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"Nurse Shoes" & No Sales: Insider reveals truth about Under Armour DUMPING Stephen Curry
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- "Nurse Shoes" & No Sales: Insider reveals truth about Under Armour DUMPING Stephen Curry
Last week, Under Armour and Steph Curry announced that they had amicably agreed to part ways after a 13-year partnership, with Steph Curry 's brand going solo and creating its own shoes, and Under Armour agreeing to surrender Curry's "Splash" logo to the player it was originally designed for.
However, mutual as the breakup sounded, Fox Sports Radio's Robert Parker says the truth is, Under Armour dumped Curry because the Golden State Warriors ' two-time MVP never made a dent in the sneaker game. They were not willing to give him the same arrangement that Nike gave Michael Jordan's Jordan Brand.
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"As popular as Steph Curry is, was, whatever you want to say, with all the little kids wanting to shoot threes and be Steph Curry, they weren't buying his shoes. That to me is a fact. Remember the first pair of shoes he came up with looked like nurses' shoes?" said Parker.
Under Armour misunderstood sneaker culture
The "nurse shoes" that Parker is referring to were the infamous Curry 2 "Chef" colorway, which drew criticism for its chef-inspired all-white color. Released during the 2016 NBA Finals, Steph ended up not wearing the shoe, but the reason he and the Warriors gave was that they feared he might hurt his ankle by wearing low-tops.
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That was one of the first major blunders for the partnership, as they failed to capitalize on the Warriors' return to the NBA Finals for the second straight season and Steph's back-to-back MVP awards in 2015 and 2016.
However, the problem wasn't just the poor colorway, but a fundamental misunderstanding of sneaker culture - that people buy sneakers not because of shoe performance or product innovation, but to identify with the hoops culture and lifestyle. Its failure to recognize that drew fans away from Curry's shoes.
"The numbers never really made a dent in the sneaker business," he reiterated. "And I think they looked at that and go, 'Steph is not going to sell, I don't care if he's in control or not. He's not going to sell sneakers, and we're not just going to give away money and have a lifetime contract or whatever. And I think that's a reflection of Steph not being able to connect to all these people who supposedly love him. And it's weird. LeBron is the same way. Like his sneaker never really did anything."
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Draymond sees it as an opportunity
Meanwhile, Steph's longtime Warriors teammate Draymond Green looks at the Curry Brand's split from Under Armour differently . Per Green, splitting from Under Armour is the biggest opportunity of Curry's career, and Steph can capitalize on his continued popularity to drive his brand on his own.
"I think to be in the position he's in right now, this may be the biggest opportunity of his life," Green relayed on his podcast. "We all know how great Steph Curry is. We all know the love that Steph Curry has, and the Curry Brand already has a presence. So where he takes the Curry Brand next, it's not like they're starting from ground zero. Steph Curry is Steph Curry."
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Many are saying that the Curry Brand is looking to partner with another shoe company. Some are talking about Nike , Steph's original shoe sponsor, whom he left after Nico Harrison and his team blew their renewal presentation. After wearing Kobe shoes, Steph rocked Shaq's Reebok Shaqnosis the following game, so it's clear that he's open to different partners. Who he ends up with, however, remains to be seen.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 19, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
