Stephen Curry has created a significant buzz around the league with his latest sneaker free agency. He reportedly has shortlisted the sneaker brands he wants to sign with, and the Chinese company ANTA has apparently made it on that list.
Kyrie Irving is the chief creative officer of ANTA basketball, essentially the face of that brand in the NBA. He recently spoke to Andscape and addressed Stephen Curry potentially joining him on the team.
“I’m grateful to Steph,” Irving told Andscape. “Organically, he ended up reaching out to the brand since he’s a free agent. It was legendary, because we’re two competitors, two point guards, where our branding … sometimes we’ve been aligned, sometimes not, and we go at each other.”
“But I feel like [at Anta], we’re making that mark, where not only are we gonna say we have great product, but we have the community to match it, as well– to follow us through.”
“I’d love to have Steph on the brand. I’m just throwing it out there, man,” Irving said. “We have the best product out there, the best brand.”
The Warriors star became the first player ever to wear the KAI 3 ANTA sneakers at an NBA game in a recent game when they faced the Mavericks (Irving’s team) on January 22.
“There’s nothing but mutual respect and admiration for what he’s done in his career,” Curry said of Irving after the game. “I [contacted] him before tonight to make sure he was cool with me wearing his shoes, because I know he hasn’t had a chance to debut them himself on the court. And he said, ‘The admiration goes both ways.’”
Another significant factor in the Warriors superstar’s decision may be Klay Thompson, who also has a lifetime sneaker deal with ANTA. The idea of potentially joining forces with his former teammate could entice Curry into committing to ANTA.
It will be interesting to see which brand Curry finalizes, but it is promising to see that he might give an upcoming brand in the basketball world a shot instead of an established giant.
But that won’t really be surprising, since Curry has been with Under Armour throughout his career and has often embraced the underdog mentality. Therefore, we may realistically see him signing with ANTA if the stars align for the Chinese sneaker brand.
Curry’s deal with Under Armour was valued at the potential of earning over $1 Billion for him over the years with the brand, and it included incentives like company stocks and fixed payments.
If it were not for the unfortunate split between the parties, Curry was set to become a billionaire. Hence, brands know it would likely take moving a mountain to sign Curry.
