Nike has basketball shoe deals with most of the NBA’s best athletes, but it allowed the world’s best player and reigning MVP, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, to leave the company in 2013 and sign with competitor Under Armour.
It might not have happened if Nike did a better job editing a presentation during a pitch meeting, as explained in a lengthy ESPN.com story by Ethan Sherwood Strauss.
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.
In the meeting, according to Dell, there was never a strong indication that Steph would become a signature athlete with Nike. “They have certain tiers of athletes,” Dell says. “They have Kobe, LeBron and Durant, who were their three main guys. If he signed back with them, we’re on that second tier.”
Curry signed with Under Armour before the 2013-14 season and re-signed with the apparel brand last September, a few months after his Warriors won their first NBA Finals since 1975.
In Nike’s defense, Curry’s rise to an historically elite player has been a surprise to all — except maybe him and his dad. No one could have predicted Curry would be averaging more than 30 points per game in March 2016.
Not keeping Curry was a rare mistake by Nike, but in the big picture, it’s not really a huge deal, given the incredible roster of superstars already signed with the Oregon-based company.
Still, it’s one thing to lose a player because he doesn’t feel like the company is promoting him to the level of other players. It’s much worse to lose a player because of silly presentation mistakes that should’ve been avoided.
Nike should’ve followed Dwight Schrute’s advice: PowerPoint is boring.
Thumbnail photo via Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports Images
