Chapter 1023: An Unexpected Ambush

"That’s right, that’s right, that’s right," Curry said, nodding in agreement. "The regular season is the regular season, but it’s ultimately preparation for the playoffs. The championship is the most important thing." Curry took a deep breath. "You guys in football are so insane. It’s a single-elimination playoff system. One moment of distraction could ruin the entire season’s hard work, so you have to stay focused."

"I’m already under enough pressure. Are you trying to put more on me?" Lu Ke said, rolling his eyes in frustration.

Curry was taken aback for a moment. "My bad, my bad, I didn’t mean to." But then he noticed the smile in Lu Ke’s eyes and slowly understood. He shook his head, speechless, and pounded Lu Ke’s shoulder. "You’re insane, you know that? You’re insane!"

Lu Ke shrugged, accepting the "praise." "So, if I make it to the Super Bowl this year, will you have time to come watch the game?"

"Whew, we have a game the day before, but then we have two days off. In theory, it’s not a problem," Curry said, having already checked his schedule.

This year’s Super Bowl is on February 3rd. The Golden State Warriors will be at home on the day before, hosting the Phoenix Suns, and then they’ll have two days off before going on the road to play the Houston Rockets on the 5th. In theory, it was entirely doable.

"But..." Curry said, looking Lu Ke up and down. He said meaningfully, "Can you even make it to the Super Bowl? Otherwise, Ayesha and I will book our flights and hotels early, but you’ll end up like last year. Will you reimburse me for the trip?"

"Yeah, I’ll reimburse you. Just bring Ayesha and Riley along. If I don’t make it to the Super Bowl, you guys can just consider it a vacation. How about that?" Lu Ke agreed nonchalantly.

Curry pouted and grumbled, "Who wants to vacation in New Orleans in February? And I’ll be in the middle of the season, so I can’t drink. It’s the most boring place ever." This year’s Super Bowl will be held at the New Orleans Saints’ home stadium, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. "So, you better be there on the Super Bowl stage. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long, long time."

"I’ll try my best," Lu Ke’s nonchalant tone was so irritating that it made Curry roll his eyes. Lu Ke then laughed himself. "Who knows, maybe next May, I’ll be at Oracle Arena watching your championship run? We both need to work hard."

Curry laughed uncontrollably.

"Come on, come on! Let’s pick out our championship shoes right now!" Curry said grandly, opening his own exclusive shoe designs and placing them in front of Lu Ke.

These were Curry’s shoe designs, and Lu Ke looked through them carefully. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it. It wasn’t his area of expertise or strength. All he could say from a layman’s perspective was whether it looked good or not. He couldn’t explain how to make it look good.

It’s true that every profession has its own secrets.

"Personally, I prefer simpler designs. These shoes look too flashy, like someone spilled a paint palette on them. I think Adidas’s simple style in the last two years is pretty good. Nike’s is a bit boring. It seems like they’re just sticking with the classics, but their signature series for players are still pretty good," Lu Ke said, making conversation. It was just an uneducated opinion with no real substance.

"If it were me, I wouldn’t choose Nike," Curry said without any warning.

Lu Ke was a little surprised and thought about it carefully. "Oh, right, you were a Nike player before you signed with Under Armour, right?" Curry shrugged in agreement. "Then... what happened?"

Undeniably, Nike and Adidas are the two giants in the sports world. It is a rare and coveted opportunity for any athlete to sign with these two brands.

According to an internal league report, Nike has signed 68% of the total number of NBA players. If you include the Jordan Brand, that number is 74%. And according to a Forbes report, Nike accounted for 95.5% of the basketball shoe market in 2012.

This is the definition of absolute dominance.

"I was with Nike for several years, since college. It was a strange process, like the company was throwing me away little by little," Curry said with a confused look. Neither of them was a professional, so they only knew the basics of the brands’ ideas and concepts. "I have a habit of keeping the shoes from the most special games in my career. It’s like you exchanging helmets with the opposing quarterback. It’s a way for me to remember the game. My shoe rack is full of Nike shoes right now."

