Steph Curry’s sneaker free agency is over. In November, the Golden State Warriors superstar announced his shocking departure from Under Armour, the company he had been with for 13 years, and that he had signed a long-term deal with less than three years prior. What followed was one of the largest sneaker free agencies in NBA history.
Over the course of the 2025-26 season, Curry wore countless different sneakers from different brands, often paying homage to the team or players that he was going up
against on any given night. And in the end, the winner in the race for Curry’s services, image, and brand, is a Chinese company that most basketball fans have probably never even heard of: Li-Ning.
Curry announced the partnership on social media on Monday, with ESPN’s Shams Charania reporting additional facts, including the news that it’s a 10-year deal.
The two-time MVP took his standalone Curry Brand with him upon his Under Armour exit, and that will now get an even larger audience while working with such a global company. According to Charania, the partnership will include not just basketball shoes and athleisure but, in true Curry fashion, an entire golf line as well. It also features the ability for Curry to sign athletes to his brand going forward, and you can certainly expect that to happen — Curry not only has great respect among his NBA peers, but has a lot of connections in the WNBA as well, and on the PGA Tour.
Li-Ning shoes are known in the basketball world for having exceptional support and comfort, which no doubt factored into the decision for Curry, who has dealt with ankle issues for his entire career. Critically, the company is also endorsed by Curry’s friend and teammate Jimmy Butler III, which no doubt played a role (and hopefully the company is giving Butler a nice little reward for that). Li-Ning’s other high-profile basketball endorsement is Dwyane Wade, who joined the company after leaving the Converse division of Nike. The brand has a handful of other active NBA players as well, including D’Angelo Russell and Fred VanVleet. Warriors legend Baron Davis and all-time great Shaquille O’Neal are among the brand’s former athletes.
According to Charania, the deal with Curry will include Curry Brand specific stores in both the US and China. Currently the brand, which was formed by Olympic gold medalist gymnast Li Ning, has more than 4,000 stores worldwide, as well as American headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
