Steph Curry, welcome back
to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
I appreciate you having me, man.
Always a good time talking to you.
Yeah, man. I would appreciate you telling me
about your wardrobe choices before you come on the show.
I don't like the fact
that now we're both wearing the same hoodie.
Like, one of us has to change, man.
I feel like, uh, as we all know the last eight months,
we only have a certain rotation of hoodies.
-(laughs) -So, it's tough,
but this happens to be every Monday.
I should have let you know that. The hair is the only thing
that will differentiate us right now.
-So, at least we got... -Yeah, man. I-I do the...
I do my cornrows on the weekend.
I'm a... I'm a weekend cornrows guy
and then, like, Afro during the week, so...
I like that. I take most of my meetings on the weekends,
and I'm back in the gym on weekdays,
so I'm the exact opposite.
Oh, so you flip it the other way around.
-(chuckles) -Well, good to have you back, my dude.
Good to have you back. Uh, we got a lot to talk about today.
Before we get into the business,
before we get into the big announcement
that Steph Curry's making, before we get into
all the major moves that you're making,
we got to talk about that tweet, Steph.
We got to talk about that tweet.
-Uh-huh. -This weekend,
we saw, uh, some of the craziest boxing fights
that, like, anyone has ever seen.
Mike Tyson fighting against Roy Jones Jr.
That was just, uh, like, history.
And then Nate Robinson
fighting against Jake Paul from YouTube. Also history.
Now, Nate Robinson is a former teammate of yours.
-Yes, he is. -And he-he tweeted out...
He was like, "I'm fighting for my family.
I'm fighting for the NBA. I'm fighting for all of us."
And you were like, "Yo, go get them, Nate."
And then he said, "I'm gonna shock the world."
And then after his knockout, you responded to that tweet,
and you were like, "Yeah, I see no lies, man."
-(laughs) -Yeah. So, I know.
One thing about Nate is, one,
he can dish out the trash talk and he can take it.
And I know, based on, you know,
how the whole match went or the whole, you know, event went,
it wasn't supposed to be that entertaining but it was.
But for Nate, he is the most resilient dude in the world,
so if there's one person that I know
that's gonna find, like, you know,
that comeback-type of situation--
I don't know if he's gonna be back in the ring
-but whatever he's gonna do... -(laughs)
it's gonna be amazing.
Um, I'm betting-- I'm betting on Nate.
So, uh, we could have as much fun on Twitter,
um, and throw jabs--
no pun intended-- but we can, uh...
we can always know Nate's gonna be in good shape.
Do you think, like, the NBA took this personally?
Because I-I felt like it was, like, YouTube versus the NBA.
And I was shocked that the NBA got knocked out by YouTube.
I'm not gonna lie, Steph.
That's the best part of, like, just sports.
There's always a narrative that, uh...
that kind of materializes.
So, definitely-- Which is why I tweeted at Nate right before.
I was hyped. I was ready for him to go in there and do his thing.
Uh, when you cross over sports,
I think we all have this irrational confidence.
-And, uh, I love that about just... -(laughs)
you know, athletes in-in general.
Uh, I do the same thing in golf.
I was over there embarrassing myself
in front of Phil Mickelson for four hours on national TV.
Uh, you know, so I-I kind of know the, uh...
you know, that experience.
But, for him, uh,
we definitely, you know, took it serious
or took it personal in terms
of that YouTubers/NBA type of situation.
We might have to go, like, tit for tat
on, you know, top NBA fighters, if you will.
We can get-- We-we can throw our list out.
Don't worry about that, so-- I'm not on there.
Don't worry about that either. (chuckles)
You-you put yourself down,
but, Steph, you are really good at golf.
I've met golfers who have been like,
"Steph Curry is legit when it comes to playing golf."
You played a tournament for charity.
It was yourself, it was Phil Mickelson.
And, um, you were up against Charles Barkley,
who I know you didn't want to lose against.
I know you didn't want to lose to him.
But you lost. What would you think is a worse defeat,
you losing to Charles Barkley
or Nate Robinson getting knocked out by Jake Paul?
