Stephen Curry has ballooned into a superstar, some debate that he’s even surpassed LeBron James. Under Armour has reaped the benefits of signing the Warriors point guard who became an MVP and NBA champion. We all revel in his swift handles and spectacular shooting. Just a couple years ago however, his greatness was not foreseen and Nike treated him as such. It turned out to be a major mistake, one that catapulted Under Armour into a bigger player in the basketball market.
The pitch meeting, according to Steph’s father Dell, who was present, kicked off with one Nike official accidentally addressing Stephen as “Steph-on,” the moniker, of course, of Steve Urkel’s alter ego in Family Matters.
It got worse from there. A PowerPoint slide featured Kevin Durant’s name, presumably left on by accident, presumably residue from repurposed materials. “I stopped paying attention after that,” Dell says. Though Dell resolved to “keep a poker face,” throughout the entirety of the pitch, the decision to leave Nike was in the works.
Dell also notes that Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant were Nike’s main guys; Steph would’ve been second tier.
Former Warrior Kent Bazemore was also a major part of bringing Steph to UA. They signed Bazemore and gave him TONS of gear; in turn he became a salesman, pitching to bring Curry on.
Steph also told this adorable story about how Riley helped him make the decision.
At this point, Riley is little over 1 year old. She is presented with a Nike sneaker, an Adidas sneaker and an Under Armour sneaker. She picks up “shoe one,” a Nike. “Threw it over her shoulder,” Curry says. “She picked up shoe two, threw it over her shoulder. She picked up the third shoe, walked over and handed it to me.” It was the Under Armour Anatomix Spawn. “So I knew right then,” Curry says, smiling.
Nike still had the opportunity to retain Steph despite his feelings but they declined to match a deal worth less than $4 million a year. Curry’s potential worth to Under Armour is now placed at more than $14 billion.
Read the full feature here on ESPN.
