Shoe giant Nike has always gotten the biggest NBA stars under its fold. Think Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant. However, in 2013, the Swoosh Brand lost an endorser who would later join LeBron and KD as the most iconic players of this generation. Nike could have had the Trinity. Instead, he is the biggest mistake they ever made.
But Stephen Curry wasn’t like Vince Carter or Kobe, who weren’t originally their talent. Curry had been a Nike athlete since he entered the league. That year, his contract was up, and he was due for a new one. The courtship was scheduled for August 2013 at the Oakland Marriott.
The presentation, however, was a disaster right from the start. According to Dell Curry, the Nike official who began the meeting addressed his son as ‘Steph-on’.
“I heard some people pronounce his name wrong before,” said Dell. “I wasn’t surprised. I was surprised that I didn’t get a correction.”
It was one mistake after another
Another surprise was that the brand officials didn’t know his name, considering he had been with the brand since 2009. And six months before that disastrous meeting, Steph introduced himself to the world with his iconic 54-point performance at Madison Square Garden. In that campaign, Curry also set the NBA record for most three-pointers made in a single season. But that was not it.
When it was time for the PowerPoint show, one slide had Kevin Durant’s name instead of Steph’s. That made Dell think Nike used a repurposed presentation and forgot to edit one slide. At that point, the former Charlotte Hornets guard could no longer believe what he witnessed.
“I stopped paying attention after that,” admitted Dell. Despite the obvious disrespect, the Currys finished listening to Nike’s half-hearted pitch. But they left the meeting with more questions than answers.
The Currys listened to Under Armour before meeting with Nike
It’s unclear whether Nike knew, but Dell and Steph met with Under Armour officials in Curry’s hometown before that Oakland meeting. Under Armour was an unknown brand then; its NBA endorsers were Brandon Jennings and Steph’s teammate Kent Bazemore. Steph saw first-hand how UA pampered the undrafted Bazemore with shoes to the point that he had more sneakers than all of his teammates in the Warriors locker room.
“I remember Steph saying in our presentation when we met with the family down in Charlotte, ‘You guys are doing this stuff for Bazemore. What are you going to be doing for me?’ said UA exec Kris Stone.
The rest is history. Curry signed with Under Armour four years ago, and four years later, UA established the Curry Brand. Last October, the company released the Curry 12 globally, which means it’s the 12th installment of Steph’s signature shoe. Nike is still king and eons ahead of Under Armour. But David beating Goliath in 2013 will always be a tough pill to swallow.
