Steph Curry Announces His Next Chapter With Li-Ning

Stephen Curry made headlines when he first signed with Under Armour in 2013, then again last year when the two announced the end of the partnership. Now, Curry has announced a new footwear deal with Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning. The end of Steph Curry’s partnership with Under Armour came last November, after a twelve-year run […] The post Steph Curry Announces His Next Chapter With Li-Ning appeared first on JustFreshKicks.

Stephen Curry made headlines when he first signed with Under Armour in 2013, then again last year when the two announced the end of the partnership. Now, Curry has announced a new footwear deal with Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning.

The end of Steph Curry’s partnership with Under Armour came last November, after a twelve-year run of signature sneakers and apparel. After thirteen signature models, including the final model release in February, the two called it quits, with Steph reportedly unhappy about the direction his Curry Brand sneakers were taking. The terms of their split left Steph with sole ownership of his eponymous label, an unprecedented way for a player to enter sneaker free agency. Almost immediately upon termination of the deal, Steph was wearing every other brand he could get his hands on. The rollout of this felt a little bit staged, as there were likely stylists behind the scenes picking out his tunnel shoes, though all of them sold at auction in April to support his and his wife’s charity foundation Eat. Learn. Play., which supports children in Oakland. As a Bay Area native, I can’t be mad at that.

During the on-court era of his free agency, Steph was rocking some serious heat. Curry pulled out a ton of incredible sneakers from the vault, including Kobes, Sabrinas, Jordans, and Reeboks. He was even the first NBA player to wear Kyrie Irving’s latest Anta model on court, with Irving himself still recovering from an ACL tear. The rotation of brands and styles seemed like a wear-test in action, on one of the biggest stages in sports, as Steph sought out where to take his Curry Brand for the next venture. This week, we finally have that answer; Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning.

Li-Ning has amassed an impressive array of NBA athletes on their roster over the last decade. After retiring, Dwyane Wade was one of the first to sign with them, and has over a dozen signature models with the brand, and Steph’s Warriors teammate Jimmy Butler is currently on his fourth shoe. Both of these models were reportedly a factor in Curry’s decision, having played in both players’ shoes to get a feel for what Li-Ning has to offer. The deal itself is set at ten years, with Li-Ning allowing Curry Brand to operate essentially as it’s own company. They will support Curry in manufacturing basketball shoes, off-court athleisure wear, a full golf line, and most importantly, the option to sign their own athletes under the Curry umbrella. This last part is likely a huge piece for Curry, who has mentored many of the current and rising stars we’ve seen in the last few years in both the NBA and WNBA. Li-Ning also committed to building dedicated Curry Brand stores in both the USA and China, growing Steph’s personal brand to a global scale.

Time will tell if Curry Brand and Li-Ning can truly deliver the future of performance basketball shoes, but their growing presence on courts across the country are a strong sign of what’s to come. Check out the full announcement below to hear it form Steph himself.