When De’Aaron Fox took part in the first meeting of the design process for his debut signature shoe, technically, the Sacramento Kings All-Star point guard didn’t even have an endorsement deal.
Back in July 2023, Fox sat down with senior footwear designer Ed Wallace to map out a performance sneaker, approximately two months before officially inking a multiyear contract to become the first signature athlete under Curry Brand, the footwear and apparel subsidiary of Under Armour headlined by Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry.
“Speaking to De’Aaron for the first time was when I felt the partnership was real,” Wallace told Andscape. “I was pretty excited about working on De’Aaron’s first shoe, and as the process played out, leading the design on the Fox 1 played out very organically.”
Ultimately, that initial design conversation between Fox and Wallace sparked an expedited 16-month timeline for the brand to produce, market and deliver the Curry Fox 1, which arrives Friday with an official retail release for $120 a pair. The Curry Fox 1 also marks the first time in NBA history that a player has received a signature shoe bearing a fellow active player’s name.
From left to right: Curry Fox 1 colorways include “Happy Fox Day,” “The Beam,” and “Happy Fox Day Alternate.”
Curry Brand
“The opportunity to receive a shoe with both my and Steph’s names is dope,” Fox told Andscape in late November, ahead of the official announcement of the first signature model of his career. “I felt like I could help push the Curry Brand. And Steph being Steph, just being connected to him in any way also pushes you. From a business standpoint, I thought it was a great opportunity. And everything happened so organically, I felt like it could be a great partnership.”
The word “organic” is often repeated by the close-knit Curry Brand team when recounting the backstory of how the brand pinpointed its first signature headliner — or rather, the reality that Fox naturally honed in on Curry footwear, driven by an infatuation with the innovative technology that fuels them, after entering sneaker free agency before the 2022-23 NBA season.
Following the expiration of his endorsement deal with Nike, which he signed as a rookie in 2017, Fox had the freedom to lace up sneakers without a swoosh for the first time in five seasons. So, in late 2022, the star guard took full advantage when deciding the next footwear company he would join, with the help of Sacramento Kings equipment manager Miguel Lopez, who coordinated with different brands to send shoes for Fox to try out on the court.
“I really wasn’t seriously thinking about which brand I was going to sign with next,” Fox told Andscape. “I just loved Under Armour and Curry Brand product. That’s pretty much how it started. It really was organic.”
Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox plays against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half at Golden 1 Center on Dec. 1 in Sacramento, California.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
It took some time, however, for Fox to test Curry product after spending the first month of his sneaker free agency exclusively wearing Converse. Yet, during a Nov. 5, 2022, game against the Orlando Magic, Fox sustained a right-knee injury while wearing a pair of Converse All-Star BB Prototype CXs.
“I ended up hitting my foot on the floor and getting fluid in it,” Fox recalled. “Then, I started having lingering pain.”
According to reports, Fox underwent an MRI that revealed a bone bruise on his right knee. The Kings’ medical staff tended to it for a full month by applying ointment and wrapping it following games. While playing through the injury, Fox switched to another Converse model, the All-Star BB Shift, for a few games before deciding to try a different brand’s signature footwear, designed for one of the best players in the league.
A Sneakerhead’s Dream: Dive into the all-time Signature Sneaker DatabaseRead now
In a matchup against the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 20, 2022, Fox wore the “Vivid Lilac” Curry 4 FloTro, a reimagined version of Curry’s fourth signature model, originally released in 2017 during Fox’s rookie season. It was updated with the brand’s award-winning “Flow” technology, first introduced in 2020 as an innovative no-skidding, no-slipping, no-squeaking grip system. That night, Fox dropped 33 points and seven assists, marking his first NBA game wearing Under Armour’s Curry Brand.
“I started playing in Stephs and loved the traction in them, which was the Flow technology,” Fox said. “I’m like, ‘I’ve never felt anything like this.’ And after I started playing in them, my foot pain started going away.”
Curry Brand announces the release date for De’Aaron Fox’s new signature sneakersRead now
After a four-game run rocking Currys in November 2022, Fox tested another brand during his sneaker free agency. He played in New Balance for three games before returning to the shoes with the tech he believed turned the corner for his injury. Notably, Fox has worn Under Armour and Curry Brand exclusively since Dec. 4, 2022, though he didn’t officially sign with the brand until October 2023.