Which one is worse?
Well... (stammers) for me, it's got to be Nate.
He had... (stammers) I'm not-- I didn't get physically harmed.
Like, we know that. But in terms of,
like, pure embarrassment, if you will--
like, I knew we were both, you know,
putting ourselves out there--
uh, losing to Chuck in anything--
as much trash as he's talked about me
and our team and all that-- that made it--
oh, that hurt, that hurt.
So, uh, I'm gonna have to find him on a course somewhere
after the season and-and redeem myself.
Let's talk a little bit about the season,
before we get into the new brand and-and what you got coming up.
Um, the NBA was-was the most successful franchise
in launching a bubble format
to play sports in a system where people weren't getting sick.
You know, they did-- they did the best they could.
But the season has just been weird.
We got another season coming up now.
And on top of, like, corona and everything that's going on,
like, everything at Golden State has just been--
I mean, it's been a tumultuous time.
You know, you-you have been part of, arguably,
the most dominant team over the past decade.
You know, going to five finals.
Like, coming away with three rings.
Like, just, like-- I mean, there was a point--
I remember when people started writing articles, Steph,
where they were like, "We need to-- We need to change
"the scoring of a three-pointer because these guys have,
like, broken the game." That's how dominant you guys were.
And now it's just been injuries.
You know, you got injured, Klay got injured,
he's injured again, Durant got injured.
Like, what-what is the feeling in the team right now?
And what do you think you guys need to do
to get ready for the next season,
with how many challenges you now face?
It's weird, 'cause all the things you just said,
I got overwhelmed just hearing you talk about it.
And now I'm like-- We're about to start, uh,
training camp and, uh, you know, this week
and-and gearing up for the 22nd to start our season,
-so there's a lot of unknowns. -(children shouting in distance)
There's a lot of anxiety around, uh--
I got my kids running around here.
There's a lot of anxiety around, uh,
you know, just getting back to playing competitive basketball.
-'Cause we've been out since March. -Yeah.
And, uh, we got a lot of new faces.
Uh, we know, watching the Bubble,
that there's a lot of amazing teams out there
that, uh, have taken strides as-as contenders.
And-and you see what L.A. has, uh-- has done as champions.
So we know the work is cut out for us.
But, uh, our culture remains the same.
You know, me and Draymond, as the-the elder statesmen,
we'll call it, uh, you know, we've been around
and, uh, we-we know what it takes to-to win championships.
So we're excited for the challenge.
And, like, all the noise around us,
in terms of, you know, the different cast of characters
and the new guys, like, we’re gonna take that and run with it,
um, and, uh-- and-and do what we're gonna do this year.
So it's gonna be-- it's gonna be exciting, man.
I just want to play competitive basketball again.
It's-it's been-- it's been too long,
uh, sitting on the sidelines, and I'm excited about that.
One of the biggest reasons you're here today, man,
we're gonna talk about the Curry brand.
This is a major moment for you
and a major moment for any athlete,
where a major brand-- Like, you've worked
with Under Armour for a long time.
But we all know, in sports and in any apparel line,
it is huge when a brand says, "You know what,
"your name is so big and so powerful
that your name is gonna sort of stand alone within this brand."
We saw it with Jordan.
Steph Curry has now gone to the next level.
Talk us through the Curry brand, because what I--
what I really like about this is
it's not just about you having your own line.
You have an interesting idea of what you want
the Curry brand to stand for.
No doubt. I mean, you hit on a lot of points.
And, like, it's, one, surreal to know
that, uh, this is actually happening.
And it's been, you know, a conversation
and-and strategizing over, you know, two years now with,
you know, my team and with Under Armour,
in terms of-- Like, you said, I've been with them since 2013.
We've done amazing things in the signature business
and built a substantial business that, uh,
um, has had a lot of ups and downs,
but it's been an amazing learning process
and, uh, we've grown a lot.
So taking the foundation of what that is
and the relationship that we've had
and-and being able to launch Curry Brand,
where, you know, you have,
um, an opportunity to have purpose.