"That offseason, we were supposed to talk about a contract extension, but the whole negotiation was very unpleasant. None of the big bosses showed up, and then in the meeting, they said my name wrong. ’Steph-on’ instead of ’Steph-en.’ My dad was very upset. Such a low-level mistake shouldn’t happen. And that wasn’t even the worst part. Later, Kevin Durant’s name was on the slides..."

Curry then saw Lu Ke’s shocked expression. He himself started to laugh. "Yeah, it was that unbelievable. I couldn’t believe my eyes either."

A company of Nike’s level would never allow such a low-level mistake. It would be a fatal blow to any player.

"I don’t know what happened, but after that, my dad lost faith in Nike. Later, I met Chris Stone through a teammate and was introduced to Under Armour for the first time. Back then, Under Armour was a name no one knew. Their main market was in football, but even when they were dealing with a rookie, they were willing to go all out. Apparently, Chris had been following me since I entered the league in 2009."

"Later, I met with Under Armour, and I asked them what they could do for me. You know, back then, I was just a small player who couldn’t even make a start. But Chris said they were willing to make an exclusive shoe series for me."

As he spoke, Curry saw Lu Ke’s amused expression. He himself shrugged easily and raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I know. A shoe series seems to be a superstar’s standard feature. When every brand wants to sign a player, this is their trump card. Just like this special event today!"

Curry has long since moved on, so he can joke about it without any burden, but at the time, his mood was abysmal. Lu Ke couldn’t help but think of when they first met, from the first Under Armour commercial shoot to the injuries in the offseason. That period was so long and dark for Curry.

After a small joke, Curry continued, "At the time, I didn’t say yes right away. I thought about it for a long time, I can’t remember exactly, maybe three or four months? But they were always patient and didn’t pressure me to make a decision. They used sincerity to convince me, and then it happened."

Although Curry’s description was lighthearted and he didn’t know much about Nike’s internal decisions, the truth of the matter seemed to be a complete picture.

Even without Curry’s reminder, Lu Ke knew that every brand’s resources were limited. Top brands like Nike and Adidas had more resources, but they also had more superstars to allocate resources to. There had to be an internal redistribution. Top players, first-line players, and second-line players. Rank was crucial.

This is a very simple concept, just like the all-star endorsements for Pepsi and Coca-Cola. In the end, some people have to stand in the middle, and some have to stand at the back.

However, before, it was all seen through a veil of mist. As an outsider, all you could do was talk. Now, through Curry and through Lu Ke himself, things were slowly becoming clearer, and they were experiencing the complexities and hardships firsthand.

Especially in competitive sports, sponsorship endorsements are incredibly brutal. It is not easy to get a big contract from Nike or Adidas. Countless top NBA superstars have only signed shoe contracts with smaller brands.

After the story was told, the atmosphere paused for a moment, and then Curry broke into a big smile, spread his hands out, and looked like a TV show host. "Well, was my explanation convincing enough? Does this make me look more like a brand ambassador?"

It was a rare sight to see Curry being so goofy. Lu Ke laughed along with him. "Tell me the truth, did Under Armour give you a check?"

Lu Ke was just joking, but Curry nodded as if it were obvious. "Yeah, and the check was for a good amount. They wanted me to convince you to stay. I tried my best. Whew, being an ambassador isn’t easy."

Lu Ke looked at Curry’s eyes carefully and then realized it was a joke. Under Armour would not be so blatant, but their actions were too obvious. Curry had already figured out the purpose of today’s meeting.

Lu Ke didn’t say anything more. He snapped his fingers. "Then let’s enjoy our rights. Since it’s our shoe series, we should plan it out properly. I’ve decided to choose a pair of really cool shoes that will light up the room and blind everyone who sees them."

"Come on, tell me your idea."

"I’m thinking of encrusting the entire shoe with diamonds. How about that? Every step I take, a diamond will fall off, and the whole street will go crazy." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t make it out the door. You’d probably get robbed. How about we make them out of gold instead? I think that’s a little more reliable."

"Are you trying to make shoes for weight training? So that on the field, I can take them off and be as light as a feather, right?"

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