Steph Curry's Sneaker Free Agency Down to Three Contenders... and ANTA is One of Them

It's been a wild week for Steph and the Curry Brand. Kind of sounds like a band, and has the drama of one, too. Earlier this week, we broke a story about Under Armour walking back their promise to let Steph keep all of his Curry Brand assets and stealin... I mean migrating all of Curry Brand's nearly 500,000 Instagram followers to their Under Armour Basketball account, leaving Curry's eponymous label with about 100 followers. Thankfully, our readers and Curry's fans have heard the rallying cry and have been re-following Curry Brand and breaking free of the moisture wicking turtlenecks that bind them.

Now, we finally have some good news to break about Steph Curry.

The best show on TV the past few months has been Curry Watch, and we've all been obsessed with tuning in to see what Steph will lace up before and during the game. As with all great shows, knowing when to tie up the loose ends and deliver a killer finale is the hardest part. Steph has never shied away from a challenge, and while losing a "lifetime" deal may have derailed others, Curry has embraced his Sneaker Free Agency and seemingly had some of the most fun in his career. But all good things must come to an end.

Sole Retriever can exclusively report that Stephen Curry has narrowed his potential landing spots to three sneaker brands, and ANTA is among them.

Longtime supporter and sneaker sponsor of his former Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, ANTA has made tremendous strides in the US market in recent years, opening up their first stateside flagship store in Beverly Hills during NBA All-Star Weekend. It was at this ribbon cutting that they rewarded Klay with very own lifetime deal, showing they can offer the kind of loyalty Curry Brand's previous home ultimately could not.

On Sunday afternoon, photos and videos surfaced of Curry training with Sabrina Ionescu and Kyrie Irving during All-Star Weekend in a pair of ANTA Enclosion Type 2 that featured a Curry Brand logo on the heel tab. That logo has never appeared on a shoe that wasn't made by Under Armour before.

While Under Armour is struggling to find its footing both financially and culturally, ANTA is booming. Their appointing of Kyrie Irving as Chief Creative Officer, allowing him to explore his vision fully while introducing the Chinese brand to substantially more people than ever before, has proved a savvy and successful move. Just last month, ANTA purchased a $1.8 Billion stake in PUMA, becoming the largest shareholder in the iconic sportswear and sneaker brand.

It's no surprise ANTA is making a push to welcome Steph's marketability to the fold, but it may surprise you who they could beat out in the competition for Curry Brand's business. We can't say just yet who the other two brands are in the race, but download the Sole Retriever App for all the latest news surrounding Steph's sneaker free agency.

Drew London

Drew oversees content at Sole Retriever and hates writing in the 3rd person soooo I'm going to stop. I've written for countless blogs and magazines, from Complex to XXL and everywhere in between. Spent a long time in LA, running content and working on branded collabs at The Hundreds. Now, I'm back home on the East Coast freezing my ass off. Email me at drew@soleretriever.com with scoops, story ideas, and size 13 heat.