“I like to give players credit, so I’d say De’Aaron became a target for us more so as a result of him doing his due diligence as a sneaker free agent and trying everything that he could,” Nana Dadzie, head of Curry Brand marketing, told Andscape. “It was kind of like finding that one song you like and playing it over and over and over. He found the one shoe with tech that he liked and refused to wear anything else.”
As Fox kept taking the court in Currys, the signature line’s namesake took notice.
“Steph heard I was playing in Under Armour and hit me up personally, asking how I liked his shoe,” Fox said. “I had the opportunity to give him real feedback, because I had no ties to any brand at that time. It allowed me to tell the truth, which was that I loved his shoe.”
Jerry Lorenzo’s Fear of God Athletics looks to bounce back with Adidas FOGA II sneakersRead now
Behind the scenes, Lopez, the Kings’ equipment manager, corresponded with Under Armour, providing updates to Curry Brand sports marketing director Steven Seagers, who sent the information to Dadzie.
“Miguel sent feedback, saying, ‘De’Aaron won’t take these shoes off. The problem he has been facing, he’s not experiencing in these at all,’ ” Dadzie recalled. “ ‘He loves the technology so much that he’s interested in joining the brand.’ ”
For Under Armour and Curry Brand, the revelation of Fox’s authentic affinity with Flow, the company’s foremost technological innovation, resonated invaluably.
“There was starting to be a little feeling of, ‘Man, is Flow just something that Steph loves? Is Steph the only player who can get the most out of the technology?’ ” Dadzie said. “So, for De’Aaron, another premier guard in the NBA, to come to us saying, ‘Whatever this stuff is, I need more of it.’ It was almost like he was in the Space Jam movie and drank some of ‘Michael’s Secret Stuff.’ De’Aaron was like, ‘I need a case of this Flo s—!’ like he discovered Stephen’s secret stuff.
Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox wears the Curry Fox 1 “Cypress Hills” against the Houston Rockets during the Emirates NBA Cup game Dec. 3 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox wears the Curry Fox 1 “Happy Fox Day” against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Golden 1 Center on Nov. 25 in Sacramento, California.
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
“The idea became that Flow isn’t just for Steph,” Dadzie said. “Players who play the game quick, fast and shifty would love this technology. And De’Aaron, one of the fastest players in the league, had fully endorsed it.”
Swiftly, Fox’s not-so-subtle co-sign of Under Armour and Flow during his sneaker free agency transformed into the Curry Brand’s strategic pursuit of Fox as the heir apparent to Curry. The first official meeting between Fox, his agency Klutch Sports, and the Under Armour and Curry Brand teams occurred in February 2023 during Fox’s first NBA All-Star Weekend appearance in Salt Lake City. One specific detail from the meeting still stands out to Fox.
“When we started talking, it was more so about me signing under the Curry Brand, rather than Under Armour,” Fox recalled. “That ended up becoming a big part of the vision, as both sides felt like we could help each other.”
The Curry Fox 1’s strap has one end that is shaped like a “foxtail.”
Under Armour’s Flow technology makes up the sole of the sneaker.
Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox’s signature logo appears on the tongue. It’s a combination of a fox, the number 5 and the letter “D.”
“We came away from that All-Star meeting in Utah, realizing De’Aaron was just like Stephen,” Dadzie recalled. “He’s not a ‘me first’ kind of guy. He cares about his teammates, his family, his community, which is very much like Stephen. At Curry Brand, our platform and tagline is, ‘Change the game for good’ — on and off the court. And De’Aaron fit that mold perfectly.”
Following the first conversation, the ensuing months couldn’t have been better scripted for Fox’s partnership with Curry Brand. In late March 2023, Stephen Curry and Under Armour agreed to a long-term endorsement contract, which elevated him to Curry Brand president.
10 shoes down: Stephen Curry reflects on his signature sneakersRead now
“When Stephen officially signed his lifetime extension, one of the core tenets of he wanted to do was add athletes under his brand,” Dadzie said. “De’Aaron had a placeholder to become the first.”
