NBA-ийн од Стефен Карри 12 гаруй жил үргэлжилсэн Under Armour-той хамтын ажиллагаагаа өндөрлөж, Li-Ning-тэй шинэ түншлэл эхлүүлсэндээ сэтгэл хангалуун байгаагаа хуваалцлаа.
Стефен Карри 2013 оноос эхлүүлсэн Under Armour-той хамтын ажиллагаагаа “гайхалтай аялал” хэмээн тодорхойлж, хоёр тал 2025 оны арваннэгдүгээр сард харилцан тохиролцсоны үндсэн дээр гэрээгээ дуусгавар болгосон гэдгээ онцоллоо. Энэхүү салтын үр дүнд тэрээр өөрийн “Curry Brand”-ийн хяналтыг бүрэн хадгалж үлдсэн бол Under Armour үндсэн бизнестээ анхаарлаа хандуулахаар болсон байна.
Карри ирээдүйн зорилгоо зөвхөн сагсан бөмбөгөөр хязгаарлахгүйгээр гольф, амьдралын хэв маяг, бэлтгэлийн чиглэлээр “Curry Brand”-ийг дэлхийн хэмжээнд өргөжүүлэхэд чиглүүлж байна. Энэхүү алсын харааг хэрэгжүүлэх хамтрагчаар Li-Ning-ийг сонгосон бөгөөд зургадугаар сард байгуулсан урт хугацааны гэрээний хүрээнд бүтээгдэхүүний хөгжүүлэлт болон дэлхийн жижиглэнгийн худалдааг өргөжүүлэхээр төлөвлөжээ.
2025-26 оны улирлын өмнө Карри өөр өөр компанийн бүтээгдэхүүнийг туршиж үзсэний эцэст Li-Ning-ийн чанар хамгийн өндөр түвшинд байсан тул ийнхүү сонголтоо хийсэн байна. Тэрээр өмнөх хамтын ажиллагаагаа эерэгээр харж байгаа бөгөөд бүх зүйл тодорхой шалтгааны улмаас болдог гэдгийг цохон тэмдэглэлээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Stephen Curry spent more than a decade building one of basketball’s most recognizable athlete-brand partnerships with Under Armour. Now, months into his new chapter with Li-Ning, he says he has no regrets about how that relationship ended.
Curry reflected on the split this week, calling his 12-plus years with Under Armour “a great run” and emphasizing that the separation was mutual rather than bitter. Under Armour and Curry officially announced their split in November 2025, ending a partnership that began in 2013 and eventually led to the creation of Curry Brand. Under the separation, Curry retained control of his brand while Under Armour moved forward with its core business.
“I think it was a great run,” Curry said. “Under Armour had a great experience over the 12, 13 years I was there, developed Curry Brand underneath.”
For Curry, the decision was ultimately about what came next rather than what went wrong.
He said his priority was finding a partner capable of helping Curry Brand grow beyond basketball and beyond the United States, with ambitions in golf, lifestyle and training as well. That search eventually led him to Li-Ning, which signed Curry and Curry Brand to a long-term agreement in June. The partnership is expected to include global retail expansion, product development across several categories and continued investment in Curry Brand as its own identity.
“For me, it’s looking at the longevity and legacy of what I think is possible not just here in the US but globally, across basketball, golf, lifestyle and training,” Curry said. “Li-Ning has been an unbelievable partner.”
Before making the decision, Curry effectively turned the 2025-26 season into one of the most unusual sneaker free-agency periods the NBA has seen. He wore and tested products from multiple companies, including Li-Ning models associated with Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler, before settling on his new home.
“I tried literally everything,” Curry said. “And there was a reason that Li-Ning stood tall at the end because the product kind of reigned supreme.”
That point appears to have mattered as much as the business structure.
Curry has repeatedly described the Li-Ning agreement as something larger than a conventional shoe deal. The reported 10-year partnership gives him the opportunity to continue developing Curry Brand on a global scale rather than simply attaching his name to another signature sneaker line.
The move also followed a complicated final stretch with Under Armour. Reports around the separation suggested Curry had concerns about the level of investment behind Curry Brand and its future growth, but publicly he has chosen to frame the relationship in positive terms.
“It was mutual,” Curry said. “Sometimes good things do come to an end.”
He added that the separation was structured to benefit both sides and made clear he does not look back on the Under Armour era with frustration.
“I don’t have any regrets about anything that happened. Everything does happen for a reason.”
Steph Curry on leaving Under Armour:
“I think it was a great run. Under Armour had a great experience over the 12, 13 years I was there, developed Curry Brand underneath…for me is looking at the longevity and legacy of what I think is possible not just here in the US but… pic.twitter.com/z7L8Jkof6U
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) September 17, 2026
That may be the most important part of Curry’s perspective.
Under Armour helped turn him into one of the most influential signature athletes in basketball, and Curry helped transform Under Armour Basketball in return. But Curry now sees the next phase of his business career differently. The goal is no longer simply to sell a signature shoe.
It is to build Curry Brand into something that can exist globally, across multiple sports and potentially long after his NBA career is over. For Curry, leaving Under Armour was not about erasing the past. It was about making sure the brand he built there had the freedom to become something bigger.
The post Stephen Curry Has No Regrets About Leaving Under Armour As Li-Ning Partnership Begins New Era appeared first on OpenCourt Basketball.
