OAKLAND, Calif. — There are parties on Stephen and Ayesha Curry's calendars this weekend. There will be celebrations, brunches, dinners, all that stuff. Red carpets, tons of photos, late nights, early mornings and after all that, there's the All-Star Game on Sunday night.
But first, there was a dump truck-sized load of mulch to spread, 300 volunteers to greet, 800 plants to get into soil, things to build, courts to dedicate and children to help.
The Currys — the unofficial hosts of this All-Star weekend in the Bay Area — are using their platform for these three days to highlight many of their loves: basketball, fashion, food, friends and giving back. It's why their weekend started Friday at an elementary school in Oakland, where the couple's Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation hosted a day of service and a playground renovation as part of their ongoing commitment to helping schools and kids that need it most.
“We just love Oakland,” Ayesha Curry said, standing next to her husband, in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday. “This is where we both became adults, where we started our life together, where we had our first child. And so for us, Oakland has always left this enormous impact on our spirits. And we’ve always said that we would continue to be a part of the community, even if we weren’t necessarily right in Oakland every single day.”
There is that element, and it's not an insignificant one. Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors don't play in Oakland anymore, but the Currys vowed that they would not turn their backs on Oakland just because the team moved across the Bay to San Francisco.
“We have an amazing team behind us that is taking the direction and the commitment that Ayesha and I have to Oakland and leverage that to create amazing impact," Stephen Curry said. "This is our 17th playspace renovation. And when you think back to our favourite moments, it is showing up, doing an unveiling, feeling the energy from kids, the teachers, administration. When they feel seen and they give you that energy back, it makes the world of difference.”
He was born in Ohio and grew up in Charlotte, N.C. She's from Toronto. But Golden State is where Stephen Curry has played for his entire career — and he'd like to see it stay that way — so they consider the Bay Area home.
“We do plan on staying here after basketball’s done,” Stephen Curry said. “It’s definitely home.”
Their foundation — which they founded about five years ago, around the time the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the need for help — has taken off quickly. They both have wildly successful careers: He's considered the greatest shooter of all time and a four-time NBA champion; she's a chef and restaurateur among many other things. But the work outside of their jobs consumes them, and that's why they try to show how much it matters.
The foundation is focusing on the basics — nutrition, exercise, schoolwork — and has taken a particular focus on literacy in recent months.
“That’s going to mean that kids are graduating and that’s going to mean that kids are moving on to something better in the future,” Ayesha Curry said.
It will be a hectic three days, without question. The Warriors played road games Wednesday and Thursday. They arrived home around 2 a.m. Friday, allowing Stephen Curry the chance to get a few hours of sleep, and then it's go-go-go the rest of the weekend.
Tiring? Sure.
But Stephen Curry — now an 11-time All-Star selection, this one a few months removed from him helping the U.S. win Olympic gold at the Paris Games — isn't complaining.
This weekend is just a slew of opportunities in his eyes. Some of them, like the All-Star Game, will be shown to 214 countries around the world on Sunday night; some of them were seen by hardly anyone on Friday, but kids will enjoy their benefits for years.
“This is a great opportunity to kind of reflect on everything that’s gone into our experience here in the Bay,” Stephen Curry said. “Celebrate it. Being the de facto host is kind of a responsibility, but I think we’re embracing it. It's going to be crazy, a whirlwind and you can take a collective breath when Sunday is over. But I’m excited about it all because it means we have an opportunity to shine a light on the Bay and everything that the Bay is about and everything that we’ve experienced for these last 16 years.”
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