Stephen Curry was often left out, snubbed, doubted, and even ignored. He wasn’t a highly-touted recruit out of high school, and teams took six players ahead of him in the NBA Draft.In fact, even the Golden State Warriors tried to trade him once.
It didn’t take long before Curry proved his doubters wrong. However, he struggled with ankle injuries early in his career and wasn’t considered a top-tier player by any means, just a very good three-point shooter.
That’s why back in 2013, Nike failed to bring their A-Game to a presentation to re-sign him for their brand. They made a couple of laughable and disrespectful mistakes that eventually led him to sign with Under Armour.
One Nike Executive Didn’t Even Know His Name
“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,” informed Kyle Newport of Bleacher Report. “‘I heard some people pronounce his name wrong before,’ says Dell. ‘I wasn’t surprised. I was surprised that I didn’t get a correction.'”
They Used Kevin Durant’s Name On A Slide
That wasn’t the only thing that Nike did wrong in that meeting. Apparently, they didn’t even bother wiping away Kevin Durant’s name from an obviously recycled presentation. Durant, who was with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the time, eventually signed a massive deal with them:
(Transcript via Ethan Strauss of ESPN)
“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 work.
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’s decision to sign with Under Armour was questionable at the time, considering they weren’t a marquee name in basketball apparel such as Nike. But once again, just as it happened with his career, time proved he was right all along.
