Stephen and Ayesha Curry have a busy weekend ahead with parties, brunches, dinners, red carpets, photos, late nights, and early mornings. Of course, there’s also the All-Star Game on Sunday night.
But before all of that, they had a lot of work to do. There was a huge pile of mulch to spread, 300 volunteers to meet, 800 plants to plant, things to build, courts to open, and kids to help.
The Currys, who are considered the unofficial hosts of this All-Star weekend in the Bay Area, are using this time to highlight what they love most: basketball, fashion, food, friends, and giving back. Their weekend began Friday at an elementary school in Oakland, where their Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation hosted a day of service and a playground renovation as part of their ongoing work to support schools and children in need.
“We just love Oakland,” Ayesha Curry said, standing beside her husband during 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.”
This connection to Oakland is important to them. Even though Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors no longer play in Oakland, the Currys promised they would stay committed to the city, even after the team moved 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 leveraging that to create amazing impact,” Stephen Curry said.
“This is our 17th playspace renovation. And when you think back to our favorite moments, it is showing up, doing an , feeling the energy from kids, the teachers, and administration. When they feel seen and they give you that energy back, it makes the world of difference.”
Stephen Curry was born in Ohio and grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, while Ayesha is from Toronto. But for them, Golden State is home, where Stephen has played his entire career, and they plan to stay there even after he’s done playing basketball.
Stephen Curry and his wife Ayesha speak to students of East Oakland Pride Elementary School as part of the NBA basketball league’s Day of Service“We do plan on staying here after basketball’s done,” Stephen Curry said. “It’s definitely home.”
Their foundation, which they started about five years ago around the time the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the need for help, has grown quickly. Both have incredibly successful careers: Stephen is known as the greatest shooter of all time and a four-time NBA champion, while Ayesha is a chef, restaurateur, and much more. However, their work outside of their careers takes up a lot of their time, and that’s why they want to show how important it is.
The foundation focuses on the basics like nutrition, exercise, and schoolwork, with a recent emphasis on literacy.
“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.
The next three days will be busy for the Currys. The Warriors played road games on Wednesday and Thursday, arriving home around 2 a.m. Friday. This gave Stephen a few hours of sleep, but after that, it’s non-stop for the weekend.
Is it tiring? Yes.
But Stephen, now an 11-time All-Star and just a few months removed from helping the U.S. win Olympic gold at the Paris Games, isn’t complaining.
For him, this weekend is full of chances to do something meaningful. While the All-Star Game will be watched by 214 countries on Sunday night, some of the events, like those on Friday, were seen by just a few, but their impact will be felt by kids 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.”
