How Kevin Durant and Mispronunciation of Name Caused Stephen Curry To Part Ways With Billion Dollar Brand Nike

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is the face of Under Armour. Despite receiving offers from many notable brands, Curry decided to go with Under Armour and he has earned millions from it. However, things could have gone very differently for Curry and Nike who botched a meeting with the superstar with a mispronunciation.

Before Curry signed with Under Armour, he was a lanky kid with a bunch of injuries. A lot of people didn’t use to believe in him but Curry quickly proved them wrong. However, there were still doubts if he was a franchise player or a superstar or the face of a shoe brand. Moreover, when Nike met him in 2013, they showed a lack of respect towards Curry, which ultimately ended up hurting him.

Nike botched the meeting with Stephen Curry and Dell Curry

Back in 2013, Nike met with Curry for a shoe deal. But the meeting went wrong from the first moment itself, as their star power broker wasn’t present. From then, things just went worse. The pitch meeting which also included his father, Dell Curry, started off horribly as there was a Nike official who mispronounced Curry’s name. Dell says, ” I heard some people pronounce his name wrong before, I wasn’t surprised. I was surprised that I didn’t get a correction.’

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Then the PowerPoint presentation was poorly done as it featured Kevin Durant’s name in it. This may have been due to an accident or by reusing old material. Dell says he stopped paying attention after that. Even though he kept his cool, he knew throughout that Nike had no chance of signing his son.

The utter lack of respect and Under Armour offering Curry what Nike couldn’t drove the superstar’s decision to sign with them. Since then, they have been reaping the benefits. If Nike had to redo their meeting again, they would surely offer Curry everything possible.

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Chef Curry has since made 8 all-star teams and has won 3 titles along with 2 MVPs. If only Nike had put a bit more effort into their pitch, they would have a collection of superstars which couldn’t be matched for decades to come.