The Golden State Warriors are not the only winners in the Kevin Durant free agency decision. Apparently Nike thinks they are big winners too.
NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned on The Vertical’s free agency show Friday morning that Nike wanted to get back at Under Armour over the story from March of Steph Curry making them look bad. Curry chose to leave Nike for Under Armour when his contract with the swoosh was up, and there apparently was some sloppiness with Nike’s efforts to reclaim him.
So why does Nike like Durant’s move to Golden State? Woj says they believe that Durant can somewhat take the shine away from Curry:
For Nike, this is a coup: It wanted to slow UnderArmour's momentum with Steph Curry and Warriors. Now, KD promises to impact Curry's star.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 4, 2016
The thinking here is that all the success the Warriors will have together will be shared by the team’s stars, thereby slowing down Curry’s superstar growth and Under Armour’s accompanying explosion in the basketball world.
However, some brand experts disagree with Nike’s thinking (or hopes) because they believe Curry is already so beloved by young fans, Durant being there with him will not affect things.
I don't think this helps Nike in the UA battle. Unless Steph stops being Steph, kids are always going to be more partial to him.
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) July 4, 2016
As a brand, Nike is most interested in seeing their players become winners and champions. Now they just need Durant to win his first championship, which seems even more likely, at least as far as the odds go.
