A valuable player like Stephen Curry, Nike overlooked and lost him very easily. What happened that brought Curry to Under Amour?
Stephen Curry, the name now associated with Under Amour, was once an “asset” of Nike. But it seems that Nike did not realize the value that Stephen Curry could bring and after a series of unsatisfactory events, Curry refused to renew his contract with the famous American sports brand to join Under Amour. .

 

What happened next was clear to the whole world, Stephen Curry came to Under Amour (UA) and was treated like a king. Many experts believe that Stephen Curry coming to Under Amour in 2013 is another version of Michael Jordan coming to Nike in 1984.

Under Amour’s value has increased many times since Stephen Curry became their representative face. Under Amour’s basketball industry, from a state of decline in the market, has brought in the most profits for UA.

With such great value for Stephen Curry, why did Nike “lose” the Golden State Warriors superstar?

Along with looking back at the most outstanding shoe models in Stephen Curry’s career, let’s look back at how Nike lost Stephen Curry.

Stephen Curry in Rookie Year with Nike Hyperize.

Stephen Curry has just finished a quite successful 2012-13 season. He appeared in the starting lineup in all 78 matches for the Golden State Warriors and contributed greatly to bringing the Warriors to the regional semi-finals. According to the terms, Nike has every right to keep Curry with “The Swoosh”.

Stephen Curry in Davidson’s shirt with Nike Hyperdunk 2008.

Stephen Curry himself also wants to stick with the world’s largest sports brand. Curry’s grandfather worked for Nike, and Curry himself wore Nike shoes from when he was a child until the time he shined at Davidson to reach the NBA.

Nike Hyperdunk 2010 PE model dedicated to Stephen Curry.

The best game of his career up to that point, where Curry exploded to score 54 points right at Madison Square Garden, also wearing a pair of Nike Zoom Hyperfuse on his feet. Everything is ready for Stephen Curry to accept a new contract with Nike. But on the other hand, Nike seems to be less interested in Steph.

Nike Zoom Hyperfuse 2012 accompanied Stephen Curry in the historic match against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Before the contract negotiation meeting took place, Nike removed Stephen Curry from the list of players sponsoring a “Basketball Training Camp” taking place in the summer of 2013. List This only has two players including Chris Paul and Anthony Davis. This is the first step back from Nike regarding Stephen Curry.

Another Nike Hyperfuse PE model made specifically for Stephen Curry.

Training Camp sessions may not mean much to fans, but they are very important to professional players in the NBA. This is an opportunity for the players to teach and directly interact with young fans, something that means a lot to them instead of having to sign autographs outside the stadiums.

Nike Air Max Fly By colorway “Golden State” on Curry’s feet.

By the time the meeting took place, Nike had made several more disastrous mistakes. First, they did not bring to the meeting their usual negotiator Lynn Merritt, consultant to Lebron James. Instead, there was a person who was rated quite poorly by the American media, Nico Harrison (then Head of Marketing at Nike).

Stephen Curry plays in the Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers wearing Nike Zoom Hyperfuse.

It was Lynn Merritt who mispronounced Stephen Curry’s name. “He read my child’s name Steph-on” – Dell Curry, Stephen Curry’s father, shared about the meeting that year. Starting from here, everything couldn’t have been worse.

Nike Air Max Flight’ 11 on the feet of Stephen Curry.

During the PowerPoint presentation, there was a Slide that still had Kevin Durant’s name on it instead of having Stephen Curry’s name on it. Not only did Nike underestimate Stephen Curry to the point of reusing the PowerPoint file they used with Kevin Durant, but they even neglected to change Kevin Durant’s name to Curry.

Nike Zoom Hyperfuse special edition for Stephen Curry at the All-Star Game.

After seeing that Slide, Curry’s entire team no longer really cared about the meeting. Curry’s father said: “It’s surprising that they would miss something like that. I tried to express my dissatisfaction throughout the meeting. On the other hand, they consider Kobe, LeBron and Durant to be the top players. If Curry re-signs, my son will only become a lower-class player.”

A simple but quite beautiful PE color scheme of Stephen Curry.

“If you don’t get enough respect, aren’t appreciated and aren’t valued as much, there’s no reason you should respect them” – Dell Curry said about his relationship with Nike from that time. He also told his son not to be afraid to try something new.

The Nike Hyperdunk 2010 model is red, a color rarely used by Curry.

At that time, Under Amour seemed to be “waiting outside the door” and just waiting for Stephen Curry to nod. They put a lot of things on the negotiating table that Stephen Curry could not refuse. Besides having a larger advertising budget than Nike, Under Amour allows Stephen Curry to do whatever he wants.

Nike HyperEnforcer, one of the last Nike shoes on Stephen Curry’s feet.

Previously, Nike did not allow Stephen Curry to write the familiar words “I Can Do All Things” on their shoes. As for Under Amour, that line is even engraved as an indispensable pattern on any of Stephen Curry’s shoes.

It was these irresistible invitations that brought Stephen Curry to Under Amour. And since then, Nike has lost one of the most potential superstars they have ever owned. Perhaps the same thing happened to James Harden in 2012 and “losing” these two players would be the most regrettable thing Nike has done in recent years.