Golden State Warriors ace Stephen Curry is well-known for the host of initiatives he undertakes for under-represented basketball talent. As part of his Underrated tour, Curry recently hosted the 4th edition of his Underrated tour basketball camp. At the same time, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has come under fire for the IMG Academy Basketball Camp that he is associated with. The $20,000,000 worth Stephen A. Smith’s basketball cost a whopping $3,000 per kid. Smith has staunchly defended the program on his “The Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast, with Stephen Curry only recently announcing his plans to expand his free basketball camps. As part of his Underrated tour, Curry revealed on the Syndio podcast that he will visit a host of high schools in order to provide free training to kids.
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Stephen A. Smith is one of the most recognizable analysts in the world of basketball. Furthermore, he has found success via his podcast, “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” and has also published several books. All of these have contributed to his incredible $20,000,000 net worth.
Stephen Curry has been hosting free basketball camps for years
Ironically, the Curry announcement came after a break of almost three years, which was due to the COVID lockdown. Steph had only recently announced his plans to restart his free basketball camps as part of his Underrated tour.
The Apple TV documentary has given Steph a unique chance to travel the country, and he seems intent on making the most of it. Curry claimed that he was focussed on helping unprivileged basketball players to the best of his ability, and plans to host further camps regularly.
The news comes in the backdrop of Stephen A. Smith’s partnership with IMG Academy. At a recent Florida basketball camp, each kid was charged an entry fee of $3000. This has been vehemently defended by Smith himself, who claimed that the organization provides top-of-the-class facilities and works to help underprivileged kids as well.
Smith had only recently defended the IMG Academy Camp he is associated with, talking about the program’s reputation of bringing forth top high-school stars.
Regardless, upcoming youngsters might be tempted more by Stephen Curry’s Underrated Basketball camps. Apart from being a bonafide NBA legend, Curry’s camp is not charging anything close to the $3k exorbitant fee that the IMG Academy is charging.
Smith himself has never played basketball and is said to be closely involved in the program. However, Steph himself plans to be a part of each of his upcoming training camps, which represents a huge opportunity for underprivileged basketball players.
Stephen A. Smith is himself known to help underprivileged communities
There is little doubt that Smith’s partnership with IMG is a stark removal from the usual. Stephen Smith is known for his philanthropy and regularly gives back to the community.
Smith has himself revealed in the past that he donated between $50-100k towards his alma mater. He is also the ambassador of HBCU Week and is involved in multiple charitable initiatives, according to Yahoo Sports.
Hence, while youngsters might be more tempted by the free basketball camp being organized by Steph, Smith has also been working towards giving back to the community. His influence goes far beyond the money that he donates, as he is also known to actively support initiatives in any way that he can.
