We caught up with the reigning NBA MVP on the second leg of his Asia tour which includes stops in Shenyang, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Taipei. Aside from providing us with a look at the two new Chinese-novel inspired UA Curry 2.5 colorways from the “Journey to Excellence Pack,” Stephen also took the time to give us his thoughts and predictions on the upcoming season for his Warriors team. Curry also touches on the similarities and differences of basketball in Asia versus America, and gives us some exclusive insight on his current and upcoming signature sneakers with UA.
The team broke the record of 73 wins last year, but lost in the finals. If there was a chance to rewind, which one would you want to keep? Breaking the record or taking the championship?
Oh, a championship for sure. We wish we could’ve gotten both last year, but it didn’t work out that way. This year, 74 isn’t really a goal, if it happens it happens, all of our energy will be spent on getting ourselves ready for a championship run. We want to have a great regular season obviously, we don’t want any slip ups. Coming into the season with the goal of 74 is a good focus to try and win a championship.
In the last few seasons, the Warriors operated cohesively and with a unique bond between players and coaches. With all the off-season changes, how do you think the team will respond? How long do you think the adjustment period will be?
There will be an adjustment period, there will be some rocky times, it’s not going to be a perfect transition. A lot of different personalities, or new personalities I should say. A different vibe than we’ve had the last 3-4 years, our core is pretty much the same minus HB [Harrison Barnes] and Bogs [Andrew Bogut], but I think we’ve added some great character guys that will fit into our identity and who we are as a team, and there’s only one goal this year and that’s the win a championship. Whatever it takes, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.
From your point of view, what’s the biggest difference between young players in Asia and America?
There’s a lot of similarities, they are all hungry, all passionate about the game. Maybe the one difference is the physical make-up of players around the world and the different skill sets you have attached to it to work on. Most of the players in China, they love to shoot, they want to work on that part of the game. They want to be able to shoot from all sorts of places on the floor. You’re not going too many high flyers, but you’re going to have a lot of different well-rounded skilled players that can show what they’re about.
There are 3 shoes in the UA Curry series now. What is first priority for the sneakers, any special requirements like cushioning or ankle support?
Ankle support is definitely the key for me, considering my history. I am big on comfort. I want the shoe to be stylish obviously, I want it to look good. I want it to jump off the shelves when you look at it, but it has to have that performance aspect to give me confidence on the court. After that, there are certain kind of personal mantras and things that make it signature to me like “I can do all things” and different sayings that are important to me that hopefully I can share that message.
Can you tell me more about the upcoming Curry 3?
Well it’s gonna be awesome for one. It’s got a totally different look than the Curry 1 and 2. We tried to branch out and bring some innovation to the scene, and there’s a lot of colorways and stories that we’re going to tell through the shoe that I think people will really attach to, and think they’ll like.
PHOTOGRAPHERKENNETH DENG/HYPEBEAST
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