They call her coach Eddie. Meet the queen of the three in the NBA

When the Toronto Raptors lost to the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday night the Trailblazers were making it rain from three.

The Blazers got hot early in the first quarter draining six threes and finishing shooting 56.3 per cent from beyond the arc. While the players were feeling it, what the casual NBA fan may not know is that one of their coaches currently holds the record at their college for most three-pointers made.

The players know her as Coach Eddie.

“I shoot a little bit with them. But you know, I don’t try to brag too much about my career.” Edniesha Curry (Coach Eddie) told Sportsnet when asked if she ever challenges anyone on her roster to a three-point contest.

Curry is in her first season as an Assistant Coach with Portland. She finished her college career not far from Portland at the University of Oregon after transferring from Cal-State Northridge where she is the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made.

“Honestly, it was like the ‘96 Olympics,” Curry said on what made her fall in the love with the game. “When I saw you Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes, and all the rest of the crew in Atlanta. That’s where I was like, I really want to be a women’s basketball player. and from then on, I want to be a division one athlete.”

She played in the WNBA for Phoenix and Los Angeles before heading overseas playing on teams in Greece, Poland, Israel, and Hungary.

She made the jump from player to coach. Before joining Chauncey Billups coaching staff in Portland, she was an assistant coach at Maine and also coached internationally in Vietnam, China, Israel, and Palestine.

“One of the big differences is just the relationships with the guys. That’s one of the things that I’ve enjoyed the most. I’m getting a lot of quality time on the road to get to know them. That’s something that’s hard to do in college with all the NCAA rules. But you know, this has been amazing just to sit and just have conversations with them.”

One of the players whose skills on the court she has watched develop is 2019 NBA Champion and former Raptor Norman Powell who is in his second season with Portland.

“Norm brings a great energy and he’s one of our defensive guides. He comes out there and he’s always going to the glass hard, he’s driving hard. He’s just a hard-working guy and more importantly, he’s unbelievable off the court.”

Curry is a graduate of the NBA Assistant Coaches’ Program where she gained experience working at the NBA Draft Combine and the NBA G League Showcase. One of her mentors was former Raptors Head Coach Butch Carter.

“I learned a lot from him on how to be professional, how to embrace your journey, and knowing that you can have some ups and downs. One of the most important things is just surrounding yourself with good people that are going to help you learn and grow along the way.”

Curry isn’t the only WNBA connection to the Trailblazers, they recently hired 2x WNBA Champion Sheri Sam. They also promoted Jessica Cohen to their head athletic trainer, making her the only female to hold that position in the NBA.

“I’m just glad to be a part of an organization. They’re just hiring good people that happen to be women. it’s just awesome women that are really great at their jobs, they’re being seen for the work they do not just for their gender.”

She has the respect of her players and even with her accomplishments is too humble to brag about her accomplishments, says she still loves to shoot a good three and when pressed on it, that if she had to take on two NBA players in a contest from downtown, she knows who they would be.

“Klay Thompson and of course Dame [Damian Lillard]”

How badly does she think would she beat them?

“You know what? A girl never tells her secrets.”