Stephen Curry and Chinese sportswear giant Li-Ning announced an endorsement deal on June 1.
ESPN’s Shams Charmania, a senior NBA insider, said the 10-year deal is worth more than $400 million, with Curry choosing the Chinese brand over others offering similar-sized deals, and at least one offering even more.
China and multiple Chinese brands are major sponsors of the NBA.
“The future of the Curry brand will be powered by a company truly rooted in sports and innovation,” Curry said in a promotional video posted on X. “A partner dedicated to creating quality products, with sneakers that I truly believe in, [and] that will continue to deliver at the highest level.”
In his 17 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, the four-time NBA champion and two-time MVP is widely regarded as the greatest shooter in basketball history. He holds the all-time three-point record and was named the league’s first-ever unanimous MVP in 2016.
Curry was in partnership with Under Armour for 12 years, during which he was the face of the company’s footwear line with his own signature shoe. His contract ended during the 2025–2026 NBA season.
Curry, 38, is unlikely to play much longer in the NBA, so some, if not most, of the contract is expected to take place during his retirement.
Li-Ning said Curry has tried its basketball products through on-court play and product testing, and that the two will work together to advance global development of both brands, starting with basketball and golf, and extending to broader lifestyle sport categories.
“I felt that in the conversations we’ve had and in the product I’ve tested,” Curry said. “The quality, performance and innovation are real, and it instills confidence in what we can create together.”
Former NBA player turned human rights advocate Enes Kanter Freedom on X called out Curry for partnering with the Chinese company over the risk of human rights violations in the labor line. Li-Ning has come under scrutiny for its support of using Xinjiang cotton, a commodity that researchers say is likely tainted with Uyghur forced labor in Xinjiang.
“He lectures America about ‘justice’ and ‘values’ while cashing checks from a company tied to the same Chinese system accused of forced labor, sweatshops, and brutal human rights abuses,” said Kanter Freedom, who believes he was sidelined by the league for his criticism of China’s human rights record.
“He and Steve Kerr talk a big game politically, but always seem to appease China. The #NBA loves activism until China is involved. Freedom for sale.”
Kanter Freedom also posted an AI-generated photo of Chinese leader Xi Jinping handing Curry a bag of Chinese Yuan, with a sign “Free Uyghurs” in the background.
In January 2025, the U.S. State Department issued a statement saying that communist China over the previous four years had carried out a mass detention and political indoctrination campaign against ethnic Uyghurs and members of other persecuted ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang region of China. Washington accused Chinese companies and local governments of receiving state subsidies for overseeing forced labor in their manufacturing lines.
“In Xinjiang, the government is the trafficker. Authorities use threats of physical violence, forcible drug intake, physical and sexual abuse, and torture to force detainees to work in adjacent or off-site factories or worksites,” it said.
The Epoch Times reached out to Li-Ning and Stephen Curry’s team for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Li Ning, founder and executive chairman of Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning, speaks during a press conference in Hong Kong on July 5, 2012. DALE de la REY/AFP
Li-Ning was founded in 1990 by Chinese Olympic gymnast Li-Ning, 63, and became a serious name in the basketball world after signing Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade in 2012, and since partnering with NBA star Jimmy Butler and CJ McCollum.
“LI-NING and Curry share a deep understanding of sport and a common commitment to performance, innovation and the next generation of athletes,” Li-Ning chairman Li-Ning said.
