Stephen Curry powered the Golden State Warriors to a 109-108 win over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup at Frost Bank Center on Friday. While Curry was the center of attention during the game, he also turned heads before tip-off.
Curry, who announced he had split with Under Armour on Thursday, surprisingly chose to wear the “Mambacita” Kobe 6s during warmups. The 37-year-old was unsurprisingly asked about the significance behind that decision in his postgame press conference.
“I’m a free agent,” Curry said. “… New beginnings. I was blessed to have an unbelievable experience to take a chance on something that meant a lot to me over the last 13 years. And extremely proud of what myself, my team, everybody who was able to touch that business for that long.
“We all should be proud of what we were able to accomplish, and taking a basketball brand or brand and category that wasn’t really a thing before to where we did,” Curry added. “But I am excited about the future.”
Curry, of course, had left Nike and signed with Under Armour in 2013. The two-time MVP had not split with Nike on the best of terms, as they had made two huge blunders when trying to re-sign him. That made his decision to wear the shoes pregame even more of a shock, but the Kobe Bryant factor played a part.
“I know it’s weird seeing me in anything else other than my own shoes,” Curry stated. “But just the idea of what he meant, I talk about Kobe 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.”
Curry put up 49 points (16-26 FG), four rebounds, two assists, and two steals against the Spurs. The 11-time All-Star set a new season-high for points in the process, and it sure looks like he got some good energy from wearing those shoes pregame.
Curry switched to his Curry Brand shoes during the game and will keep wearing them when he’s playing. As for pregame, it looks like he might keep chopping and changing.
Stephen Curry On Ending The Partnership With Under Armour
Curry was also asked postgame why he decided to end his 13-year partnership with Under Armour. He unsurprisingly didn’t delve too much into it, but did seem to hint that it was for the best for both sides.
“Just in the best interest of both parties,” Curry said. “The sneaker industry is difficult, and like I said, things change over time. To the point of, you give your best effort to create something sustainable, and 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,” Curry added. “And 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.”
The Curry 13s will be the final Curry Brand shoe released in partnership with Under Armour and are scheduled to come out in February 2026. It will be interesting to see if the guard signs with another sneaker giant or goes solo after this.
Getting back to this game, the win saw the Warriors improve to 8-6. They take on the New Orleans Pelicans next at Smoothie King Center on Sunday at 7 PM ET.
