“A very, very, very special night.”
That’s how Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, once a New York Knicks hopeful, described his return to Madison Square Garden Tuesday to cap off one of the NBA’s most closely watched record chases.
Just minutes into the first quarter versus the now 12-16 Knicks, the Under Armour ambassador quickly tied and then broke Hall of Famer Ray Allen’s three-point shot record, sinking a pair of threes to mark his 2,973rd and 2,974th successful volleys from behind the arc and take the crown as the league’s reigning long-range leader.
“I can’t express how much of an honor that was for the reaction here on the road and the appreciation for this milestone,” Curry, who finished with 22 points and is averaging 26.9 points per game this season, told TNT “Game Break” hosts after the Warriors defeated the Knicks 105-96.
The two-time MVP and Davidson College alum has racked up impressive stats in the past two seasons, lacing up in his Curry Brand Flow 8 sneakers during the abbreviated 2020-2021 stretch to carry a depleted team and put his name back in the most-valuable player discussion last spring. Notorious for his early-career ankle injuries, the 33-year-old father of three has come back seemingly better than ever after a 2019 hand injury sidelined him for months.
On Tuesday, royal-blue Curry Flow 9 sneakers were part of the record-breaking moment. Under Armour, which pointed out that Curry has sunk about 2,200 of his triples since forging the brand partnership, said the shoe’s high-traction UA Flow tech not only aids with on-court agility but accelerates recovery time as well—paving the way for “many more years of 3-pointers to come.”
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Under Armour marked Curry’s landmark achievement by honoring the star’s ongoing legacy of giving back to communities worldwide. The Baltimore company has committed to renovate basketball courts in three cities particularly meaningful to Curry: his Charlotte, N.C. hometown, the Bay Area city of Oakland where’s he lived for most of his professional career, and New York City—“where the record was officially broken.” In some ways, Curry’s career came full circle Tuesday after the star first alerted the world to his prowess and potential with a 54-point outburst at the Garden back in 2013—years before he truly became a household name.
“We couldn’t be more proud to be supporting Stephen on this journey, as we have been for the past nine years,” Sean Eggert, senior vice president, global sports marketing at Under Armour, said. “No one in this game works harder or with more focus. He is an inspiration to his fans, teammates, and all of us at Under Armour, and we look forward to our continued work together to change the game for good.”