At 37 years old, Stephen Curry remains a central figure in conversation across the NBA. However, like all the greats before him, Curry’s talents aren’t limited to on-court exploits. His business ventures off the court have garnered quite the attention, specifically the decision to leave Under Armour.
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Many have begun to speculate on what’s next for the Golden State Warriors star in terms of branding. Draymond Green, on the other hand, can’t help but think of the what-ifs.
Curry was with Under Armour for 12 years. The sneaker company gave the 6-foot-2 guard a chance before he became the player we all know him to be today. As his fame grew, his sneaker line became a huge hit among fans. Fast forward to today, and Curry has turned his sneaker line into the Curry Brand.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that Curry took a page out of Michael Jordan’s book, aiming to create something turn himself into a household name with these sneakers. As a matter of fact, Curry could’ve been a successor to the Chicago Bulls legend for Nike.
In 2013, Curry was a sneaker-free agent. Nike wanted to retain the sharpshooter, but completely botched their meeting. Brand officials didn’t pronounce Curry’s name correctly by saying ‘Steph-on’ instead of ‘Steph-en’. The presentation even included a slide meant for Kevin Durant.
Naturally, Curry decided to sign elsewhere and became a global superstar without their logo on him. However, Warriors veteran Green wonders what Steph would be like if he had picked the iconic sneaker brand.
“It makes you take a step back and wonder what would his business be today had he stayed with Nike?” Green pondered on The Draymond Green Show.
Nike had a few heavy-hitters on their roster, such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant. It would have been impossible to overshadow those players for most stars, but not Curry.
Green thinks Curry could’ve rivalled or surpassed James and Durant’s sneaker line. That could be considered a hot take itself. Green’s next statement is the size of an atomic bomb in comparison.
“I’ll go out on a limb and say if he was building at Nike, it may be as big as Jordan Brand,” Green proclaimed.
That is an incredibly hot take from Green. Even LeBron James, who many believe is a greater player than Jordan, hasn’t been able to surpass the Jordan Brand. MJ’s sneakers have transcended basketball and established an entire subgenre of fashion known as streetwear.
Would Curry have been able to reach such heights? We will never know. There’s certainly a possibility. His ascension with Under Armour was an uphill battle, considering they were non-existent in the basketball market before adding Curry.
Now that Curry’s a sneaker free agent once again, he could return to Nike. Unfortunately, the likelihood of that is slim to none.
