“We are super proud of it”: How Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry are changing thousands of children’s lives beyond basketball | NBA News
Stephen Curry has won championships, MVP awards and Olympic gold, but one of the biggest milestones of his career arrived far from the basketball court. In July 2026, the Golden State Warriors star and his wife, Ayesha Curry, earned the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award for the lasting work of their Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation. The honour recognised years of investment in Oakland’s children, not a single act of generosity.As for Stephen Curry, the award reflected something much bigger than personal recognition. It celebrated a mission he and Ayesha Curry started years ago and one that continues to touch thousands of families across the Bay Area through food, education and safe places for children to grow.
Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry built a legacy in Oakland that reaches far beyond basketball
Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry launched Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation in 2019 after seeing the growing needs across Oakland, the city that became home during Curry’s NBA career with the Golden State Warriors. Instead of focusing on one issue, the couple centered the foundation around three essentials every child deserves: healthy meals, quality education and safe places to play.The numbers show how far that vision has reached. Since its launch, the foundation has served more than 35 million nutritious meals to children and families, invested over $20 million in literacy programs, distributed more than one million books, and helped transform 24 schoolyards and six gymnasiums across Oakland. Those projects now support thousands of students throughout the Oakland Unified School District.The foundation’s work earned national recognition on July 15, 2026, when Stephen Curry received the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award during the ESPYS in New York. Earlier that morning, Stephen Curry appeared on Good Morning America, where he reflected on what the honor meant to his family and everyone involved in the foundation.“It was super surreal,” Curry said on Good Morning America before the 2026 ESPYS. “The Ali family, understanding what Muhammad stood for, what his life was dedicated to, in the ring, off the ring in terms of change, and what me and my wife, Ayesha, and what our foundation has been able to do. We’re super proud of it.”Stephen Curry quickly shifted the spotlight away from himself. He explained that the award belonged to the people who made the foundation successful.”We’re only seven years in, and the impact that we’ve had in Oakland has been real,” Curry said during the same Good Morning America interview. “It’s more of an acknowledgment of our team, our donors, our partners, the Oakland Unified School District, and the kids that we’re serving because it’s obviously about them.“The Warriors superstar has often said that giving back became important early in his NBA journey. During the same interview, Curry credited former Warriors guard Monta Ellis for showing him how players could use their platform to help their communities. That lesson stayed with him throughout his career and eventually shaped the foundation he and Ayesha Curry now lead.Their commitment did not stop with programs in Oakland. On May 15, 2026, Curry joined legendary investor Warren Buffett and Ayesha Curry in a charity lunch auction that raised $9,000,100. Buffett later matched the winning bid for both the Glide Foundation and Eat. Learn. Play., bringing the total charitable contribution to about $27 million. The fundraiser added another major boost to organizations serving families in need.The impact has also spread inside the Warriors organization. Curry revealed that younger teammates have started asking how they can help, and he pointed to former teammate Trayce Jackson-Davis, who once dressed as Santa Claus during one of the foundation’s holiday events. For Curry, those small moments matter because they encourage the next generation of athletes to think beyond basketball.Stephen Curry’s basketball resume already guarantees him a place among the NBA’s greatest players. Yet the work he and Ayesha Curry continue through Eat. Learn. Play. tells another story. Millions of meals, classrooms filled with books and better spaces for children now stand as part of their legacy. That is why the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award carried so much meaning.
