Curry played eight games in these Nike Hyperfuses, making them one of the most-worn of his pro career.
As increasingly rare sneakers and trading cards have found their way to auction over the past year, the Collectable App plans to launch a sneaker tied to one of the biggest “what-ifs” in footwear industry history.
Available to Collectable VIPs first this weekend, with a public offering slated for Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. EST, the app will list fractional shares of one of Stephen Curry’s last game-worn Nike shoes.
Originally made for his second year in the NBA during the 2010-11 season, Curry pulled out a bright yellow and royal blue pair of the original Nike Hyperfuse for an eight-game stretch during the second half of December in 2012.
That exact pair will now be made available for fans and collectors alike.
Curry primarily wore the Hyperfuse 2012 model in seven different player exclusive colorways during the final season under his original four-year contract with Nike — but returned back to the 2010 edition in two variations, a black pair and this yellow pair, at different points of the year after experiencing ankle issues.
By the end of the year, Curry had wrapped up his breakout season by breaking Ray Allen’s regular season three-point field goal record, with 272 makes from distance. He cashed in 31 of those 272 threes in this yellow Hyperfuse over those eight games while also scoring 166 total points in this exact pair.
Featuring his biblical-driven “I Can Do All Things…” inscription along the left toe, there is also a handwritten abbreviation of his Wardell Stephen Curry initials with “WSC” along the right toe. The collar includes his cartoonish “SC30” Nike-era font, while the Swooshes show considerable wear and flaking.
The sneakers have been photo-matched by leading authenticator MeiGray to the following regular season Warriors games from the 2012-13 calendar:
Dec. 15 at Atlanta Hawks (18 points / 3 made threes)
Dec. 18 vs. New Orleans Hornets (13 points / 1 3fg)
Dec. 19 at Sacramento Kings (32 points / 7 3fg)
Dec. 21 vs. Charlotte Bobcats (27 points / 8 3fg
Dec. 22 vs. Los Angeles Lakers (20 points / 3 3fg)
Dec. 26 vs. Utah Jazz (23 points / 4 3fg)
Dec. 28 vs. Philadelphia 76ers (11 points / 1 3fg)
Dec. 29 vs. Boston Celtics (22 points / 4 3fg)
After receiving his own signature series in later years and ramping up the variety of colorways and themes worn on court, Curry has often worn a brand-new pair of sneakers for every game. To have worn the same pair in eight games makes this pair of Hyperfuses one of the more frequently worn game-used Curry sneakers.
Having famously left Nike following the Summer of 2013 to sign with Under Armour, the Warriors star enjoyed a meteoric rise, becoming league MVP and an NBA champion by 2015. He now has his own Curry Brand subsidiary, extending into multiple categories, even beyond basketball.
The eventual two-time MVP and three-time champ’s abrupt departure from the Swoosh give these an element of finality to the rarity of his player-exclusive Hyperfuse.
“That was a wild summer,” Curry reflected on The Sneaker Game. “I kind of blast on the scene with the 54-point game [at Madison Square Garden] in the Hyperfuses, and had some other cool moments with them. Going into the free agency window, it was kind of all over the place. It was kind of chaotic.”
After a well-reported “Steph-on” mispronunciation of his first name in Nike’s official pitch meeting to try and keep him, along with the lack of a concrete signature shoe offer and a runway for potential, Curry took a leap of faith on Under Armour’s then-five-year-old basketball category.
“Thankfully, I’m a firm believer the decision I made was the right one, and it’s worked out, no matter how crazy the circumstances were,” he said.
With that era of Curry’s Nike run now in the seemingly distant past, Collectable is looking to revisit one of his rarest pairs through yet another exclusive offering on its growing platform of rare and coveted items.
