Why Steph Curry, Damion Lee brought NBA Championship Trophy to Louisville's golf course

Brooks Holton
Louisville Courier Journal

Steph Curry said former Louisville basketball player Damion Lee hit "the ultimate flex" during a round of golf on Monday in Simpsonville.

Lee, whose L.E.E. Way Foundation hosted a charity golf scramble at the University of Louisville Golf Club, was seen pulling up in a golf cart with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy riding shotgun. Curry posted a video of the moment on his Instagram account.

"Y'all trying to play some golf?" Lee asks in the video, which also features a cameo from first-year U of L basketball assistant coach Nolan Smith.

"How you pullin' up on 'em?!" Curry shouts back in response.

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Lee, who played for Louisville as a graduate transfer from 2015-16, and Curry, the most prolific 3-pointer shooter in NBA history, won the 2022 NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors, the team's fourth title in eight years.

In the Warriors' 4-2 series victory over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, Curry averaged 31.2 points, six rebounds five assists and two steals per game. The guard also shot 48% from the field — 43% from 3-point range — and was named the series' Most Valuable Player.

"It's beautiful," Curry said Monday of Louisville, according to a video from WHAS' Tyler Greever from U of L Golf Club. "There's a lot of basketball history here. I grew up in Charlotte, so there's a lot of similarities."

Curry's father, 16-year NBA veteran Dell Curry, also attended the charity golf scramble and reminisced on playing against the Cardinals at Freedom Hall when he was at Virginia Tech during the 1980s.

"I really like Louisville," the elder Curry told Greever. "It's a nice town, nice city, so I'm going to have to come back and try to play some more golf here."

The L.E.E. Way Foundation is a nonprofit "committed to impacting youth positively by creating a nurturing environment, to help them become the best versions of themselves through charitable and education opportunities," according to its website. The organization's golf scramble Monday in Louisville was its first.

"Shoutout to Louisville men's basketball; good luck this year," Lee said in a video tweeted by the U of L men's basketball team's official account. "I'll be tapped in. (Kenny Payne), you know you got all my support. Nolan, Milt (Wagner), Reece (Gaines), Danny Manning, the list goes on and on."

Lee is married to Sydel Curry, who is Steph Curry's sister and Dell Curry's daughter. He averaged 7.4 points and 3.2 rebounds across 63 games during the 2021-22 NBA season.

Reach recruiting and trending sports reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.