Jalen Brunson and Victor Wembanyama are playing for more than a championship. Steph Curry turned a shoe free agency into $400 million. Jaden Smith now runs Christian Louboutin's men's division. Welcome back to The Closeout. Let's get into it.

I asked last week who would build a bigger empire off the court: Jalen Brunson or Victor Wembanyama. The answer is… tricky.

The series has shifted to the Big Apple, with Game 4 tipping off later tonight. The on-court story will write itself with one team hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy when the confetti falls: a young, talented, yet unproven team with one of the best young players in the game, or a tight-knit crew with a roster carefully constructed via calculated trades and acquisitions. The more interesting story is about one player from each team.

Jalen Brunson decided to leave money on the table when he sprinted out of Dallas for New York in 2022. He knew his worth had skyrocketed following the season and realized something most athletes overlook: playing in New York, for the Knicks, at Madison Square Garden is an asset no contract number fully captures. But then he did something completely unprecedented, unselfish, and extremely smart: he forewent a max contract, surrendering nearly $113 million in guaranteed money. That decision helped build the current roster. The Knicks were able to lock down OG Anunoby, trade for Mikal Bridges, and acquire Karl-Anthony Towns.

Since then, he's secured endorsement deals across Nike, BodyArmor, American Express, and Delta.  He also co-hosts The Roommates Show with Knicks teammate Josh Hart, one of the most-watched athlete-led podcasts of the NBA season, produced in partnership with Playmaker HQ. If the Knicks win their first title since 1973, his brand value explodes in ways only the New York market knows how to do. He took a huge gamble on a city. Good thing it was New York.

Now, on to Wembanyama, who made the opposite bet, with the same frame of mind: bet on yourself.

Where Brunson left money on the table to chase a market, Wemby left money on the table by refusing to sit down at it. The most generational prospect since LeBron spent his entire pre-draft run in France turning deals down. His camp had one rule: silence. No campaigns, no logos, no personal-brand building. Let the tape do the talking and let the mystery keep people interested. By the time he was draftable, brands were bidding on a phenomenon they'd been starved of access to.

When he was finally open for business, he made sure to do it at the top of the market. Nike, who'd quietly signed him back in 2022 while he was still in the French league, extended him for three years ahead of the draft, a figure reported to the tune of $100 million, enough to clear the seven-year, $90 million deal LeBron signed out of high school in 2003. A year into his career, Louis Vuitton named him a house ambassador, putting him alongside Naomi Osaka and Carlos Alcaraz and pairing two of France's most recognizable exports in one deal. The market reacted quickly: his jersey became one of the top sellers in the league, trailing only Curry, Tatum, and LeBron. He is, by design, being built as the man who inherits the spotlight LeBron eventually vacates.

But endorsements are only one side of the equation. They prove the demand. What you do with it is the real tell. Around draft time, Wemby took an equity stake in Barcode, a plant-based performance drink built by former Knicks and Lakers performance director Mubarak Malik alongside Kyle Kuzma. This wasn't a brand ambassador move. He took ownership, a seat in product R&D, and a spot on a cap table that already ironically included former Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony, current Knick Jordan Clarkson, Kelly Rowland, Chelsea Gray, amongst others. The figures were never disclosed, but the structure tells the story: he earns when Barcode grows. He turned down big soda money and bought into clean hydration instead.

The kid who taught himself English off Instagram at 13 because "basketball people speak English" is the same one refusing checks that don't fit his brand ethos.

His Nike deal expires in October 2026, after his second year and on the heels of a Finals appearance. He could re-sign, or he could do what Curry just did and walk into sneaker free agency, play a full season unsponsored, and let the entire industry bid again. Either way, the lesson is the one Brunson taught from the other direction: the players building the biggest empires aren't the ones grabbing every dollar. They're the ones who know which dollars to leave on the table, and which ones to turn into equity.

I'll let you decide…

Steph Curry's Li-Ning numbers are in: $400M for 10 years, reported by ESPN's Shams Charania. Curry Brand retail stores will hit both the U.S. and China. Another forward thinking deal that only looks smarter the more you read into it. 

Caleb Williams became the first Chicago Bears player ever on a Madden cover. The 24-year-old led the Bears to a 2025 divisional title and chose to feature the Chicago skyline behind him on the cover as a tribute to Michael Jordan. Keep balling, young man. 

Justin Bieber announced his fashion label SKYLRK is expanding into audio with a new line of speakers and headphones. SKYLRK pulled $5 million in merch during Coachella weekend one alone, beating the festival's previous two-weekend record of $1.7 million. Fashion. Lifestyle. Now tech.

Anthony Edwards joined Karma Automotive's invite-only Nexus program as an investor, not a pitchman, alongside Kyler Murray, Bryce Young, and Tracy McGrady. Athletes want a seat at the table.

Jameer Nelson, the 14-year NBA veteran and Philadelphia native, has been promoted to EVP of Basketball Operations for the 76ers. Marcel Reece picked the Olympics. John Wall picked an HBCU. Nelson is climbing the ranks of the front office. 

The first thing that might come to mind when you hear Jaden Smith’s name: Oh yeah, Will Smith’s son. The proper association should be: Grammy-nominated artist, actor, co-founder of bottled water brand Just Water, and founder of streetwear label MSFTSrep. Add another moniker to the list: Men’s Creative Director for Christian Louboutin. 

At 27years old, the Christian Louboutin-appointment gives him oversight of four collections annually across men's shoes, leather goods, accessories, events, and immersive experiences. His appointment generated $5.4 million in media impact value in 48 hours, per Launchmetrics. His debut Fall/Winter 2026 collection rolled out globally on June 3.

Jaden didn’t get this appointment handed to him. He’s been quietly grinding, building businesses and diversifying his portfolio since he was a teenager.

Luxury houses are racing to stay culturally legible to a younger generation. Louboutin didn't hire Smith to design alone. His impact will leave its mark for the next decade of buyers.

Travis Scott's Cactus Jack is teaming with Nike to revive the Total 90 line for the 2026 World Cup. The capsule is expected to include jerseys, tracksuits, and possibly a reworked T90 sneaker in Cactus Jack's earth-toned aesthetic, building on the archive that defined football style in the early 2000s. Last week NOCTA designed Canada's kit. This week Cactus Jack is reworking one of Nike's most recognizable football archives. Two consecutive Drops featuring artist sub-brands operating inside Nike's World Cup. 

Dan Runcie covers the business of hip-hop and music culture the same way The Closeout covers sport. This week's episode unpacks why some art compounds in cultural value over time while other work fades. It's framed through music, but the framework applies everywhere. The artists, athletes, and operators who think in decades, not quarters, are the ones who build empires that outlast their primes. Worth a listen + a subscribe.

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