Lace up, check the ball, let’s talk some hoops… kinda
It was announced earlier this week that Under Armour and NBA Star Steph Curry will split from their exclusive shoe branding deal originally signed in 2014. This comes as the company is looking to looking to focus on its “core UA brands” as it tries to complete a turnaround. Their stock price has plummeted over the years and they feel their best way forward is to part ways with the NBA superstar. I not quite sure this is best move for the UA, but clearly something needs to change.
Under Armour Fumbled the Bag
In 2015 Under Armour was the fastest growing sportswear brand worth over $19 billion. They signed sports super stars including Steph Curry, Michael Phelps and Tom Brady. But over the last decade they continued to pile loss after loss by losing sight of the one, aesthetics. The brand reportedly lost $16 billion from its peak, They continued to offer shoes
Nico Harrison Catching Strays
Funny enough in all of this, we get reminded that Nico Harrison was one of the reasons Nike lost Curry in the first place. Harrison completed massacred his meeting with Curry, reportedly calling him “Seth” and showing a slide show that was tailored for Kevin Durant. But the biggest mistake was not offering Steph a signature deal. At the time of this potential deal in 2013/2014, Curry had yet to reach his peak. The Warriors had yet to win their first title, starting their dynasty in through the mid 2010s and into the start of this decade. But there was no doubt that Steph Curry was on his way to becoming the face of the league, going on to win back to back MVP trophies in 2014/2015. Obviously, this was a misstep by Nike at the time, but clearly one that Under Armour could not capitalize on.
Man, it must suck to be Nico Harrison right now, but to be fair its all from his own doing. He traded Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles for pennies on the dollar and completely dismantled a team that went to the NBA Finals 2 years ago. He got gifted a He got fired and now the Mavs got gifted the number 1 overall pick (rigged)
What’s next for Steph?
Maybe Steph Curry isn’t the biggest superstar in the league anymore and probably not going to be the face of the league for much longer with guys like Luka, SGA, Anthony Edwards and Wemby rising to stardom, but at 37 years the guy is still balling. Early into this 2025-26 season he’s still averaging 28 PPG, 4 APG, shooting 48% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc. He near dropped a 50 burger on the Spurs last week, capped off with this ridiculous shot over Wemby.
He undoubtedly changed the game of basketball, he revolutionized the 3 point shot, he’s the reason why we all get infuriated seeing players pass up an easy layup.
We can debate all day where Steph lands in the hierarchy of NBA legacy. Some say top 10, others say he cracked the top 5. I’d say he falls somewhere to 7-8 but if he opened up a Bojangles in Pittsburgh, he’s a clear top 3 to me.
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