Stephen Curry Wears Three Shoes, Scores 48 for Warriors

Stephen Curry fully embraced sneaker free agency in Sunday’s 136 to 131 loss at Portland, changing shoes three times from pregame to tip off. He wore Brandon Roy player editions into the arena, Aja Wilson’s shoe for warmups, and Kobe Bryant Protros for the game. Curry and Under Armour parted ways in November and "the Curry 13s will be the final addition to his signature line," leaving him free to test brands while he has not "tipped his hand." He still delivered 48 points and hit 12 of 19 from three, but the Warriors slid to 13 14 and eighth in the West. Merlin sees equal parts commerce and theater. Curry’s public shoe parade is a live audition that raises his market value, and his scoring shows teams and brands they would buy more than a logo. For Golden State the story is dual edged: the star stays brilliant as the roster looks for help. Expect a bidding war that plays out like a slow reveal.