Stephen Curry’s presence at Under Armour has made the brand’s basketball line grow to be as popular as it has, with some comparing the Warriors star guard’s decision to join the young brand when he entered the NBA similarly impactful on Under Armour as Michael Jordan’s choice to go with Nike was back in 1984.
Under Armour seems to agree and ahead of the launch of Stephen’s Curry 8 sneaker, the company announced officially that December 1 will bring the launch of Curry Brand, his own standalone brand that will be “backed by Under Armour’s performance innovations.” It’s a big move for Steph and Under Armour, but one they hope will continue to grow his presence in the sneaker and apparel space. Curry has been showing off his new brand’s logo in recent weeks, including during The Match III this past weekend, and the Curry 8 will be available from CurryBrand.com and at retailers on December 11, with apparel dropping on December 1.
Curry Brand promises to reinvest a percentage of its revenues into under-resourced communities, focusing in three areas: creating safe places to play, providing programming and product to youth sports leagues and teams, and coaching and leadership development. The stated goal for the brand, per its release, is to create 20 safe places to play, support 125 athletics programs, and train 15,000 coaches by 2025.
“Play is a fundamental part of childhood and is critical to development. So much of who I am as a person and a leader today is because of playing sports as a kid,” Curry said in the release. “I learned the value of hard work, resilience, teamwork, communication, time management—sports teach young athletes so many critical life skills, which is why I’m passionate about making sure everyone has access to these opportunities, first through my foundation and now through Curry Brand.”
The initiatives will begin in Oakland, where Curry and Under Armour have partnered previously and Curry obviously has roots from his years with the Warriors prior to their move across the Bay, before eventually growing into a nationwide effort.