Nike pitchman Kevin Durant takes swipe at shoes Steph Curry endorses

NBA World Champion Kevin Durant took a mild shot at Golden State teammate Stephen Curry, or at least the shoes that Curry wears and endorses, in a podcast interview released Tuesday.

Durant, 28, sat down with Bill Simmons and The Ringer, spending more than an hour taking questions from Simmons and fans. Durant, who is from Maryland, was talking about the University of Maryland and its struggle to keep in-state recruits.

Maryland has worn Under Armour apparel for the past nine years. In 2014, the school signed a 10-year, $34 million extension to wear the brand through 2024.

"I think a lot of kids, to be honest, they don’t choose Maryland unless they play in like an Under Armour [AAU] system coming up," said Durant, who played his college ball at Texas. "Shoe companies have a real, real big influence on where these kids go. So nobody wants to play in Under Armours, I’m sorry. Like the top kids don’t, because they all play Nike."

Durant, who was courted heavily by Under Armour several years ago, and offered stock in the company, ultimately rejected the deal to sign a $300 million deal with Nike in 2014.

After his comments on Under Armour, Simmons reminded Durant that his Golden State teammate, Curry, is the senior pitchman for the brand, which is based in Baltimore. Simmons asked Durant if Curry knew how he felt about Under Armour.

"Nah, B, come on man,” Durant said, “everybody knows that [nobody wants to play in Under Armour shoes]. They just don’t want to say nothing. The kids that played and grew up in the Under Armour system, they go to Maryland."

Durant’s comments on Under Armour begin around the 37 minute mark.

This story was originally published August 29, 2017 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Nike pitchman Kevin Durant takes swipe at shoes Steph Curry endorses."