“Doesn’t Happen Without You, Kent Bazemore”: Stephen Curry Credits Former Teammate for Potential Lifetime Under Armour Deal

After being associated with the brand for 10 years, Stephen Curry and Under Armour have agreed to sign a new long-term extension.

According to various sources, this deal includes annual pay, equity, incentive bonuses, and much more, which could end up being one of the most profitable endorsements in sporting history.

With the signing, the Golden State Warriors leader will become the president of the Curry Brand among other resources for the brand.

The 2-time NBA MVP recently spoke about the deal that is expected to extend way beyond after his retirement.

“We started with the signature business, and with the opportunity to deepen the partnership, with an expectation of it going past my playing days and the added investment in the great things that we both bring to the table, it’s an exciting time to strengthen that partnership,” said Curry.

However, had it not been for the valuable contributions from Kent Bazemore 10 years back, Curry might not have been the recipient of such a lucrative deal.

How Kent Bazemore helped Stephen Curry?

As surprising as it sounds, back in 2012, a rookie convinced the budding star to join Under Armour after parting ways with Nike.

Entering the league, Bazemore already had a deal with UA. When Steph noticed that the brand treated an inexperienced player so greatly, he seemed intrigued.

According to Wardell, the rookie received “more gear and boxes” than anyone else on the roster.

Later, as the year progressed and the two grew closer, the southpaw swingman sold the idea of UA to The Baby-Faced Assassin.

In an interview with ESPN’s Ethan Sherwood Strauss, Bazemore spoke about the same process:

“Steph’s like, ‘My deal is up.’ I’m like, ‘Man, come over here, get your own shoe.’ I hadn’t talked to anybody at Under Armour about this. I was making all these promises, like ‘Get your own shoe, you’re the face of the game,’ sending out all these hypotheticals. I haven’t talked to anyone over there.”

UA and Steph can thank Kent Bazemore for their immense success.

Steph’s stats from the 2022-2023 season

Thanks to their success in the last week, the Warriors now sit in the 6th position. With merely 5 games left before the conclusion of the regular season, the San Francisco-based franchise is somewhat comfortable as they are 1 game ahead of the 7th seed New Orleans Pelicans.

While the likes of Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole have been great, Stephen Curry’s performance has been impactful, to say the least.

Recording his 9th season reaching the 250 3PM milestone, the 4-time champ has been averaging 29.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game.