Golden State Warriors' legend Stephen Curry is the latest NBA star to hit free agency, but the four-time champion and unanimous MVP isn't moving away from the Bay Area. Over the last few weeks, serious drama has unraveled between Curry and longtime sponsor Under Armour as Curry's contract expires. Subsequently, Curry has been seen rocking several sneaker brands both on the court and in the tunnel, narrowing down his final choices to three brands.
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Steph Curry first signed to Under Armour in 2013, becoming the face of their basketball line and one of the first big-name athletes to join. The two sides released eight standalone, name-bearing models until the creation of the subset Curry Brand in 2020. With Stephen Curry acting as President, he managed to sign other NBA talent like Spurs' De'Aaron Fox and Heat's Davion Mitchell.
Curry's split with Under Armour
The Under Armour Basketball account on Instagram took the followers from the Curry Brand account following the NBA star's departure from the brand 👀
(via @SoleRetriever) pic.twitter.com/miOrsXIOy8
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) February 19, 2026
During contract negotiations and an initial thought that Curry Brand would move away from Under Armour, Under Armour displaced all the Curry Brand social media followers to their main Under Armour page. The move has sent waves throughout the sneaker community as Curry continues to rock other brands during basketball activities. Fans have also taken notice and have come to the defense of their favorite NBA star.
Where will Stephen Curry sign next?
Under Armour
While there may be a rift between the two sides, it's hard to walk away from a partnership that's lasted almost as long as Curry's entire career. In sneaker terms, Curry leaving Under Armour would be the equivalent to him leaving the Warriors, something fans don't even want to think about at this point. Keeping all his assets in order and within Under Armour could help promote Curry Brand even more throughout the upcoming years.
There's no question that most athletes would jump at the idea of joining the biggest sports brand in the world. Nike has a long history with the best to ever play the game like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Michael Jordan, so making Curry their fourth lifetime athlete would make sense. Furthermore, Curry shares a close relationship with WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu, who's making history with her current Nike Sabrina signature sneaker line.
However, during their 2013 pitch to originally sign Curry, Nike made a massive blunder in mispronouncing “Stephen” and failed to prioritize him as a top athlete. Since Curry has been rocking with several Nike sneakers before and during recent NBA games, there could be a chance that he's willing to look past the mistake and bring Curry Brand to unimaginable heights.
ANTA
The final brand, originally reported by Sole Retreiver to have made Curry's final cut, is Chinese sportswear brand ANTA. Curry has been seen favoring recent ANTA sneakers during games thanks to their performance. However, Curry's own “splash brother” Klay Thompson has been signed to ANTA since 2014 after leaving Nike himself, so he could be in Curry's ear about the emerging brand.
Furthermore, Mavs' Kyrie Irving serves as the Chief Creative Officer for ANTA and they recently just opened their first flagship location in the United States. In speaking with Sports Illustrated, Curry admits that he respects up-and-coming brands as he did so 13 years ago when joining Under Armour.
Curry is expected to make his decision in the coming weeks, the NBA offseason likely being the latest time frame for the announcement. Staying at Under Armour is the least likely outcome at this point and we're all anxiously awaiting to see where Curry Brand sets its new roots.
