My Kids' College Fund is Steph Curry Shoes
Some say he's ruined the game. I say he ruined my wallet.
Hi there, this is post #3 in my “Stephtember” series… tales of Wit, Wisdom, and Wardell Stephen Curry.
Fair warning: this one starts VERY heavy on basketball, but it’s all a set-up for a personal story. Stay with me.
#RuinTheGame
For those of you who don't follow basketball—especially NBA basketball—I have to catch you up.
Maybe you've seen a Steph Curry highlight on social media. A 100-foot shot. A back-breaking game winner. Or maybe you watched him hit four 3-pointers in three minutes to lock the gold medal for the U.S. this summer:
I am not messing with you when I say that Steph is the most impactful basketball player since Michael Jordan.
More than LeBron. More than Kobe. More than Shaq. More than KD.
Not a better player. But he’s been more impactful to the global game of hoops.
What? This 6-2 skinny nepo baby from Davidson College?
Blasphemy!
Proof: the year before Steph entered the league (2008-09), the New York Knicks led the league with 28 3-point attempts per game. The Oklahoma City Thunder was dead last with just 11 attempts per game.
Just 15 years later, the Boston Celtics led the league last season with over *42* attempts per game... almost HALF of their shots! The Denver Nuggets, the LOWEST 3-point-shooting team, still averaged 31 per game... three shots MORE than the TOP team just a generation back.
The difference?
Everyone shoots from deep now.
Check this shot chart comparison from NBA analyst Kirk Goldsberry:
Have you seen youth rec league games these days? It’s 8- and 9-year olds hoisting 20-footers. No layups. Just bombs away.
Look at Victor Wembanyama, last year's NBA Rookie of the Year. He's a 7-4 Frenchman who can dunk without jumping. But he also can shoot from deep.
But why Steph? Why has he influenced so many, so quickly?
Easy.
Almost no one has LeBron James-esque shoulder musculature. Most people will never hit even six-feet tall, much less NBA heights. (I just got passed up by my 13yo daughter!)
But everyone can practice. Learn a skill. It seems almost do-able. All it takes in putting in the work.
He’s an everyman. He’s a beacon of hope for the rest of us.
Steph Curry uses—and has trademarked— the phrase #RuinTheGame.
But he hasn’t just “ruined” basketball.
He’s also ruined my wallet.
The Quest for 2,974
In late 2021, Steph was poised to break the all-time NBA three-point record.
The previous record holder, Ray Allen, had made 2,973 three-pointers during his Hall of Fame career.
He needed 1,300 games to do it.
A half-generation later, Steph was about to break his record, but in only 786 games.
He finally broke it with this shot—number 2,974—at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.
As a massive fan, I had thought about flying out to the game. I wish I would have. I’m still KICKING MYSELF for not going. These moments don't come around too often.
But, alas.
Steph's endorsed shoe company Under Armour made a special shoe to commemorate the achievement… the UA Curry Flow 8 "2974 edition."
These were fancy. Custom stitched. Custom “2,974” all over the shoe. In the sole, on the tongue. In the lining.
And get this: they released a limited number of pairs—only (you guessed it) 2,974.
Scarcity!
I had to get a pair.
I tried to sign up for the initial sale, but didn't make it in time. They sold out too quickly.
Almost immediately, sellers popped up on eBay, offering the shoes at steep prices. Some, over $1,000.
But I had a clever idea—I would lowball a few sellers with quick bids. More than the original sales price, but less than asking.
Most would ignore me, but someone might take me up on my offer to make a quick buck.
I put in ten bids and went to bed.
Surely one of them would take the bait.
I woke up to an inbox full of eBay messages.
Eight sellers approved my bids.
EIGHT.
Eight pairs of Curry Flow 8s were on their way.
I should have panicked but this is how my brain works:
I started thinking about dollar-cost averaging. You know how gambling addicts think they can “beat the house” by continuing to double their bet?
Could I get my hands on MORE shoes to lower the average price point?
Could I corner the market on these shoes? With eight pairs, I only had 0.3% of the market. Could I get that up to 1%? Then I could do some damage.
I could be the OPEC of these bad boys. Introduce some REAL scarcity. Artificially drive up the price. My Gulfstream personal jet was so close. Powered by my sneaker monopoly.
I didn’t do any of that, thank God.
But the boxes started arriving and one thing became clear:
I had to tell my wife what I had done.
“So, I’ve done a thing, and it’s not terrible, per se, but I *do* need you to know about it.”
I told her that my plan was to sell most of them when Curry retires or gets voted into the Hall of Fame. Gary Vee says that’s when the price pops.
“Are you going to wear them?” she asked.
NEVER.
These shoes aren’t for me. They’re for the kids’ college fund.
This is investing. Like gold, but even *more* rare.
She wasn’t mad. But she did give me some side-eye, which I felt was appropriate.
I’m grateful.
But here’s what’s happened since.
My wife is very generous. She doesn’t spend money on herself much. But she does (occasionally) (ahem) go overboard on gifts for others, or (wait for it) books and supplies for my kids’ teachers and school library.
That’s right. I’ve married a saint. Someone who (checks notes) cares about other people to an enviable degree.
Whenever I question these purchases, she now has a tailor-made comeback:
“Don’t worry, I only spent half a pair of Currys.”
Ruined the game, indeed.
Have you ever had to justify an online purchase to a spouse or loved one? (or a therapist?)
Thanks for following along. Here are my prior #Stephtember posts:
Wit, Wisdom, and Wardell (my Venn diagram)
Inside the Courtroom of Your Mind (All-Star Competition musings)
Stephtember 2023 (my first post)
Appreciate the follow.
Have a great day and keep up the good work!
Alec
Steph shoe futures? There are worse investments out there.
haha! I'd agree he probably is the most impactful player since Jordan. Now when I play basketball all the kids fantasize about making long 3's. They don't care about missing layups a lot. In my generation if you missed a layup your coach would chew you out for leaving such easy points off the board. Now it's not as big a deal. Very strange.