San Francisco Chronicle (Sunday)
THE WORLD IS HIS STAGE
Superstar guard preps for Olympics, peers ahead to his life after basketball
For all his basketball accolades — four championships and two MVP awards, most made 3-point shots ever, singular impact in revolutionizing the game — in some ways the most incomprehensible moment of Stephen Curry’s journey happened off the court. In the White House, actually. Curry and the Golden State Warriors visited 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in January 2023, in the wake of their NBA title the previous June. As his teammates and coaches waited for an imminent news conference, Curry and President Joe Biden strolled toward them down a long hallway. “Hail to the Chief ” played on the speakers.
Curry found the experience both “awkward” and “insane.” One thought bounced inside his head, briefly transporting him back to his childhood — when a short, scrawny kid dreamed of playing college hoops, not wearing a suit and tie while walking alongside the leader of the free world.
“I’m just like, ‘How did I get here?’ ” Curry said in a Chronicle interview, reflecting on the moment. “It’s like that voiceover in the movies, where you wonder how I got here. I’m still trying to figure that out.”
This memory surfaced during a spirited conversation about Curry’s long-range plans. He’s simultaneously rooted in the present — trying to help the United States win a gold medal at the upcoming Olympics in Paris, then resuming his efforts to lead the Warriors back to the playoffs — and also planting seeds for the future.
The Summer Games are part of this dynamic, as Curry prepares for his Olympic debut (training camp begins July 6 in Las Vegas). He’s 36, entering the twilight of his career, and couldn’t bypass the chance to join LeBron James and Kevin Durant on a loaded U.S. team coached by Steve Kerr.
But Curry, long a model for engagement in the community, also owns ambitions beyond basketball. Witness his many civic and business pursuits, including trying to improve the lives of Oakland schoolchildren … and working to combat malaria … and lobbying to keep
public school meals in the federal budget … and seeking to diversify golf, his second sport … and representing other athletes under the Curry Brand.
If that moment in the White House illustrated Curry’s distinctive clout, another moment showed his desire to use it even more whenever he’s done playing. Curry did not rule out a future run for president himself during an appearance on “CBS This Morning” in March, answering “maybe” when asked directly by interviewer Jericka Duncan.
The exchange sparked splashy headlines and lively jokes in the Curry home, where his wife, Ayesha, and their kids called him “Mr. President” for a few days. Curry acknowledged he’s nowhere near deciding if he’s truly interested in a second career in politics, partly because he would need Ayesha to sign off on it — and she’s a “hard no” now, he said, given the personal sacrifices.
Curry also understands the country’s polarizing political climate. He received a firsthand reminder in 2017, when he said he would vote “no” if the then-reigning champion Warriors were invited to the White House — with President Donald Trump in office — and Trump withdrew his “invitation” the next day on Twitter.
“With the state of the world right now,” Curry said, “I can see the need for whoever’s in that office to galvanize the right energy in our country, to be unifying.”
His wider, fundamental point: He has a platform he never expected, global reach conveyed in his social-media followings (56.5 million on Instagram, 17.4 million on Twitter/X).
And he doesn’t want to waste it.
So he won’t simply disappear to the nearest golf
course after he makes his final 3-pointer. Curry will survey the landscape he built — his company, Thirty Ink, encompasses eight businesses and 13 entities — and carefully figure out what comes next.
“The energy will be spent on doing whatever I can to leverage the platform for good, all the ways I know how,” he said. “Fifteen years ago, I had no idea I’d be having this conversation. Fifteen years from now, who knows? …
“There will be a temperature check, a little state of the union on everything I have going on and what I want the next chapter to look like. I want to be in a place where things are in motion. So when basketball is over, I know what sandboxes I want to play in and still leave room for the imagination of things I probably can’t foresee right now.”
Some things he can see clearly: At the core of Curry’s real-world vision is working to positively shape the lives of kids.
Eat. Learn. Play., the foundation he and Ayesha (an accomplished businesswoman herself) started in 2019, has raised and invested more than $70 million, distributed more than 25 million meals, poured $6.4 million into literacy programs and refurbished 18 school playgrounds in Oakland, according to a spokesperson. This focus on nutrition, reading and physical activity traces, in some ways, to Curry’s upbringing.
His dad, Dell, a 16-year NBA player, established several computer learning centers in Charlotte. Dell and Stephen’s mom, Sonya, made sure their three kids were involved in the effort, to “let them see we’re truly blessed,” as Dell put it.
Stephen Curry started helping out at the learning centers when he was about 8. His parents pounded home the need to spread their good fortune. “It was rooted in me from the jump,” Curry said.
