Analysis of Stephen Curry's Next Brand Partnership

As of April 24, 2026, there has been no official announcement of the results in public information. Based on the latest verifiable news, my judgment is: Curry is most likely to sign with ANTA, Nike second, and Li Ning third. If I had to give a rough probability, I would give ANTA 45% / Nike 35% / Li Ning 20%. This part is an inference based on public signals, not confirmed information.

There are three core reasons.

The strongest "non-official signal" comes from ANTA.
During the All-Star Weekend on February 22, Curry was photographed wearing ANTA shoes with the Curry Brand logo, a significant signal because it's the first time his personal logo has clearly appeared on a non-Under Armour shoe model. On February 25, in an interview with Andscape, Irving explicitly stated that Curry "actively contacted the brand," and Curry was also the first player to wear the KAI 3 on an NBA court.

ANTA seems most willing to give him "brand-level space."
This part is my inference. Curry this time doesn't seem to be just choosing a pair of shoes, but choosing the commercial platform for his next phase. ANTA has already given Irving creative authority like ANTA Basketball CCO, and on February 14 officially gave Klay a lifetime partnership; this shows it is willing to form long-term, deep bonds around stars. For a star of Curry's caliber, this is more important than just endorsement fees.

ANTA has the strongest strategic need at this moment.
ANTA officially disclosed on March 25 that its 2025 revenue reached RMB 80.22 billion; on January 27, it announced the acquisition of a 29.06% stake in PUMA, and this year also opened its first flagship store in the US. Simply put, ANTA now desperately needs a true super symbol that can penetrate the North American basketball market, and Curry happens to be that most scarce person.

Why didn't I put Nike first? Because Nike's product and cultural appeal are still very strong. Sole Retriever's April 15 statistics show that during this "sneaker free agency" period, Nike was indeed the most worn by Curry in official games, accounting for 42.4%. Combined with the emotional and cultural connections he has with lines like Kobe and Sabrina, Nike is absolutely still the biggest variable. The problem is, in the public signals, Nike seems more like "Curry is willing to wear," but hasn't yet shown that "the brand is willing to cede enough brand autonomy for Curry."

Why is Li Ning ranked third? Not because it's weak, but on the contrary, if you only look at end-of-season on-court trust, Li Ning is not bad. In the latest report on April 23, Curry wore the Wade Way of Wade 12 in 3 out of the 6 games after his return, including his return debut and the season finale, indicating his recognition of the product. But so far, Li Ning's negotiation signals at the public level are not as strong as ANTA's; there have been no Curry logo-level sample exposures seen, nor continuous North American strategic moves like ANTA's.

So my conclusion is: If you only look at "what was worn in the last few games," Li Ning is competitive; but if you consider "negotiation signals, brand permissions, budget capabilities, and North American expansion needs" together, ANTA still looks most like the final winner.
The only thing that could truly overturn the result is one scenario: Nike finally offers terms far exceeding an ordinary signature shoe contract, signing Curry as a "late-career Jordan/Kobe-level legacy asset."

Reference sources:
Lanxiong/Sina 2026-04-23 latest report
Sole Retriever 2026-02-22: Curry's contenders narrowed to three, ANTA included
Andscape 2026-02-25: Irving discusses Curry's contact with ANTA
ANTA Official: 2026-02-14 announcement of Klay lifetime partnership
ANTA Official IR: 2026-03-25 disclosure of 2025 performance
Nike Official IR: 2026-03-31 disclosure of FY2026 Q3 results
Sole Retriever 2026-04-15: Curry's sneaker free agency wearing statistics

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