 Cureton in 2011 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1957-09-03)September 3, 1957 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | February 4, 2024(2024-02-04) (aged 66) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Finney (Detroit, Michigan) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 1979: 3rd round, 58th overall pick |
| Selected by thePhiladelphia 76ers | |
| Playing career | 1980–1997 |
| Position | Power forward /center |
| Number | 25, 23, 35 |
| Coaching career | 2000–2013 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1980–1983 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1983 | Scavolini Pesaro |
| 1983 | Simac Milano |
| 1983–1986 | Detroit Pistons |
| 1986–1987 | Chicago Bulls |
| 1987–1988 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 1988–1989 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 1989–1990 | Philips Milano |
| 1991 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 1991 | New Haven Skyhawks |
| 1991–1992 | Tours B.C. |
| 1994 | Sioux Falls Skyforce |
| 1994 | Houston Rockets |
| 1996–1997 | Toronto Raptors |
| As coach: | |
| 2000–2001 | Los Angeles Stars (assistant) |
| 2001–2002 | Southern California Surf (assistant) |
| 2003 | Long Beach Jam (assistant) |
| 2003–2004 | Long Beach Jam |
| 2004–2005 | Orange County Crush |
| 2005–2006 | Charlotte Sting (assistant) |
| 2012–2013 | Phoenix Mercury (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| As player: As coach:
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 3,620 (5.4 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,172 (4.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 678 (1.0 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Earl Cureton (September 3, 1957 – February 4, 2024) was an American professionalbasketball player who played in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Twirl",[1] he playedcollege basketball for theRobert Morris Colonials andDetroit Mercy Titans. Cureton was selected by thePhiladelphia 76ers in the third round of the1979 NBA draft. He won anNBA championship with the 76ers and theHouston Rockets, and also played in the NBA for theDetroit Pistons,Chicago Bulls,Los Angeles Clippers,Charlotte Hornets, andToronto Raptors. He also played in multiple countries overseas.
Cureton was born inDetroit on September 3, 1957,[2][3] and grew up in the 1960s in the midst ofthe city's race riots. He played high school basketball atFinney High School.[2]
Cureton played two seasons atRobert Morris College.[4] After his first year, they transitioned from being ajunior college, and he played in theColonials' first season inNCAA Division I in 1976–77,[2][4] averaging adouble-double of 17.2 points and 10.5rebounds per game, before electing to return home to play at theUniversity of Detroit Mercy under coachDick Vitale.[1][2][5] Cureton was required by NCAA rules to sit out a year due to the transfer, when Vitale left for theDetroit Pistons and was replaced bySmokey Gaines.[2]
Cureton paired with future NBA playerTerry Duerod to lead theTitans to the1979 NCAA tournament,[1][6] losing toLamar 95–87 in the first round.[7] Detroit finishedranked No. 20 on the season.[8] Cureton had a stellarsenior season in 1979–80, averaging 19.9 points and 9.1 rebounds, and was inducted into the Detroit Mercy Titans Hall of Fame in 2007.[3][6] Theyretired his No. 24 in 2020.[2]
ThePhiladelphia 76ers selected Cureton in the third round of the1979 NBA draft with the 58th overall pick,[2][9] when he was still ajunior in college.[10] He stayed with Detroit another year before signing with the 76ers in 1980.[10] Philadelphia reached the1982 NBA Finals, but lost to theLos Angeles Lakers. Led by their newly acquired centerMoses Malone, the 76ers won the1983 finals in a rematch with the Lakers. In game 2 with the 76ers up 1–0 in the series, Cureton filled in for Malone, who was in foul trouble. Cureton made ahook shot over the Lakers'Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had made the shot famous, and Philadelphia increased their lead while Cureton was in the game.[11] He played 17 minutes in a 103–93 win,[12] and the 76ers eventually swept the series.[11]
After three seasons with Philadelphia, Cureton failed to agree to a contract with the team.[13] He briefly played in Italy forScavolini Pesaro andSimac Milano before signing with theDetroit Pistons for the1983–84 season,[10][13] and spent three seasons with the Pistons. He became a journeyman for the rest of his career, traded to theChicago Bulls in 1987, and then playing for theLos Angeles Clippers (1987–88) andCharlotte Hornets (1988–89, 1990–91),[3] with another stint in between in Italy withPhilips Milano (1989–90).[14] He also played for theNew Haven Skyhawks of theUnited States Basketball League in 1991, hoping to return to the NBA.[15]
