to just 10 games and would never make a single appearance in the 2010-11 season.
After a year of layoff, Curry made a herculean effort to lose excess weight and managed to trim down to 295 pounds. He played 14 games for the Miami Heat and became part of the franchise’s 2012 NBA championship team.
However, that would mark the beginning of the end for the former Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois star. After winning a title in 2012, Curry played two games with the Dallas Mavericks, and that turned out to be his last appearance in the NBA.
