bball teams standing at half court
02.15.2025

Curry Brand Makes Good on Community Impact Commitments

Curry Brand and Stephen Curry celebrate their collective philanthropic efforts with the special Oakland community event at McClymonds High School

This past weekend, Curry Brand celebrated its 20th court refurbishment at McClymonds High School in Oakland, CA, fulfilling its commitment to renovate 20 safe places to play by 2025. With this final court completion, Curry Brand has officially made good on all of its community impact goals set in December 2020, renovating 20 courts, training 15,000 coaches and supporting 125 programs to ultimately impact 300,000 kids around the world.

“When I joined Under Armour back in 2013, I never would have imagined the impact that we would have together.”

“Launching Curry Brand officially in 2020, we set out to make an impact to ensure young athletes have what they need to dream big. Today, we are celebrating hitting this incredible milestone with this 20th Curry Court refurbishment at McClymonds High School—a place with a history unlike any other in Oakland. We are thrilled to honor this school’s legacy and one of its most illustrious alumni today, Bill Russell. Bill wasn’t just a champion—he was a leader, a trailblazer, and someone who used his platform to fight for something bigger than basketball. His impact still lives on in every student, athlete, and alum who carries McClymonds pride and we are proud to keep his legacy alive here in the Oakland community and beyond.”

-Stephen Curry

Steph Curry speaking with a microphone

With the mission to change the game for good, Curry Brand has consistently invested in the people, places and programs that have a special connection to Stephen Curry; Oakland being one of the communities most near and dear to his heart. Curry Brand’s community impact team has worked closely in partnership for the past four years with the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and Oakland Athletic League (OAL) to support middle school basketball programs across the school districts for boys and girls and provide training for all coaches through the Positive Coaching Alliance. Additionally, the brand has also refurbished 11 courts total in the Oakland area since 2021, completing six middle school and high school court renovations in the last six months alongside Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s foundation, Eat. Learn. Play., OUSD and OAL.

 

McClymonds High School marks the final of those renovations, with the school receiving a brand-new, NBA-grade hardwood floor and paint, as well as new hoops, backboards, scoreboards and shot clocks. Known as the “School of Champions” because of its illustrious basketball legacy and alumni, McClymonds provided the perfect setting to celebrate Curry Brand’s community accomplishments and honor the city of Oakland with a special basketball event during NBA All-Star Weekend.

 

On Friday, February 14, Curry Brand brought together the top high school basketball players, 10 boys and 10 girls, from across the Oakland United School District (OUSD) to compete in an all-star exhibition on McClymonds newly-minted court in front of their family, friends and local community members. Before the basketball festivities kicked off, Stephen Curry, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, Jeannine Russell, wife of Bill Russell, Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell, OUSD Superintendent, and Darielle Davis, McClymonds Principal together announced that the gym would be officially called the “William Felton “Bill” Russell Gymnasium” in memory of McClymonds alumna, NBA legend, civil rights activist and two-time Hall of Famer, Bill Russell. Additionally, a scholarship was established for McClymonds students in Bill Russell’s honor, and the McClymonds library will feature books authored by him to provide education and inspiration to the students who walk the same halls Bill once did.

“Bill would be so proud to be a partner with Curry Brand and Under Armour to help make Oakland an even stronger community through this beautiful court."

“Bill always understood the value that sports and education played in building a strong foundation for a community, but only if the opportunity existed for everyone. I’m thrilled Bill’s legacy can be part of this shared goal of impacting the lives of so many young athletes.”

-Jeannine Russell

Jeannine Russell giving remarks on court
Group of people standing in front of a step and repeat
SC saying hi to a child

With the dedication ceremony wrapped up, Stephen was joined on court by Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast) for a surprise competition to raise additional funds for the students of Oakland. Following the surprise, Oakland’s top high school talent took the court for the exhibition game. Under Armour athlete Kelsey Plum and Under Armour’s original basketball athlete Brandon Jennings were brought in as expert coaches for the two competing all-star teams, which were named “The City” and “The Town” respectively, to represent the two sides of the Bay Area. While it was a close battle, ultimately “The City” was too strong and prevailed over “The Town” with a final score of 45-31. Though his team lost the game, Deyonte Spears was named MVP for the boys, scoring 15 points, while Jhai Johnson on team “The City” received the MVP award for the girls with 11 points.

 

Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, Curry Brand remains committed to providing safe and equitable places to play for the next generation of athletes. Its mission to change the game for good will continue to fuel real impact in the Oakland community and beyond, wherever Stephen Curry and the game of basketball takes him.