Behind The Scenes Of "My Free Agency Sneaker Collection" With Sotheby's

Obviously with the Mambacitas, this was what started the entire run in San Antonio, getting to wear these during pregame. Very, very special moment that kind of sent some shockwaves through the sneaker industry. What was that? All right, oh, we had the bonus Timbs too. Oh yeah.

I forgot. You want to pull those?

That's just the sound bite. I got those too. We have a pretty extravagant layout happening here. Can you give the viewers some context on what's going on?

Here we have the Stephen Curry collection. My sneaker freak, Free Agency, and we have a ton of pairs that Stephen wore during the whole sneaker free agency period. Tunnel pairs, practice pairs, and of course game-worn pairs. You can even start here. Look at these Kobes. Stephen scored 48 points in these. As you go through it, I mean, we got some really cultural pairs. Here we got the flu game pairs. He wore these in the tunnel.

Mm-hmm.

Really cool. And he wore these against Utah, which was a nod, of course, to Michael Jordan's flu game in the 1997 NBA Finals. All these pairs are open for bidding starting on April 13th, and the money, 100% of the hammer price, is gonna go to Eat, Learn, Play.

I'm Chris Helfrich, CEO of Stephen and Ayesha Curry's Eat, Learn, Play Foundation. Stephen and Ayesha formed Eat, Learn, Play in 2019. Eat, Learn, Play works to make sure that students have what they need, whether that's access to nutritious meals, one-on-one tutoring support so that they can become strong, confident readers, access to youth sports through school, And we are remodeling every schoolyard in elementary schools in Oakland so that these kids have dream places to play and learn and grow every day.

I'm Stephen Curry, point guard for the Golden State Warriors and also the co-founder of the Eat Learn Play Foundation out here in Oakland, California.

Sneaker free agency is pretty rare for a player, for any player, but a player of your status specifically. How are you trying to make the most of that opportunity throughout the season?

To be honest, free agency was a surprise. It wasn't something I was going into the season thinking about, but once the opportunity presented itself, I told not only myself but my team I wanted to have as much fun as possible, you know, being able to tell stories from generations and eras of old all the way to the present, highlight other signature athletes who are doing amazing things in the game, but hopefully like reinvigorate some energy into the sneaker industry that I think has gone a long way. The suspense of not knowing you know, which shoes I was gonna show up in, tying a theme or a story to the opponent or the city that I was playing against or playing in. And just, again, having as much fun as possible between, you know, the opportunity in front of me to leverage every time I step foot on the floor or walk through a tunnel. So I think we accomplished that.

Did you have any shoe in mind when you started and you knew that you could wear whatever you wanted that you were like, "This is definitely gonna be the one"?

To be honest, it was a Vince Carter Shox. Just because that was something that when I was growing up, it was the shoe that I felt like when I put it on, I could do anything. It was like right during the Vince Sanity years. My dad played against him and with him in Toronto. And so me and my brother used to always Nike ID our Shocks back in the day. And anytime we put them on, we just felt different. So for me to have played against Vince in the league and then full circle, be able to rock his shoes, That was one I was looking forward to the most. These are one of my favorites, the Kobe 4 Protros, just 'cause this was the very first Kobe that I got to wear in a game in Portland. They're kind of bittersweet for me too because I had 48 wearing these, but we also lost. So good memories and bad memories, but memories nonetheless. So the Edison Chen AE-1s, I made a few full-court pregame tunnel shot with these on. Got to rock those.

You kind of had some other categories that we broke it down into. One was like players that you play against and playing against them in those shoes, players that you grew up thinking were icons, causes that you can shine a light on, and then probably just shoes that are sick that you like.

Yeah, I think the one category of being able to pay tribute to the icons that I grew up either watching, emulating my game after, or just being a fan of basketball. Like, you can't go wrong with any Jordan, to be honest. It doesn't matter which one it was. The first ones I got to wear during the Utah game, walking in with the flu games on, going on the court in the last shots— like, those moments, I never would have imagined I'd be able to pay tribute in that way. You know, wearing the Mamacita Kobe's is kind of a jump jumpstart to the entire free agency, you know, season for me. And then like fast forward into other signature athletes that are in the game right now, which was a cool moment of being able to, you know, rock my teammate Jimmy Butler's shoes in games, or Tyrese Halliburton, who had his first, you know, Puma shoe out, and I got to text him before the game like, "Yo, I'm gonna rock your shoes," and just getting that, uh, That feedback and that energy from him and the excitement when I got to go on court with him. All the way to Sabrina, being able to wear her shoes and, you know, she's a great friend, represents the Bay just like I do. And then having her in the building for the first time that I wore her shoes against Utah. So those type of moments. Another cool one was Kevin Garnett wearing his Nike shoes. I think it was his, the 3s. And being able to, actually somebody reminded me that there was a picture When I was in Toronto playing one-on-one against Muggsy Bogues, I was wearing those exact same shoes when they originally came out back in, I think it was like '99. So all of those things just keep the excitement and the energy going because there's so many connections and ways to honor not only, you know, again, you know, eras of old, but the current wave of signature athletes. The AE2s, but these are a kind of, what do you call it? Custom collab of his shoe. Obviously putting the 30 on the side, putting the WSC on the back. Very special. Shout out to Tim Duncan. I don't know how they played in these back in the day, but they did. Very special wearing these against, uh, into the game against San Antonio.

Ooh.

This was a fun one in D.C. The Howard University of the Jordan Low. Like, this is, I mean, just classic, obviously, with the HU Bison colorway, but I got to wear it in D.C. and represent the hometown school and the Howard golf team, which is alive and well, doing great things out there.

Okay, take us back to the first game in San Antonio.

