FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — NBA superstar Stephen Curry said Thursday a new signature shoe he’s designing in partnership with Li-Ning will debut early next year.
Curry announced in June he had struck a deal with the Chinese shoe company after his 13-year partnership with Under Armour came to a close.
“I think it was a great run,” Curry said of his relationship with Under Armour, adding the decision to end the relationship was “mutual.”
“Sometimes good things do come to an end,” he said. “I don’t have any regrets of how anything happened.”
Curry said he was looking for longevity, legacy and global reach in a new partner. He signed a 10-year, $400 million contract with Li-Ning, according to ESPN.
“I tried literally everything, and there was a reason that Li-Ning stood tall at the end because the product reigned supreme,” he said.
The four-time NBA champion also said he was influenced by Golden State Warriors teammate Jimmy Butler and former NBA player Dwyane Wade, who also represent Li-Ning.
Curry said he will wear Li-Ning shoes designed by Butler and Wade until his own product comes out.
Always a Warrior
Entering his 18th NBA season, Curry said he has no plans to test free agency or retire when his contract runs out in 2027. He said he’d like to remain with the Golden State Warriors.
“I want to be a lifer with Golden State,” Curry said. “What we’ve built there, the fact that I get to run it back with Draymond [Green] and Coach Kerr … my interest and mission is to stay and be competitive. … The contract stuff will take care of itself.”
Curry acknowledged he tried to recruit LeBron James to join the Warriors after the former Laker announced he was leaving that team. James ultimately signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, per various media reports.
“If anybody didn’t [try to recruit him], I think they’d be a fool,” Curry said. “It was a good time for the NBA — obviously with a guy of his stature, his notoriety, to be in that position where he got to choose where he wanted to go.”
Curry spoke to CNBC from an event at the Bethpage Black Golf Course with the Underrated Golf Tour, a national junior golf circuit he founded to provide access to young and underrepresented golfers.
Curry said he’s in talks with Versant-owned Golf Channel to televise the tournament for the first time next year.
Disclosure: CNBC and Golf Channel are divisions of Versant Media.
