Why Stephen Curry’s Li-Ning deal is a global move

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s footwear free agency ended Monday with a logical, if unexpected, choice.

After six and a half months as a sneaker free agent, Curry signed a 10-year deal with Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning valued at more than $400 million, according to ESPN insider Shams Charania.

Curry parting ways with longtime sponsor Under Armour once seemed as unlikely as him playing somewhere other than the Bay Area.

However, in what read as a shrewd cost-cutting move, the Baltimore brand and the four-time NBA champion announced a mutual split in November 2025.

Curry made the most of the unlikely exit, playing freely in storied sneakers from various brands and eras, all while weighing offers from various suitors.

Ultimately, the winner was Li-Ning, a $6.1 billion brand based in Beijing with 7,600 stores in Asia.

In signing Curry, the Chinese sportswear giant pairs with an American icon as the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles approach. 

“I consider it a proud privilege to be able to use my platform to help Mr. Li Ning and his teams bring their innovation to the US,” Curry wrote in a news post on Thirty Ink, his brand collective site. “We have plans to launch Curry Brand stores together in China and the US.”

In partnering with Li-Ning, Curry has the resources and reach to scale his legacy in China, a country with hundreds of millions of basketball fans.

“Li-Ning is a total sports brand, and it’s also the basketball market share leader in China,” wrote Curry.

For those familiar with basketball’s largest consumer base in Asia and the design strides Li-Ning has made, the move feels like a natural fit.

Curry’s stature as a championship-winning guard and global star makes him a marketer’s dream in China, a market that drives nearly all of Li-Ning’s revenue, with more than 98% of its $4.3 billion coming from the domestic market in 2025.

Curry is the latest NBA player to sign with Li-Ning. He headlines a Li-Ning basketball roster led by Golden State Warriors teammate Jimmy Butler and Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum. Curry joins Hall of Fame guard Dwyane Wade, who left Jordan Brand in 2012 to partner with Li-Ning, and still releases shoes with the brand under the Way of Wade line.

Li-Ning will lean on Curry as it looks to expand beyond China and establish a stronger retail presence in the U.S. Though the brand has had numerous NBA endorsers over the past 20 years, it has struggled to establish and sustain a real retail foothold in America.

The lack of market share isn’t because of weak design or poor play. In recent years, Li-Ning has created some of the most head-turning basketball shoes, beloved by the performance review community.

Recent releases such as the Li-Ning Gamma 2 and Curry co-signed Way of Wade 12 both received 9.5/10 performance reviews from Wear Testers and were each named among the best basketball shoes of 2025 and 2026.

Curry Brand will now benefit from an innovative, futuristic visual language missing from his previous Under Armour signature sneakers. He will also be an instant priority, a status other suitors could not clearly offer.

Comment section chatter will claim Nike dropped the ball by not signing Curry or that the 12-time NBA All-Star should have done a deal with Adidas. They are wrong.

For Nike and Adidas to bounce back in sales, they are best suited to make small bets on young talent rather than large investments in established veterans.

Swiss running company On Holding AG could have used Curry as a catalyst to enter basketball and golf but would need significant time to develop the products.

Chinese sportswear brand Anta has scaled successfully in the U.S. after signing Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, but is less touted across categories as Curry looks to expand his brand through golf and lifestyle.

The footwear world needs more creative shakeups and fewer safely-stacked teams.

By partnering with an established sportswear company in China, Curry can transcend time and hemispheres with fearless design and global distribution. By signing Curry, Li-Ning can finally plant its flag at American retailers with one of basketball’s biggest draws.

Li-Ning may seem like an unlikely landing spot, but it’s the right business move for both sides.

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