So the backstory to this whole thing, the free agency season came pretty fast. It was from one week to the next, it became clear that this is the direction it was headed. And once my deal was done, it was like, "What do you do now?" And having that question, you know, and Nick DePaola, who's been a part of, you know, the process the entire time, we had a conversation going into that San Antonio game about which shoe would be kind of the right one to kind of break the seal on me not wearing an Under Armour shoe or my own signature shoe on the court. And we had a lot of ideas, even to the point of me walking in barefoot into the game and actually having a moment like that. But when it came down to it, I think the Mamacita spoke to how important storytelling is in a shoe, or can be in a shoe. What, you know, Kobe and Gigi meant and still mean to basketball. He's an inspiration, and as a, you know, the girl dad and being able to leverage, you know, a platform to obviously pay tribute to him, but have a moment that was special special to me, and hopefully to their family, and not really asking anything in return. It was just to be able to pay tribute. And so the fun part is when I put the shoes on, I left the locker room, there were so many people looking at me like, just confused. What you got those on for? Oh, you about to shock the world, break the internet, all those type of comments from my coaches and teammates and all that. And everybody had a smile on their face because they knew how important it was for me to have that moment. I was nervous walking all the way through the back, getting my warm-up in, and as soon as I got on the court, I just had a smile on my face just because it was a special, special moment that kind of jump-started this whole free agency season. Oh yes, the Noctas. We got the Drakes that I wore in Toronto. It's pretty self-explanatory. Drake throwing some culture into the shoe game. I got to rock those. These right here, the Ants Ky 3s. Wore these in Dallas, and I got to debut these for Kyrie. I texted him before the game, and sometimes it's always kind of hit or miss whether another signature athlete will be okay with, you know, they're not the first ones to wear their shoe in an actual game. And he was kind enough and understood the gesture to say yes, and that was a pretty special moment to to rock his shoes. I got nothing but respect for Kyrie. We had so many battles over the years and got to wear his shoe against his team. I think I got reinvigorated by this process just because, you know, it allowed me just to have fun and be present on how blessed I am to be able to play this game at the highest level and the connection to basketball history that I'm standing on the shoulders of giants that kind of paved the way. And now every night I get to shine a light on something that either is important are obviously important to me, but that could hopefully bring like that same kind of energy to somebody else. Case in point, like Candace Parker reaching out to me after I got to wear her Adidas from back in the day. You know, teammates that I've had, you know, guys that I've played against or looked up to who I know personally, and they would reach out. And Dwyane Wade, you know, for example, getting a text from him saying, "Oh, that was such an amazing, such a dope moment. Thank you." So that just kept me in the present. And allowed me to enjoy what was happening now and not worry about anything else. The GPs, which by the way, made my teammate GP2 so happy. He actually brought some of his old pairs out the next day after he saw me wearing his pop's shoes. So we got the glove on the back. I wore these on the sideline during that game. I was hurt that game. Got the J-Kids. This is a special iconic shoe. This is like just a classic. You know, he's still doing amazing things coaching in the league, so shout out to J-Kidd. I think wearing Allen Iverson's shoe, the Questions. I wore those on Christmas Day. And one, like, from a style perspective, trying to dress up some classic shoes with a fire outfit walking in the tunnel, with a little, you know, that toe pop, that toe block, and just a little reveal. And it's such an iconic shoe, like, once everybody saw it, they knew exactly what shoe it was. And personally, you know, AI has always been one of my biggest fans and supporters. He puts me on every top 5, you know, all-time list anytime he's asked, and he always says I'm his favorite player. So to be able to pay, you know, homage that way, especially on a Christmas Day moment, and come in, you know, with his kicks on, I think that was a special moment. So these were special This is a pair that I knew about but didn't know where they were for the last decade. These 2010 Hyperdunks that I wore in my first ever Christmas Day game against the Portland Trail Blazers, my second year in the league. Our incredible equipment manager/director of everything at the Warriors, Mr. Eric Howzen, as soon as I started talking about, you know, shoe free agency and different moments, He pulled me aside at the facility and he said, you know, I think I have some old pairs of your PEs. And I was like, oh, for real? I didn't even know you kept some. He's like, yeah, I gave 2 pair of shoes to my mom and I think she stored them at her house in her garage this entire time. So he's like, I'm gonna go over there and check and see if I found them. The next day I came into the facility, in front of my locker were these beautiful shoes. These are the only pair that were the original pair that I wore and brought back to wear again 15 years later. So the only ones you can get that check both boxes. So these right here are special for a lot of reasons. Mr. Klay Thompson, my Splash Brother, who I got to wear his latest signature, the Anta Klay Thompson 11s, and wear them against the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day this year. And play against Klay. So it's really cool knowing this is a very festive and Christmas colorway of his shoes, but to know like our history and the amount of battles that we've accomplished together, the heights that we've taken shooting, and, you know, just all the memories that we were able to create as teammates and the championships that we won. These are cool because I know for him, 11 means, you know, a lot. It's obviously his number. 11. But he was the 11th pick in the 2011 draft. And there's a lot of like Easter eggs on things that are really special to him. And so for me to be able to rock those with Klay back in the building, you know, means the world. So Christmas Day 2025 kicks right here. I just think this collection screams something so unique and a part of history in the respect that I don't think anybody had on their bingo card me being a sneaker free agent. At this stage in my career. But I also know that because this opportunity happened, the fact that I got to shine a light on, you know, the capsule that's behind me and, and what's available through this auction, it is just a special time and place that you can participate in and be a part of in a way that is also going to a cause and a mission that means the world to me, but also something that the work that we're doing in Oakland and the way that we're servicing you know, kids and providing resources for their future is what sports and basketball has, you know, allowed me to do my entire career. So I'm blessed in that respect, and the idea that I get to continue that work in such creative, unique ways means the world to me. Thank you.