Under Armour hit the jackpot when it signed Stephen Curry after the 2013 season. It was unclear why Curry went away from Nike to join a brand that hadn’t quite penetrated the NBA market, but after hearing the details of Nike’s pitch it all makes sense.
Nike had the first crack at Curry and had a serious edge. His godfather, Greg Brink, works for Nike, and Curry sported Nike shoes at Davidson and in his first four seasons in the NBA. But when it came time to pitch Curry in an attempt to make him stay with the iconic brand, Nike seriously dropped the ball.
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Curry’s father, Dell, told ESPN.com one Nike official present at the pitch meeting in Oakland called his son “Steph-on.”
"I heard some people pronounce his name wrong before," Dell Curry said. "I wasn't surprised. I was surprised that I didn't get a correction."
Later in the presentation, Kevin Durant’s name was left on PowerPoint slide, making it obvious the pitch was recycled.
Those catastrophic miscues, paired with no indication Stephen Curry would be valued as highly as Durant, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, pushed the Warriors guard to try something different after Nike failed to match Under Armour’s offer — which was less than $4 million.
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Since that summer, Stephen Curry has made three straight All-Star games, won a league MVP and an NBA Finals title. His brand, along with Under Armour’s is now exploding in the NBA.
It’s safe to say everyone at Nike knows how to pronounce Stephen Curry’s name now.