Stephen Curry is Under Armour's shining basketball star, the man most responsible for the brand's rising shoe sales. Sales in footwear, an increasingly important Under Armour category, rose more than 60 percent to $264 million in the first quarter of 2016.
Next season, the composition of Curry's team, the Golden State Warriors, will change. The team, which lost to Cleveland in the NBA finals, will add fellow superstar Kevin Durant, a free agent signee and prominent Nike endorser.
There is considerable debate about how this will affect Curry -- and Under Armour by association. Will his popularity be diminished as he shares the spotlight and the basketball?
There is little doubt that massive media attention will be paid to the Warriors, who set the regular-season record for victories last season even before the arrival of Durant, a seven-time NBA all-star.
So there may just be enough coverage to satisfy everybody, sneaker and apparel brands included. Early on, the media is likely to focus on whether the Warriors can smoothly accommodate a new player accustomed to a leading role.
But some pundits have theorized that Durant's signing could aid Nike by reorienting the Warriors into more of a Nike team.
"Nike officials maintain that they just want their superstars to win championships, but this could be a strategic move to hurt Under Armour's momentum in basketball," wrote Brett Hershman on benzinga.com . "The Warriors will be looking more like a Nike team next year with Durant and Draymond Green as Nike endorsers. Steph Curry will also be wearing a swoosh on his jersey, as Nike's NBA jersey deal will go into effect starting next season."
Northern California's Mercury News weighed in: "Some speculated that Durant's move to the Bay Area could help calm the uprising of Under Armour in the region."
But Andrew Alvez of sneakerwatch.com had a different take. He said Durant may be disliked because he and his new team have stockpiled such a talent-rich group.
"Durant may be considered the most hated player on what now is probably the most hated team," Alvez wrote.