And, you know, a part of the mission,
a part of the bottom line of what we do
and everything that you participate in with the brand--
the product, apparel, whatever it is,
uh, all the different campaigns that we're gonna run--
um, there is a-a message and a meaning behind it
and that is to ensure that, you know, our next generation
has, you know, equal and-and equitable access
to sports across the country.
We're starting here in my home-- you know, my backyard
in the Bay Area, but there are some crazy numbers
about, you know, participation in youth sports,
how it's declining, you know, year after year
and, obviously, the impact that COVID has had.
Um, we know our role, and we're gonna play our role,
you know, to the best of our ability
and-and use, again, the platform that I have,
the story that I've been able to be a part of,
and-and, uh-- and even looking ahead into the future,
that, you know, when it comes to doing amazing things
and putting out, you know, dope stories and dope products,
that you're changing people's lives over the course of, uh--
over the course of this journey.
And that's something for us that, uh, is exciting
and hopefully can be something unique
that you haven't seen before.
Well, I think there are a lot of parts of it that are unique.
You know? It's not just the partnership
but it's what you're trying to do.
One of my favorite parts of the partnership is how
you guys are gonna be setting out to create safe places
where kids can play sports.
And-and a lot of people take that for granted.
Like, you know, if-if you grew up and you think back
and you go, like, "Man, how many times did you get up
to some shit as a kid because you couldn't play sports?"
You know? And you-you just-- You know? (stammers)
Like my grandmother used to say,
idle hands are the devil's playground.
You know? And-and sports has been shown, time again,
it teaches you responsibility, it just gets your mind going,
it's great for mental health,
it gets the kids out of the streets.
It is a wonderful way to build camaraderie
and-and just self-esteem.
So, you're gonna be doing that. You're gonna be working.
How are you gonna be picking the cities?
And where do you hope to see the program expanding?
No doubt. And the biggest part is
we're not reinventing the wheel with this--
we're just being able to draw attention, awareness,
resources, and-and, uh, support
to not only certain communities that need,
to your point, safe spaces to play,
uh, but coaches and-and leaders in these communities,
being able to train them, um,
in the ways to reach the next generation,
um, and be able to create that connection.
Um, but also programming.
We know, uh, to your point,
when you talk about what sports teaches us
and just being able to participate--
Not every kid's gonna be a pro athlete
in whatever sport they decide,
um, but, you know, sports gives you that perseverance,
that discipline, that determination
that you carry into whatever your, you know,
career path you choose and whatever opportunity
is in front of you, so...
Uh, the one thing that I looked at in my journey
is I-I never had to-to worry about, you know,
I want to go play basketball, oh, where do I go?
-Right. -Um, you know, where-where is there a place
that I can go hoop and work on my game
uh, in, uh, in that kind of, uh, you know, scenario.
Not-- a lot of kids don't have an answer to that question.
And we want to be that answer.
Um, and-and-and we talk about where we decide to go?
That's listening to community.
That's how we started here at, uh,
Manzanita Park right at--
uh, in downtown Oakland, um...
The community had been petitioning
and campaigning trying to get, you know,
that-that, uh, community center refurbished
for years and years and we heard their-their call
and-and got it done, so that's gonna be the, uh,
the-the gas in the tank as we, uh,
you know, launch this brand and-and live out
our purpose and mission. We've got, we got to talk
about it now so people know what we're talking about.
But you'll be able to, uh,
to execute that out and live it out with everything that we do.
That's the challenge.
Well, you're doing it, man.
It's a challenge, but you're doing it every single day.
Feeding over a million kids in Oakland.
You know, getting back to the court in one of the most
challenging seasons the NBA's gonna see.
And, of course, having your voice heard in politics.
Steph Curry, thank you so much for taking the time, my dude.
No doubt, next time I see you,
just send me the color of sweatshirt,
-and we'll match it up. -I'll-I'll let,
I'll let you know ahead of time, man.
And you, you tell me who does your rolls.
I got to get some of those.
-I got you, I got you. -All right, my dude.