Stephen Curry leads 3 NBA PGs on list of '30 under 30' in sports

By Jovan Buha
Published

Forbes announced its "30 under 30" list on Monday, and to no surprise Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry was highlighted as the field's top sports star.

Curry's first-class marketability -- he's open with his Christian faith, he's married with children, and he's never been in trouble off the court -- and world-class skill on one of the most dominant teams of the modern era makes him arguably the most popular athlete alive right now.

After signing with Under Armour in 2013, Curry's endorsement portfolio has quickly grown, and now features the likes of Express, State Farm, MuscleMilk, CoachUp, Kaiser Permanente and Brita.

Forbes' data backs up the assertion the Curry is the "it" athlete of the times:

Research firm Repucom, which polls people on seven attributes as part of its Celebrity DBI, took the public’s temperature on Curry last year. Curry led NBA players in every category including appeal, influence, trust and trendsetter. He was the only athlete in his sport to finish first in each of Repucom’s attributes. His aspirational score, which tracks how people feel the celebrity has a life to which they’d aspire, ranked tied for seventh with golfer Arnold Palmer out of 3,652 celebrities, one spot behind the world’s third richest person Warren Buffett.

However, Curry wasn't the only NBA player, or even the only NBA point guard, for that matter.

Forbes also acknowledged Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook and Portland Trail Blazers stud Damian Lillard as two other members on their list. 

Westbrook and Lillard have each carved out a name for themselves, with each making several All-Star teams and racking up endorsements (Westbrook is most notably with Jordan Brand and Mountain Dew, while Lillard is with Adidas and State Farm).

The NFL was the only other professional league to get three athletes on Forbes' list.

Check out the rest of the sports field here and the full "30 under 30" list here.