Eddy Curry was supposed to be one of the NBA’s biggest stars, but his career never ended up being the glittering success people hoped. After an alleged congenital heart condition slowed his ascendancy in the league, the star had issues with health and weight before his NBA career ended in 2012 with the Dallas Mavericks.
Curry was one of the prime building pieces for the post-Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls, but the aforementioned heart condition ended up factoring in when the team traded him to New York, where weight issues limited his success with the franchise.
Curry was interviewed by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and revealed that once during a Chicago Bulls practice session, Tyson Chandler and Kendall Gill got into an altercation on the floor. That altercation ended with Gill using jiu-jitsu to twist up Chandler’s arm, and he refused to let the hold go until Tyson tapped. Curry had various other stories about other players to share as well.
Great stories!!! 😂😂😂😂
— Kendall Gill (@KendallG13) April 22, 2022
“I remember one time Tyson and Gill got into it. Gill knew mixed martial arts. They got into it one time at practice, and Gill did this weird move on Tyson, and he had him all wrapped up on the floor and twisted up. Everybody was saying let him go. Gill told Tyson, “Tap out.” Tyson couldn’t tap out because Gill had his arm in a way he couldn’t touch the ground.” (h/t HoopsHype)
Considering that Kendall Gill is 6’5″ and Chandler is over 7 feet tall, it’s quite incredible that Gill effortlessly managed to tie the big-man into a submission maneuver. Chandler was coming just out of high school when he was drafted by the Bulls. He, Gill, and Curry played together on the team only for the 2003-04 season, when Chandler was 21 years old.
Curry also went in-depth into many other stories, including the likes of Ron Artest, Ron Mercer, and Charles Oakley.
“The first road trip I went on, Kendall Gill was the first male that I saw who put so much into his hygiene. We’d take a shower, put on some lotion and get out of there. Kendall would take a shower, come out and do his hair, give himself a fresh haircut every time he got out of the shower. He’d put oils on and spray himself with all types of cologne. We went on the road, and the first time we got off the elevator going to our rooms, and there was a trail of rose petals going from the elevator to Kendall’s room. I’m like, “What the heck is going on?” He winked at us and said, “Yeah, young fella. You’ve got to step your game up.”
“Ron Mercer used to call me and Tyson, “Baby sh*t.” It really bothered me because we were so young and the baby Bulls. He’d never call us by our names. I remember Ron Artest got a job at Circuit City so he could get a discount because he wanted the employee discount. It was right down the street from the Berto Center. He went there and got a job there. That was amazing.”
“I’ve got Charles Oakley stories for days. I remember him and Tim Floyd getting into it in the film room. They’d curse each other out. Floyd compared Oakley to Charles Barkley or somebody like that. Oakley challenged a lot of the stuff Floyd tried to implement. Floyd would tell Oakley he needed to be more like this guy. Oakley was like, “Man, he’s a b*tch.” Floyd said you need to be more like this person. Oakley said, “He’s a b*tch too.” They blew up. Oakley called him a name in a meeting. After that meeting, Oakley told me and Tyson he thought he’d be gone after that.”
“I remember Oakley made me late for the plane. He’s my guy. After a home game, we’d be leaving and had a certain amount of time to get to the plane, but he had to go get his soul food. He’d always make me take him. I’d take him in his car. He could never get his food and leave. He knew the guy who owned it. He’d hang out like we had nowhere to be. They wouldn’t say anything to Oakley, but they’d say something to me for being late even though they know I’m with Oakley. He’d have me in his Range Rover on the highway. Every time we ran late, he had a switch that had police lights. He’d hit the lights and had me riding on the shoulder and barked out these orders while I was driving. I used to be so scared. I was like, “Oak, I’m going to get arrested.” He’s like, “F*ck that. You heard me. I got you. Don’t worry.” We’d barely make it to the plane.” (h/t HoopsHype)
These stories show how incredible the culture of the early-2000s NBA was. Considering this was a Bulls franchise not far removed from the heyday of Michael Jordan bringing them 6 championships, it’s funny to see such funny stories about the Bulls locker room as the team went through their rebuild.
