NBA Finals are a battle to decide which Charlotte high school owns Sardis Road
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday night in Boston, and two former Charlotte high school stars will again be on one of the biggest sports stages in the world.
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry played at Charlotte Christian from 2002-06. And the Boston Celtics’ Grant Williams played at Providence Day from 2012-16.
The two southeast Charlotte high schools, which play in the same conference, are about a mile apart, just down — or up — Sardis Road, depending on where you’re starting from.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” said Charlotte Christian coach Shonn Brown, who coached Curry in high school, and coached against Williams. “It speaks to just how good our league is. They’re both playing at the highest level of their craft, which is pretty awesome. And what’s special to me is that they are amazing individuals.”
During the time Curry was at Charlotte Christian, the Knights were in a near decade-long run of dominance, winning one of the state’s toughest conferences, the Charlotte Independent Schools Athletic Association, nearly every year. Charlotte Christian reached the state championship game several times in that span, including winning the 2000-01 title.
When Williams arrived at Providence Day, the Chargers took off on one of the best runs in Mecklenburg County history, culminating with a 2016 state championship and a berth into what was then known as the DICKS’ National Championships in New York. In 2016, Providence Day was ranked in the top 10 in the United States.
Eventually, Providence Day would win six straight CISAA championships, going 53-3 against league competition.
“We got to do some unbelievable things, but talking personally about Grant, it was just his fearlessness about everything,” said former Providence Day coach Brian Field, who retired after the 2020-21 season. “He wanted to play the best schedule, play the players ranked ahead of him. I mean, he really believed in himself, and our team got on board with that, and that’s one of the main reasons we achieved the success we did and why we were able to go above and beyond what anybody thought we were capable of doing.”
Curry and Williams never played against each other in high school or college, though both had success in the NCAA: Curry led Davidson on a memorable Elite Eight run and Williams was a two-time SEC Player of the Year at Tennessee.
And, now, both are enjoying success in the NBA.
Curry, 34, has become arguably a top-five player in the world, now in his 13th season. He is a three-time world champion and a two-time NBA MVP. He’s also a future first ballot Hall of Famer.
Williams, 23, is in his third season, and he has become a valuable role player for the Celtics. He has started some in these playoffs, and had a memorable Game 7 against the reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in a deciding Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. He scored 27 points to go with six rebounds and two blocks. Once a poor 3-point shooter, Williams made seven in the game.
And now Williams — and Curry — are playing for the biggest prize in basketball.
“You have to think, even though they were in different eras, they would definitely reminiscence about days gone by, about who owned Sardis Road,” Brown said. “We had like a 10-year run where we were really strong and then (Providence Day) had their era with (point guard Devon) Dotson, (shooting guard Trey) Wertz and Grant, and they were unbelievable. They even beat DeMatha (Maryland) during their deal. Now it’s totally different paths (to the league). Steph at a smaller school and Grant in the SEC, but now to watch them both, man it’s fun. And (the series is) 1-1 currently. It’s up for grabs.
“But I gotta go with my guy.”
Field said, of course, that he’s pulling for his guy, too.
“It’s remarkable, the two of them,” Field said. “From a coaching perspective, it’s cool to be able to watch your own guy play, but from a Charlotte basketball perspective, it’s unbelievable. I can’t imagine too many stories like this, and you’re talking about two guys who are loyal to their hometowns, easy to root for and they represent their family and their schools and the city of Charlotte.
“They’re true role models.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
