Canzano: Steph Curry's mom knows what to get the NBA star who has it all
Discover more from Bald Faced Truth by John Canzano
Canzano: Steph Curry's mom knows what to get the NBA star who has it all
Curry gets an All-Star gift.
I know next to nothing about cognac. I mean, I’m aware that it exists and know that it’s a variety of brandy named after a region in France. But I became particularly interested in one very special bottle of cognac recently.
It belongs to Steph Curry.
Curry won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award earlier this season. He scored 50 points and hit a record-breaking 16 threes in the victory. It was a remarkable accomplishment, even for a three-time league champion and member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team.
“Shooters shoot,” Curry said afterward.
Sonya Curry is Steph’s mother. This is where it gets especially interesting. Because her son will make $45.7 million this season and is on a five-year, $201 million deal that is fully guaranteed.
What do you get the guy who could buy himself anything?
That became the question to ask in the wake of the All-Star Game. Sonya wanted to give her son a gift that would commemorate his special accomplishment. She eventually landed on cognac.
Not just any bottle. But a unique bottle of Louis XIII Cognac by Rémy Martin, size magnum. It comes in a special decanter and the company markets the cognac by declaring that it’s a “unique and exquisite” experience only made possible by time.
“An ode to time,” the company motto goes, “as time is our raw material.”
Retail Price: $4,500.
It would have been easy enough to ship the bottle directly to her son but Sonya Curry didn’t stop there. She purchased the bottle and then reached out to an artist and designer in Oregon to add some additional customization to the box, decanter and two crystal glasses.
The box includes 30 gold stars arranged in a large circle — a nod to Steph’s No. 30 jersey number. His personal logo is printed on top of the box in gold and the NBA’s “75” anniversary mark is printed on the back of the box.
The decanter and the mirror stand that it sits in front of are etched. The names of the 75 players who were honored by the NBA on All-Star weekend are noted, with Steph Curry’s name in gold.
Total cost after customization: $5,500.
I’m not a big cognac guy. Steph apparently is. Also, I think it’s pretty cool that his mother went to such detail and lengths to do something special for her son. I’m told she gave him the bottle a few weeks ago. I don’t know about you, but I’d be gingerly sipping it.
At the very least, we learned the answer to the question: What you buy the NBA player who has everything? You go big, bold, artistic and sentimental.
That’s what Steph’s mom did with a $5,500… “ode to time.”
FINAL FOUR: There’s been some chatter in recent days about the 1,000-mile distance between the men’s and women’s Final Four events. The men’s event is being held in New Orleans and the women are in Minneapolis.
I’ve heard several media members wonder this week why the Final Four events aren’t held in the same city. The surface-level answer is that they’re massive sports events that include coaching conventions, games and a fan fest. Holding two in one market on the same weekend would eliminate all but the biggest cities in the country.
Portland — which has long coveted the event and is continuing to bid on future women’s Final Fours — wouldn’t have a chance.
But that’s not the primary reason why I think these events need to stay separate. I think combining the men’s and women’s Final Fours would signal a falsehood. The women’s event is sold out again this year, there aren’t even any television commercials available, and there are four terrific teams that will play in the national semifinal today. They deserve that big stage.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma told reporters this week: “Every coach that I’ve talked to that’s participated in the Final Four — and I’ve talked to quite a few after the report came out — not a one said we should have both Final Fours at the same place.”
I reached out to Oregon women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves, who agreed. Said Graves: “Our Final Four is just fine as is.”
The NCAA will rake in $870 million from CBS/Turner for the broadcast rights to this year’s men’s tournament, while the women’s event is part of a multi-sport package that ESPN is paying $43.5 million for this year.
Those figures aren’t close to equal. So maybe this debate is rooted in perception. Maybe there are some well-intentioned folks who think putting the events in the same city somehow levels the court and gives the appearance that they’re both important. But I think the entire effort is misguided.
The women’s Final Four is a blast. I’ve been to two of them. They were a knockout celebration of everything that is thrilling and exciting about women’s college basketball. The women’s championship event shouldn’t be treated like some kind of undercard.
If college basketball wants to make a change to the NCAA Tournaments it should consider putting the men’s and women’s first and second-round games in the same cities. That would work with the existing Thursday-Saturday and Friday-Sunday schedules that the NCAA uses in the first two rounds. But in no way does the women’s Final Four need a crutch.
The event is thriving.
Let it shine.
Thank you for reading my new endeavor. It’s great to be able to reach you directly and unfiltered. Thank you to all who have supported, subscribed and shared with friends and family. By all means, consider subscribing.
Canzano: Steph Curry's mom knows what to get the NBA star who has it all
I would be curious to know this mother and son's opinion of Wikipedia's "Conspicuous Consumption."
I knew I made the wrong career choice, I should have picked NBA player!!