The celebrity status that NBA stars like LeBron James and Stephen Curry carry with them is unmatched. That’s why they become the ultimate selling point for brands to promote their products to a larger audience. Athletes wear products from these brands during the tunnel walk ahead of a game. For most players, the products are just a means of making money. However, for LeBron James, the brand that he is currently endorsing ahead of the games ‘saved’ him with its name, referring to his childhood home.

An athlete like James, who donned a $28K Louis Vuitton outfit for the NBA’s opening night last year, found it quite surprising when he wore an unknown name, Hillwood, during his tunnel walk. The 4x MVP player, however, is promoting the venture of a childhood friend whose father guided him to the basketball world. This friend of James’ is Frankie Walker Jr., whose father took Lakers star and raised him at 356 Hillwood Drive in Akron. It is the same house where LeBron learned the basics of organized basketball.

Lakers forward LeBron is quite emotional about his childhood settlement at 357 Hillwood Drive, as he once uploaded a story in 2023 that read, “356 Hillwood will always be a part of my legacy! Saved my life! Literally saved me.” Though LeBron loves the sentiment behind the Hillwood brand, there is no clear reason why he is promoting his friend’s brand.

Not all NBA athletes love their endorsements like James did, as Stephen Curry’s experience of his tunnel walk from his initial days was “horrible”!

Not everyone loves tunnel walks like King James

Unlike James, Stephen Curry shared about his tunnel walk when he debuted in his interaction with Rolling Stone. The Golden State Warriors guard recalled the incident from 2009, when he first endorsed himself ahead of the debut game. According to the Splash Brother, he was so disgusted with the outfit that he said to the company, “How horrible it [outfit] was.” But the GSP guard was not done here, as he drew the outfit’s reference from the BBC TV series Peaky Blinders.

Two-time MVP Curry thought that the outfit that he wore during the walk “was literally what the Peaky Blinders were wearing.” Jokingly, Curry pointed out how outdated the outfit was in the context of that time’s fashion sense. Curry did not even hesitate to mock himself, as he thought he “was looking like a fly” while wearing the outfit.

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However, over time, Curry learned the tactics for endorsement. He has been choosing brands carefully after his rookie season incident. One of the biggest examples of his safe move is his deal with Under Armour. Moreover, Stephen Curry also joined Rakuten and Black in the Fashion Council to promote new designers.

It proves how endorsing brands even becomes a means for athletes to raise social awareness. In his case, King James is doing the same by promoting the one who helped him in need while spreading his story of struggle. This will certainly motivate the younger generation to join the basketball world and foster their talents.