Steph Curry Will Play In Low Top Sneakers In Return vs. Hawks Friday

Steph Curry is expected to return from a six-game absence Friday, and he will play in his low top Under Armour Curry 5s.

When Steph Curry returns from injury Friday, he will wear his new signature low top Curry 5s, which will mark the first time Curry wears a low top sneaker in a game since getting a signature shoe with Under Armour, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com.

The two-time MVP has missed the Warriors last six games after tweaking his right ankle in a game against the Spurs earlier this month. Back in December, Curry missed 11 games while dealing with a right ankle sprain.

Due to ankle issues that plagued him early in his career, Curry has always worn mid or high-top sneakers along with ankle braces in games, according to Haynes.

However, Curry told Haynes that this shoe was "years in the making" and will "have total comfort and security" and is designed to fit his ankle braces.

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Although Curry has not worn low tops in a game since getting his own sneaker from Under Armour, there has been a low top of his signature shoes, and in the 2016 Finals, he nearly wore a pair of the Curry 2 lows, but according to ESPN.com's Darren Rovell, Warriors general manager Bob Myers and Curry's agent Jeff Austin talked him out of doing it.

"[Under Armour] was all about it," Curry told Haynes. "It was a matter of, they didn't want to, for a lack of a better tone, turn any heads within the organization. Like, [the Warriors saying], 'Yo, what are y'all doing.' But that was all my direction. It turned out well. I'm happy with it."

Curry also told Haynes that part of his motivation for making the switch to the low tops was for fashion purposes. According to Haynes, Curry met with Under Armour nearly two years ago to address making his sneakers more attractive.

"It was like my Forrest Gump moment where I had to break out of [the high-tops]," Curry told Haynes. "... When people took pictures of my shoes, the braces distracted what the shoe looks like and it made it look a little bulky. I was like, 'I just want to get to a point where I can get my ankles strong enough that when I'm out there on the court with my new shoes, I'm looking good in my new shoes and I ain't got to wear these braces to dumb it down. But I had to take a step back and say I can have the best of both worlds. I can have a dope shoe that's a low that still can fit a brace that makes sure that I'm good to go. It's a different silhouette and everything. This was years in the making."