The NBA locker room is a sacred space for most players as that is the one place where all of them can be themselves. There are no prying eyes or cameras on them every second, so whatever happens in the locker room stays in the locker room. That statement applies even outside the locker room when it comes to trusting your teammates.
Eddy Curry was a 4-year NBA veteran when he was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the New York Knicks in 2005 and learned a lot of new things about conduct between teammates when he arrived in Madison Square Garden.
In a tremendous interview with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Curry revealed various details about his NBA career. He shared locker room stories from his time in Chicago in the same interview. He went in-depth on the code of NBA players about their wives and girlfriends while talking about his time in New York.
"New York was crazy. The stories in Chicago were funny, but they’re pretty harmless. The stories in New York? That might break up somebody’s home. I can tell they had Philippe Chao and Mr. Chow’s. I’m thinking, it’s the same food and if you’re on this side of town, you go here. If you’re by the Financial District, you go to the other one. One night a teammate of mine was there. He told me, “It’s cool tonight, but from now on, we bring our work to Philippe and your wife to Mr. Chow.” I was at Philippe with my wife. He was like, “It’s cool now, but from now on if you ever find yourself about to come here, you call people and let them know, so they don’t come here with their girlfriends.” That was the craziest thing to me. It’s really like a code or a method to cheating." (h/t HoopsHype)
Curry was warned because his wife may see a player with someone that isn't their wife at that restaurant, and then it could open up a can of worms for the player who was spotted.
The NBA is a brotherhood, and all players try to protect their own in all situations. Your teammates are the closest thing to a family on the road, so Curry knew the value of respecting these unspoken codes and having his teammates back, whether it is on-court or off-court.
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