That’s why he expects the foundation’s mission to become “our life’s work.” He and Ayesha now have four children of their own, after the birth of son Caius on May 11.
They’ve already started conversations with their kids, especially oldest daughter Riley (age 11), about the importance of volunteering and looking out for others. Curry said his and Ayesha’s “perspective is definitely shaped by having kids.”
If he decides politics is the best way to “leverage his platform for good,” Curry can start with uncommon people skills.
Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser pointed to the team’s annual games in Charlotte, Curry’s hometown. He occasionally interrupts his pregame routine to wave hello to his childhood dentist or a high-school teacher, then immediately resumes the workout.
“I’m talking about a connection you really feel when those eyes look at you and they don’t look away,” Fraser said. “Whatever that transaction is, whether it’s five seconds or five minutes, it’s always true. That’s part of Steph’s magic.”
Curry’s off-court pursuits create conflict at times. His basketball work ethic is well documented, from rigorous conditioning to exhaustive shooting drills, but Fraser occasionally needs to remind him “rest is a component of greatness.”
Fraser initiated one such conversation a few years ago, asking Curry to limit his non-basketball appearances and obligations to prioritize rest. He listened, for the most part.
It’s a challenging balancing act between basketball, family, philanthropy and business (though he acknowledged his leadership team handles most of the off-court work). Curry earns an estimated $50 million annually in endorsements — atop his Warriors salary of more than $55.7 million next season — most notably through his affiliation with UnderArmour/Curry Brand and various other sponsors. He also has a production company, Unanimous Media.
Maybe he ultimately will shun politics and expand these business interests. Maybe he will dive deeper into his foundation. Or grow his Underrated golf tour, which attempts to forge a path for minority players to high-level competition. Or try to play on the PGA Tour Champions when he turns 50.
Curry has given himself choices.
“The possibilities are limitless, because Steph is unique,” Kerr said. “What makes him unique is his humility, his vulnerability and his authenticity. Those things often don’t come in the package of someone with a worldwide platform who deals with fame every day, and the almost inevitable way that makes people more guarded.
“Those same qualities will make Steph appealing in a lot of other areas besides basketball. … So where he carries that, who knows?”
No matter where Curry carries himself after basketball — he doesn’t plan to stop playing anytime soon — his advisers will include one man who understands the power of a large platform.
Curry and the Warriors first visited the White House in February 2016, after their breakthrough championship eight months earlier. He and President Barack Obama connected and played golf later that year, the first of their handful of rounds together.
They keep in touch: Curry and Obama spoke recently about the former president’s foundation, and how it was raising funds and tapping resources for his presidential center in Chicago. Curry has “learned a lot” from Obama.
“We’ve talked about ways our foundation can kind of have a hyper focus, and that’s led to some of the stuff we’ve done,” Curry said. “I haven’t asked specific questions on (whispering), ‘Hey, if I want to be president’ …”
“He’s just a good sounding board to have, somebody I can trust who would shoot it to me straight on whatever the question. It’s mainly him being a good mentor, especially when it comes to being a public figure in this space.”
All this chatter is intriguing, playing out in the background as Curry stretches his basketball career into new frontiers. He’s suited up for USA Basketball before, including the 2010 World Championships and 2014 World Cup, but not in the Olympics.
Part of the problem was the Warriors making deep playoff runs, shortening Curry’s offseason and leaving him little time to recover. In that sense, 2024 worked out logistically — Golden State’s season ended April 16 with its play-in loss to Sacramento.
The timing also helped, with Kerr coaching the men’s national team and James returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2012. James has two Olympic gold medals, as does Draymond Green. Klay Thompson has one.
Curry has none for now, but it won’t be easy to secure gold in Paris. He joins a USA Basketball program coming off a disappointing fourth-place finish in last year’s World Cup, when the Americans’ defensive shortcomings were vividly exposed.
Spain (assuming it qualifies), Germany, Serbia, Australia and Canada are among the teams poised to challenge the U.S. It’s a “win or fail” proposition, as Kerr noted, but Curry — after an NBA season in which he averaged 26.4 points and again led the league in 3pointers made (357) — craved the chance to fill the one gap on his glittering resume.
“To represent your country on the biggest stage was a goal of his,” Dell Curry said, “and it’s cool he’ll accomplish that on the tail end of his career.”
Or, as Fraser said, “There’s a communal kind of energy around this. It doesn’t feel like a desperation last crack for Steph, it’s more of a life experience and great opportunity. The timing is perfect.”
More opportunities await down the road.