SAN ANTONIO — Stephen Curry is a free agent.
He’s not leaving the Golden State Warriors anytime soon, but the four-time NBA champion is searching for a new shoe sponsor after announcing a split with Under Armour on Thursday. The 37-year-old superstar caused a stir on social media before Friday’s thrilling 109-108 win over the San Antonio Spurs when he walked onto the floor at the Frost Bank Center wearing a pair of Nike “Mambacita” Kobe 6s as he went through his warmup routine.
Even Curry admitted it was a little strange not being in his own shoes, but there was a reason he chose the particular pair he did after his longtime shoe agreement came to an end.
“I know it’s weird seeing me in anything else other than my own shoes,” Curry said after scoring 49 points in Friday’s win. “But just the idea of what he meant, I’ve talked about Kobe (Bryant) a lot. And that specific pair, I think it speaks for itself, what it means.
“Other than that, it’s just something that I wanted to take advantage of that moment and pay tribute, and I think it gave me some good energy tonight.”
The black shoes had a familiar white Nike swoosh logo on the side with the white Mamba logo on the back. “KOBE” was emblazoned in gold on the left sneaker, and GIGI (Bryant’s daughter) was emblazoned in gold on the right sneaker. Curry changed into two different pairs of his Curry Brand sneakers to wear during the game and says it remains to be seen what he will wear in the future as he tries out different pairs when he warms up.
“A good thing about this situation is I love my own shoes when I’m out there hooping,” Curry said. “That’s why I put those back on and why I design the kicks I have for as long as I have.
“But yeah, I’m gonna have some fun with this, and like the question in terms of being open to whatever opportunity is the right fit, I’m going to try everything, though.”
As for why the partnership ended, Curry said that the breakup with Under Armour was “in the best interest of both parties.”
“That sneaker industry is difficult,” Curry said. “Things change over time, to the point of you give your best effort to create something sustainable. A little disappointing knowing how it turned out based on where Curry Brand has been the last five years and the announcement we had two years ago, but I think it’s the right thing for everybody.
“For me to be able to take the opportunity with Curry Brand and what we’ve done in the community, what we’ve done from standing for something, changing the game for good is our tagline and hopefully having something to show for it down the road, I’m excited about that.”
Curry isn’t exactly sure what his next shoe move will be, but he’s embracing the idea that he will have different options down the line. For a man who embraced the early stages of the Under Armour experience and was the face of the brand for years, Curry sounds refreshed by the idea he will take the Curry Brand he’s built and get to pair with another company in the future.
“I’m a free agent,” Curry said. “I’m out here, new beginnings. I was blessed to have an unbelievable experience and take a chance on something that meant a lot to me over the last 13 years and extremely proud of myself, my team, everybody who’s able to touch that business for that long.
“We all should be proud of what we were able to accomplish in taking a basketball brand, or a brand and category that wasn’t really a thing before to where we did. But I’m excited about the future.”
