Breaking News: Stephen Curry Issues Clear Message to Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal & Others After Under Armour Split…see more

A Basketball player without a shoe deal? That is just a barefoot baller, waiting for someone to put a sole on it.

From Jordan’s iconic Air Jordans to LeBron’s Nike deal at 18 years old, sneakers are symbols of legacy. After parting ways with Under Armour, Stephen Curry finds himself in rare territory, yes, without a shoe deal.

Now that his long-standing deal with Under Armour has ended, Curry seems genuinely ready to explore the full limits of the sneaker world. But what could this world be? For Curry, partnering with Shaq could be a legacy move: joining forces with a legend who’s building something new rather than rehashing old collabs.

Curry’s willingness to “try everything out” is a launch point for literally anything. He could walk into a reimagined Reebok under Shaq’s leadership or shake up the sneaker universe by linking up with Jordan’s dynasty. The split with Under Armour marks the end of a 12-year partnership that began in 2013.

Remember Kobe Bryant’s free-agent moment? Not on the court, but in the sneaker world. During the 2002-03 season, Kobe experienced his own sneaker free agency after parting ways with Adidas.

For an entire year, he rotated through multiple brands—Jordan, Converse, Reebok, and AND1—before signing with Nike the following summer. The rest, as they say, is history.