I posted a really terrible score at Sierra Lakes Golf Club (wearing my Nike Flyknit Chukka Golfs no less) on July 4th because of Kevin Durant. At least that’s what I’m telling myself because right after I found out about KD signing with the Golden State Warriors, my mind started wandering. Golf wasn’t even on my radar anymore and sure enough, my tee shot off the par 3 sixth hole went wide left, bounced off the cart path and landed into a mini-waterfall which I’m sure is just for design because nobody misses that badly. That led to a few more bad shots and par bogey saves than I would have liked, but it’s not everyday that an MVP-caliber player in their prime joins forces with another MVP-caliber player also in their prime with a supporting cast that just posted the greatest regular season in NBA history.
In many ways, the NBA’s offseason is just as if not more exciting than the actual games themselves. Between the Draft and free agency – especially when there are players of KD’s caliber available – it allows our minds to wander about what could be. Sure, the reality rarely ever lives up to our hopes and dreams, but we never stop thinking and uh, thinkpiecing. And my guess is that it’s same way for the players and the brands they represent.
So what is Nike thinking right now that their second most popular signature shoe athlete has teamed up with the guy that has been killing them lately in mindshare, if not actual sales, in Stephen Curry and Under Armour? How does this affect the Nike KD 9 and future signature shoes moving forward? What does this mean for UA’s hold over the NBA’s marquee franchise (sorry, Cavaliers, the whole “well, it’s in Cleveland” thing doesn’t go away just because LeBron won one for you…) at the moment? Does the potential fallout from all this change the sneaker landscape as we know it right now? Who knows, but it’s something to thinkpiece about, I guess…
Nike
(Not So) Bold Prediction Time: The Nike KD 9 with outsell the Under Armour Curry 3
At first glance, you might think that Nike is leery of seeing KD in Golden State colors, especially after having established such a very strong and loyal fan base in Oklahoma City. He’s latching on to a team that beat his former squad and whose best player has a rather interesting history with Nike. Not only that, but some of KD’s most memorable sneakers have direct ties to OKC, most notably his N7 releases, so it will be interesting to see if his brand is strong enough that it transcends the change in address and those kicks will continue to come to market.
The reality is that Nike has to be looking at this salivating at the marketing possibilities of KD being a jump step away from Silicon Valley. Durant was in New York during Nike’s Innovation Summit a few months ago when the swoosh unveiled the new Nike+ app, the self-lacing HyperAdapt and the Flyknit-infused KD 9. Imagine a similar event a year from now emanating from Cupertino that’s co-branded by Nike and Apple. It’s not like Durant is a stranger to the area since he attended an Apple keynote event a few years back. He was already the top athlete during the NYC event so it might be even more amplified since he is playing host. With so many opportunities to grow his brand – not to mention his bank account – by investing in startups and established brands, he could become the digital athlete that Carmelo Anthony wishes he could be.
There’s also just the newness factor of KD wearing a different uniform. For every ten jerseys that’s being literally burned by fans out in OKC, there’s going to be thousands sold of his new Warriors jerseys – which will begin to be produced by Nike come the 2017-18 NBA season – all across the world. KD doesn’t need The Decision or a ceremony at Oracle Arena to know that a certain segment of the population is going to hate him, but there’s going to be even more fans of the both hardcore and casual set that’s going to be hyped to see him play with Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
If you want to play conspiracy theorist (and many have), maybe this is why the Nike KD 9 was priced at $150 all along. Despite the advancement of tech in his shoe, it’s being priced at a level way below it would have been had the KD 7 and KD 8 sold remotely well. Maybe the swoosh sensed the change in KD way before everybody else and made sure that even though there would be some pushback by Thunder fans, they couldn’t hold it against the shoes because they were more affordable and easier on the eyes than they have been in at least three years.
I don’t expect Nike to follow the same blueprint they used when LeBron James moved to Miami back in 2010. The messaging back then was defiant, goading people by asking them, “should LeBron do what makes them happy or should LeBron do what makes him happy.” Durant might be “Not Nice” as Nike once tried to portray him, but I expect that whatever advertising they do for KD moving forward will be a little more humble and thankful. That and maybe make a second Preheat colorway called the Bay Area Nike KD 9 that’s similar in tone but not the same colors as the infamous South Beach Nike LeBron 8. That will shut the sneakerheads up at the very least.
Stephen Curry And Under Armour
“According to a person who saw the text messages, Curry told Durant in a text message that he could care less* about who is the face of the franchise, who gets the most recognition or who sells the most shoes (Curry is with Under Armor, Durant with Nike). The two-time NBA MVP also told Durant that if Durant won the MVP award again he would be in the front row of the press conference clapping for him. In closing, Curry?s message to Durant was that all he truly cared about was winning championships and he?d like to do that as his teammate.” – The Undefeated
*Shouldn’t that say “he couldn’t care less”?
Stephen Curry probably really doesn’t care if Kevin Durant wins the MVP next season or scores the most points or breaks his records or gets the lion’s share of the credit much like LeBron did over Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh did in Miami. Having tasted that championship champagne bath already and feeling the heartbreak of being minutes away from a second only to have it taken away from him, he just wants to get another chance again and he’s willing to take ego out of the equation in order to convince a rival to join him. But does Under Armour feel the same way?
Yes, Steph Curry’s shoes aren’t exactly lighting up the Instagram and Snapchat feeds of the coolest of the cool kids out there, but UA CEO Kevin Plank couldn’t care less about them. In fact, he’s happy that people are talking about Steph’s shoes in a way that nobody talked about other Under Armour shoes before, even if it’s mostly jokes. Besides, he knows that even when the ostensibly grown adults are cracking wise at his biggest star’s shoes, the kids of those ostensibly grown adults are buying Currys – which are still cheaper than the KD 9 at the moment – and will continue to grow up in Currys and UA gear.
KD and Nike and co-exist with Curry and UA in the same house, but both sides will definitely be affected for sure. Now both brands will be competing for the hearts and minds of the highly influential Northern California fans, with many affluent enough to own both KDs and Currys. People who own Curry jerseys might be tempted to switch over to the new hotness of KD’s jerseys so there might be less 30s in the crowd and more 35s (or whatever number he chooses to wear). When I attended a Warriors game in early 2015 as part of the reveal for the Curry One, Under Armour made their presence felt outside of Oracle Arena. Will Nike set up shop there as well with a Nike Vault similar to the one that’s just outside of Staples Center?
As far as brands and the cities they “own” goes, Los Angeles was adidas then Nike depending on what side Kobe was on, Chicago has and always will be a Nike/Jordan town despite a short Derrick Rose and adidas uprising a few years back and LeBron brought the swoosh wherever he went. It seemed like Oakland, San Francisco and the rest of Northern California was going to be an Under Armour town for the next decade or so. Now it’s not so sure and we get to benefit from the competition.
But What About Klay Thompson And ANTA?
LOL, but all kidding aside, ANTA should really capitalize on what is sure to be a bonkers 2016-17 season and start selling more of Klay’s signature shoes stateside.
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