Sumith Prasad
In Peacock’s comedy series ‘Mr. Throwback,’ Kimberly “Kim” Gregg manages the chaotic life of Stephen Curry, especially the NBA icon’s production company, day-to-day activities, and other business commitments. Kim and Curry go way back as they both attended the same school, which makes her his loyal companion. She is highly protective of his life and career alike. When Danny Grossman shows up in their lives after more than two decades, Kim is the one who tries to find out whether the former can affect his boss in any way.
Erick Peyton Loosely Inspired the Character of Kim
In the Peacock production, Ego Nwodim’s character Kimberly “Kim” Gregg is fictional. Stephen Curry does not have a middle-school friend who runs his production company and looks after his off-court affairs at the same time. He also hasn’t formed a friendship trio with a business partner and a childhood friend, as we see in the comedy series. However, the NBA player does have a production company and a person in charge of its operations, which can be paralleled to Kim. “I will say it’s completely made up. There are no real characters in there. Ego’s character is loosely based on myself, but loosely,” said Erick Peyton, Curry’s producing partner at Unanimous Media and an Executive Producer of the series.
Peyton has been involved in Curry’s film, television, and podcast productions as a producer/executive producer. These projects include the Facebook Watch series ‘Stephen vs. The Game,’ ABC’s sports reality competition series ‘Holey Moley,’ the podcast series ‘15 Minutes from Home,’ Max’s game show ‘About Last Night,’ Apple TV+’s documentary film ‘Stephen Curry: Underrated,’ and the golf series ‘Niiice Shot with Stephen Curry.’ Therefore, if ‘Teen Stephen’ ever materializes at ABC, Peyton will likely be the person in charge of overseeing the show as Kim does in the series.
However, beyond the entertainment-production responsibilities, the producer is seemingly not in charge of the NBA player’s day-to-day activities like the fictional character. Still, Peyton and Kim share one common belief: Curry’s first and foremost priority will always be basketball. In the series, she ensures that the player performs exceptionally on the court. In reality, the producing partner wants the same. “As he [Curry] likes to say, ‘We got to keep the main thing the main thing,’ which is basketball,” Peyton told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Tiffany Williams: Steph Curry’s Ever-Reliable Right-Hand Woman
When it comes to Stephen Curry’s off-court affairs, there is an influential person overseeing his businesses: Tiffany Williams. As the COO of 30 Ink, a collective that manages the NBA player’s entrepreneurial and non-basketball presences and ventures. Under the leadership of Williams, the establishment runs eight business groups and thirteen entities that span across fields such as “athlete studio, brand, fitness, lifestyle, impact, media, philanthropy, and technology.” Considering her influence in Curry’s business empire, Kim can be paralleled with her, even though the fictional character is not based on her.
Having said that, one thing remains the same when it comes to Kim and Williams: Curry’s reliance on them in the series and in real life, respectively. “She’s absolutely essential. This whole thing doesn’t happen without her. […] I’ve never once had a problem created by Tiffany. She’s the one putting out the fires instead of creating any type of drama or extra work. She’s just always two steps ahead,” Curry told the San Francisco Chronicle about Williams, which applies to Kim in the context of the comedy series. Like the 30 Ink’s head, Kim is the one who resolves the fictionalized Curry’s problems, which is made evident by her commitment to eliminating the player’s slump.
Even though Peyton and Williams share similarities with Kim, the creators of the show ultimately decided to conceive a fictional character as Curry’s assistant/producing partner because the narrative demanded an individual to connect the NBA player and Danny’s worlds. To make the outrageous story of ‘Mr. Throwback’ work, an inquisitive person who knows Danny inside out is necessary, which places her in Curry’s childhood, which didn’t include either Peyton or Williams. Thus, the writers took the liberty of relying on fiction rather than authentically portraying the people around the basketball legend.
Read More: Is Danny Grossman Based on Steph Curry’s Real Former Teammate?
