Despite winning an NBA title and MVP award of his own, Warriors G Stephen Curry "can't help but admire" Cavaliers F LeBron James, and admits that he "looks up to him, for the business empire James has built away from basketball," according to Joe Vardon of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. Curry said, "Any smart person that wants to be successful in life has people that they look up to or follow. ... He's obviously handled that part of his career very well and he's a great influence in that regard." Vardon notes James' endorsements include Nike, Kia, Sprite, Samsung and Beats by Dre. James also "walked away from McDonald's as a marketing partner so he could focus on Blaze Pizza, a fastfood pizza chain in which he has equity." Meanwhile, Curry "first signed with Under Armour" for less than $4M per year in '13, but now, his new UA deal "includes equity in the company" and runs through '24. Curry's other deals include water filtration brand Brita, JBL headphones, Degree deodorant, Muscle Milk, Express and ankle-bracelet maker ZAMST. Curry's business deals are "managed by Octagon, a more traditional athlete brand manager" than LRMR management, which James "chose to create" with friend Maverick Carter. Curry: "I have a game plan of what I want to represent and what I want to be attached to and kind of what I want to get out of on and off the court opportunities" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 2/16).
JUST A NORMAL GUY? Curry spoke with ABC’s Jesse Palmer from the NBA All-Star Game, with Palmer noting Curry is an "amazing player with numbers that would make any basketball fan’s head spin." Palmer: "As it turns out, despite his popularity, he's surprisingly a normal guy.” Curry might be the "most relatable superstar in the NBA because he’s not the tallest player in the game, can't jump the highest." Palmer: "He's a great shooter, and that's something that everyone all around the world can do.” Meanwhile, Curry said of playing golf with President Obama, “The only thing that was a little intimidating was the Secret Service. We lost the match. I did blame it on the Secret Service -- he's used to that kind of environment and I’m not. We need rematch and call it square” ("GMA," ABC, 2/15).
