Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank shared his thoughts on KD to the Warriors via Donald Dell of CSN Mid-Atlantic.
KD is a good human being. They’ll be good teammates. They’re both competitors. KD made a decisive choice to go to Golden State. So going to Golden State and saying, ‘Great, now give me the keys,’ that’s Stephen Curry’s team. KD knew that when he went there, and I think that’s something that will continue to work itself out.
Plank makes a fair point. The Warriors are Steph’s team and he is the two time defending MVP. However, he is coming off an injury and the question remains, will he be able to maintain that same other worldly level of play. Is there any way he can get better? For KD, oddly enough there is still room for improvement, which is a scary thought. KD could ball out this season and win MVP, then what? Nike sales of the KD signature line could become the new preferred brand among fickle Warriors fans.
When KD signed with the Warriors, industry experts saw this as Nike’s opportunity to put a stranglehold on the SF Bay Area and no doubt having their #2 basketball man (well, really #3…MJ, LBJ, then KD) on the league’s marquee team will increase sales. Going forward it will be interesting to see how the Nike/Under Armour campaigns will be designed with two of the league’s biggest stars on the same team. As much as Nike and Under Armour work to control the narrative so much of what happens will be determined on the court.
