LeBron’s growing golf obsession could open a new chapter with Nike, following Tiger Woods’ departure and Stephen Curry’s expanding presence in golf.
This story appeared in Boardroom’s Fall Issue print magazine and has been adapted for online publication.
Right smack in the middle of the 2026 NBA Finals month, LeBron James‘s attention was, surprisingly, elsewhere. Specifically, King James was on the golf course, alongside Rich Paul, KLUTCH‘s Lucas Newton, and a woman named Joyce Smith. He was in the greenside rough, a bunker sitting between him and the cup. He chipped it softly onto the putting surface, and the ball slowly rolled into the hole. It was a chipin birdie, not bad for someone who’s only been golfing for a year and a half. In fact, I doubt very, very few golfers a year into their obsession could hole out a shot like that without prodigious amounts of luck, but James’s technique suggests his preternatural ability isn’t limited to the basketball court.
Courtesy of LeBron James’ Instagram
Courtesy of LeBron James’ Instagram
While much was made of LeBron’s free-agent decision and its impact on the 2026-27 NBA season, he was clearly willing to slow-play it; in the service of drama, of course, but it also seemed like he was genuinely enjoying his offseason as a golf sicko. James, like middle-aged men across the country, spent far too much time immersing himself in the addictive intricacies of getting better at golf. He has shown little want to slow down, but his newfound golf obsession has created an interesting avenue for his post-career journey. Specifically, does LBJ’s relationship with Nike suggest there might be an opportunity to fill a massive, Tiger-size gap in the iconic brand’s once-prolific golf division?
For years, Nike has been half-in, half-out when it comes to golf. The brand stopped manufacturing golf clubs and balls in 2016, and Tiger Woods left to launch the TaylorMade-affiliated Sun Day Red in 2024, ending a 27-year partnership. Nike has managed to retain many of the biggest names in the game with clothing deals, including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, and LPGA star Nelly Korda. Even though golf apparel now brings in a significant amount of revenue for Nike, it’s only one of a number of big players in the space. Recruiting someone like James into the fold-someone not traditionally associated with the game-would be a huge boon.
Sam Greenwood / Getty Images
As it stands, the LeBron signature basketball shoe often ranks as Nike’s highest-selling item in the category, even though he’s far from the peak of his powers. If LeBron were to dedicate a lot of his post-career energy to the game of golf, he could be the recreational face the sport so desperately needs. He’s already taking steps in that direction, recently launching a YouTube channel dedicated to his golf journey. As significant as YouTube personalities like Grant Horvat and content creators like Bryson DeChambeau are to the sport, there are few public figures on this planet as popular as LeBron James. He would seamlessly fill the void for Nike that Tiger left when he departed.
It should be noted that LeBron wouldn’t be the only NBA player looking to occupy space in the golf world. Stephen Curry, a scratch player on the course, has become a crossover success between these two worlds, showing that ballers can be golfers and vice versa. Instead of waiting until his career is over to make headway into a game that is becoming younger, more diverse, and more accessible, Curry has already given himself to this market by launching the UNDERRATED Golf Tour in 2022 to make it easier for Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous junior golfers to get into the sport, and making a seven-figure donation to Howard University to launch its golf program.
While Steph has become the envy of mid-handicappers everywhere, plenty of other big NBA names are showcasing their love of the sport. One example is Austin Reaves, who is one of the only current NBA players who has an argument as a better golfer than Curry, and he is a regular participant each July in the celebrity American Century Championship.
Eakin Howard / Getty Image
Basketball’s relationship with golf isn’t limited to players. Jordan Brand remains heavily involved in the golf space, sponsoring golfers like Tony Finau to an apparel and footwear deal, as well as 2025 Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who has been wearing the Jumpman logo on his shoes since 2013. The company has renewed efforts to build out its golf apparel brand, creating original designs and turning many of its signature shoe silhouettes into golf cleats. Jordan, in many respects, runs in tandem with Nike Golf, holding its own with new offerings and inventive styles. Additionally, the brand has made inroads in more niche golf culture, like when it signed a multi-year partnership with Swang, the Black-owned streetwear golf brand whose mission statement reads: “A Community for Those Who Were Never Invited—But Always Belonged.” As far back as 2021, Jordan built these partnerships, releasing a collab that year with Eastside Golf, another pioneering Black-owned golf apparel brand.
It’s easy to imagine James forging ahead into this world after his playing career ends. Perhaps he’ll link up with an already-existing brand or establish his own entity. Regardless, the bar has been set for the value of such a deal, thanks to the deal Curry signed in June, a 10-year, reported $400 million-plus footwear and apparel deal with Chinese brand Li-Ning. Li-Ning has very little name recognition outside of China, so it’ll be interesting to see how the relationship develops. According to ESPN, the deal includes basketball products, athleisure lifestyle wear, the ability for Curry to sign athletes under his brand, and a full golf line.
How Curry asserts himself in the world of golf apparel-both as his NBA career winds down and as he begins his post-professional life-is one of the most compelling questions in the space right now. He’s not nearly good enough to compete on the PGA Tour (as Draymond Green recently said Curry might be after three years of dedicated course work), but he’s far more than a weekend warrior. Will he be able to attract his basketball fans to the game via his line with Li-Ning? Will golfers shift brand loyalty to a star like Curry? It might be a good gauge for what LeBron could accomplish once his career is officially wrapped.
What makes this moment worth watching isn’t any single player’s post-career plan, but the timing of it all. Some of basketball’s biggest names are drifting toward golf at the exact moment the game is shedding the stuffiness that kept people out for generations. Brands like Swang, Eastside Golf, and others have spent years building a version of the sport that looks and feels like the culture these players and founders come from, and golf is getting younger, more diverse, and more welcoming because of it. When a Stephen Curry launches the UNDERRATED Tour or an Austin Reaves shows up every July to prove he belongs, they’re not just picking up a hobby; they’re pointing a fan base that never saw itself in the sport toward a door that’s finally open. The old version of golf needed someone like Tiger to force his way in and drag an audience behind him. This one is being met halfway.
If even a handful of these players decide to give golf the same energy they gave basketball once their playing days are done, they won’t be entering a closed world and hoping to be let in. They’ll be arriving right as the game becomes something they can actually own, and the sport may end up looking more like them than it ever looked before.
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