By April, Fox’s Kings, making their first playoff appearance in 16 years, faced Curry’s Warriors in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The series lasted seven games, with Fox and Curry going toe-to-toe in Curry FloTros.
“We always tell Steph that was the first real time he played against somebody in the same shoes,” Dadzie said.
Soon, the brand would begin crafting signature products bearing both Curry and Fox’s names.
Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (left) called working on the Fox 1 with Golden State Warriors guad Stephen Curry (right) and the Curry Brand team “a dream come true.”
Curry Brand
Fox’s true Curry Brand coronation occurred in July 2023, when he appeared with Curry in the photo shoot for the Curry 11, the first signature shoe Wallace led the design on.
“That first photo shoot really made it feel like I was stepping into a brand that operated like a family,” Fox recalled.
The day also delivered the first meeting for the Fox 1, as Wallace immediately shifted from the Curry Brand president’s signature line to building an entirely new one from scratch for Fox. There was no time to waste to have Fox’s debut shoe ready for the start of the following 2024-25 NBA season, which would come sooner than the 18- to 24-month industry-standard process to roll out a signature model.
In their initial conversation, which lasted more than two hours, Wallace peppered Fox with questions about what exactly he wanted out of his first shoe, which would make him the fourth player in basketball history to receive the signature treatment from Under Armour, after Brandon Jennings (2010-11), Curry (2015-present) and Joel Embiid (2020).
“The design of the Fox 1 became a hurry-up offense,” Wallace said. “But the sped-up process didn’t feel too crazy because De’Aaron gave me a lot of ammo to work with up front to come back with some nice options off top as I was sketching.”
Love and basketball with De’Aaron and Recee FoxRead now
Fox told Wallace that as a teenager, he played in Jennings’ second signature model, the Under Armour Micro G Bloodline, which was released in 2011 when Fox was 14. Fox’s love of the OG Bloodline silhouette directly informed three major requests for his debut shoe. In Fox’s mind, the Fox 1 had to be a low-top, feel like a running shoe and feature a strap.
“The biggest thing was I wanted to have a strap on my shoe,” Fox said. “It didn’t have to be super-functional, but I wanted the strap to be stylish to add to the shoe.”
Though the guard’s request for a strap threw Wallace off, the creative challenge inspired the most distinctive element of the Fox 1’s design.
“I was surprised De’Aaron wanted a strap because aesthetically, it typically brings a more boxy kind of look,” Wallace said. “So, I thought how can we make the strap look fast. That’s how the strap as a foxtail coming to a point came about.”
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving learns how to lead a sneaker brand with AntaRead now
Coincidentally, this wasn’t the first time Wallace had received a request to include a strap into the design of Curry Brand’s signature product.
“When I was working on the Curry 11, Steph asked, ‘What if we did something with a strap?’ ” Wallace recalled. “I started sketching my a– off, trying to draw shoes with a strap for Steph. But it didn’t feel like it was for him. So, I think De’Aaron gives us the leeway for each model to elevate the other one and for us to keep taking risks. It’s a push and pull with Steph and De’Aaron that’s a cool spot to be in for the brand.”
Given Fox’s experience wearing Curry’s models, beginning during his sneaker free agency in late 2022, Wallace and the brand were able to use the same tooling from the Curry 1 FloTro to cut the production time in half for the Fox 1 to be ready for this NBA season.
The Curry Brand now has two signature shoes on the court in the NBA — the Curry 12, worn by Curry, the greatest shooter of all time, and the Curry Fox 1, the debut model of Fox, the fastest player in the league.
“It’s nice to now have De’Aaron in a one-two punch that complements Steph,” Wallace said. “They have similar games, but De’Aaron is a 10-year younger version who’s faster and a little more bouncy. The juxtaposition is dope between the OG who’s silky smooth and still killing versus the young guy with a lot of energy and flavor. Having the opportunity to design for both is pretty cool.”
Aaron Dodson is a sports and culture writer at Andscape. He primarily writes on sneakers/apparel and hosts the platform’s Sneaker Box video series. During Michael Jordan’s two seasons playing for the Washington Wizards in the early 2000s, the “Flint” Air Jordan 9s sparked his passion for kicks.