From 1991 to 1993, Cureton played in theLNB Pro A (Tours B.C.) in France,[16][17] theVenezuelan SuperLiga, and theLiga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional in Mexico.[16] After not receiving any offers from the NBA or Europe, he joinedMagic Johnson and his traveling all-star team. They stopped touring in March 1994, and Cureton joined theSioux Falls Skyforce of theContinental Basketball Association.[18] Following eight games with the Skyforce,[18] he signed with theHouston Rockets near the end of their1993–94 season,[11][16] in time to qualify for their postseason roster. In the playoffs, he filled in for injured forwardCarl Herrera, becoming a key rotational player as a backup toHakeem Olajuwon andOtis Thorpe. The Rockets defeated theNew York Knicks to win the1994 NBA Finals, when Herrera returned and reassumed his role.[11] Houston planned to invite Cureton to their 1994–95 training camp,[19] but he blew out theanterior cruciate ligament of his right knee and was troubled by some nerve damage.[20]
In 1996, Cureton played six months with aBuenos Aires team in Argentina'sLiga Nacional de Básquet.[21] At age 39, he finished his career with theToronto Raptors (1996–97),[3] retiring from playing on February 13, 1997, to become the Raptors' assistant strength and conditioning coach.[22] Cureton played 674 NBA regular games in his career, including 137starts, averaging 5.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game.[3][11] He played in 54 playoff games across seven postseasons, starting in four contests.[9][11]
Cureton made his coaching debut in the2000–01 ABA season as an assistant with theLos Angeles Stars. He then served as an assistant with theSouthern California Surf in the2001–02 ABA season.[23]
Cureton started the2003–04 ABA season as an assistant coach for theLong Beach Jam. He was elevated to head coach in November 2003 and went on to guide the Jam to theABA championship and was named the ABA Coach of the Year.[23]
For the2004–05 ABA season, Cureton joined theOrange County Crush as head coach. He parted ways with the team in January 2005 and returned to the Long Beach Jam, where he served as chief of basketball operations for the rest of the season.[23]
Cureton served as an assistant coach of theCharlotte Sting in theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the2005 and2006 WNBA seasons.[23] He returned to the WNBA as an assistant with thePhoenix Mercury in2012 and2013.[23]
In 2011, Cureton fulfilled a promise to his mother, returning to finish his degree at UD. He served as a color analyst for Detroit Mercy TitansESPN+ and radio broadcasts,[9] and was also a broadcaster for the Detroit Pistons.[1]
In 2013, Cureton began serving as a Community Ambassador for the Pistons.[24] This role included leading Pistons organizational outreach and community partnerships.[25][26] He released his autobiography,Earl the Twirl: My Life in Basketball, in 2023,[2] and was also inducted into the American Basketball Hall of Fame in Detroit that year.[27]
Cureton was named the 2024 Michigan Treasure by theMichigan Sports Hall of Fame. Cureton died "suddenly" on February 4, 2024, at the age of 66.[2] He called his last game for the Titans the day before his death.[28]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won anNBA championship | * | Led the league |
Source[3]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980–81 | Philadelphia | 52 | 6 | 10.2 | .454 | .000 | .516 | 3.0 | .5 | .4 | .4 | 4.2 |
| 1981–82 | Philadelphia | 66 | 8 | 14.5 | .487 | .000 | .543 | 4.1 | .5 | .5 | .4 | 5.3 |
| 1982–83† | Philadelphia | 73 | 3 | 13.5 | .419 | – | .493 | 3.7 | .6 | .5 | .3 | 3.4 |
| 1983–84 | Detroit | 73 | 0 | 12.4 | .458 | .000 | .525 | 3.9 | .5 | .3 | .4 | 2.6 |
| 1984–85 | Detroit | 81 | 1 | 20.3 | .484 | .000 | .569 | 5.2 | 1.0 | .7 | .5 | 6.1 |
| 1985–86 | Detroit | 80 | 19 | 25.2 | .505 | .000 | .555 | 6.3 | 1.7 | .7 | .7 | 8.6 |
| 1986–87 | Chicago | 43 | 36 | 25.7 | .467 | .000 | .534 | 5.3 | 1.6 | .3 | .6 | 6.9 |
| 1986–87 | L.A. Clippers | 35 | 11 | 24.8 | .487 | .000 | .544 | 6.4 | 1.5 | .5 | .9 | 7.7 |
| 1987–88 | L.A. Clippers | 69 | 11 | 16.3 | .429 | .000 | .524 | 3.9 | .9 | .5 | .5 | 4.3 |
| 1988–89 | Charlotte | 82* | 41 | 25.0 | .501 | .000 | .537 | 6.0 | 1.6 | .6 | .7 | 6.5 |
| 1990–91 | Charlotte | 9 | 1 | 17.7 | .333 | .000 | .333 | 4.0 | .3 | .0 | .3 | 1.9 |
| 1993–94† | Houston | 2 | 0 | 15.0 | .250 | – | .000 | 6.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 1996–97 | Toronto | 9 | 0 | 5.1 | .375 | – | .333 | 1.0 | .4 | .0 | .0 | .8 |
| Career | 674 | 137 | 18.4 | .473 | .000 | .538 | 4.7 | 1.0 | .5 | .5 | 5.4 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Philadelphia | 9 | 4.0 | .333 | – | .000 | 1.0 | .2 | .1 | .2 | 1.3 | |
| 1982 | Philadelphia | 12 | 6.3 | .317 | .000 | .667 | 2.2 | .2 | .1 | .1 | 2.7 | |
| 1983† | Philadelphia | 5 | 5.0 | .250 | – | – | 1.0 | .2 | .4 | .0 | .4 | |
| 1984 | Detroit | 5 | 18.6 | .484 | – | .333 | 6.6 | .4 | .4 | .2 | 6.4 | |
| 1985 | Detroit | 9 | 0 | 14.8 | .471 | .000 | .556 | 4.6 | .4 | 1.0 | .2 | 4.1 |
| 1986 | Detroit | 4 | 4 | 31.5 | .548 | .000 | .250 | 7.5 | 2.3 | .8 | .0 | 9.0 |
| 1994† | Houston | 10 | 0 | 10.0 | .800 | – | 1.000 | 2.9 | .2 | .1 | .2 | 1.8 |
| Career | 54 | 4 | 10.9 | .450 | .000 | .472 | 3.2 | .4 | .4 | .1 | 3.1 | |
and Basketball Reference