The Currys’ Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation and its partners will provide an additional $50 million to the Oakland Unified School District. As part of this, Lockwood will get a new outdoor space with separate play structures for kindergartners and older students, a pair of new basketball courts and small soccer pitches, and a natural exploration area with logs and stumps for climbing and leaping.

“I like it because I can play with my friends here every day,” Ermias, whose regular questions are directed to various teachers and principal Nehseem Ratchford, said.

The Ermias family as a whole could benefit. He is one of four children and has a younger brother at Lockwood, which had 658 pupils as of late last week — roughly 65% Hispanic, more than 25% Black, and a growing Arabic group. These are the children the Currys want to nurture to be great.

This may surprise some, given that Golden State Warriors 2-guard Klay Thompson is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the most accurate shooters in NBA history. The issue, at least for this exercise, is that his game was never popular with analytics before to the injury. Even in 2015-16, when he was awarded 3rd Team All-NBA and a member of the Warriors’ 73-9 team, Thompson was only ranked in the Top 50 by analytics.

Thompson’s back-to-back severe ACL and Achilles injuries didn’t help matters, as Real Value estimated him to be worth $8.7 million this season, but he actually got $30.1 million for a $21.3 million overcharge. Perhaps this is why Golden State did not sign Thompson to a contract deal this offseason, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agency next year. That should be an exciting free agency period to watch.

Curry has been a willing mentor, coaching Sabrina through everything from ankle injuries to being the face of a brand and dealing with several stars. This offseason, the Liberty put together a superteam, bringing in Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Courtney Vandersloot to boost an up-and-coming group that finished sixth in the 2022 playoffs.

“I talk to [Steph] on a regular basis,” Ionescu tells Dime. “It’s always a full circle moment when you can grow up watching them on TV and on the court and then pick up the phone and call them if you need to.” I understand how that feels, and I want to be that mentor for younger athletes as well, drawing on my experience. “I’ll never take those moments for granted.”