Nike Lost Stephen Curry To Under Armour In Worst Pitch Meeting Of All Time

When he came to the NBA from Davidson, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry signed his first shoe contract with Nike, the No. 1 athletic footwear company in the world. In 2013, Nike had the opportunity to re-sign the current NBA Champion and MVP. They set up a pitch meeting with Curry and his father, Dell, but to hear Dell give the details of the meeting, it’s no wonder Curry is now Under Armour’s biggest client.

From ESPN:

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. “I heard some people pronounce his name wrong before,” says Dell Curry. “I wasn’t surprised. I was surprised that I didn’t get a correction.”

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.

Obviously, no one could’ve known at the time that Curry would turn into the player that he is today, but how does the biggest sports shoe company in the world drop the ball that badly? It shows an utter disrespect for the player and pure arrogance on the behalf of Nike.

Nike’s loss has been Under Armour’s gain, as Curry’s shoe is one of the top selling basketball shoes in the world and it’s helped keep the company relevant in a cutthroat business.