After Zion Williamson’s shoe malfunction Wednesday night, Nike will have to deal with the ramifications.
Turns out “it’s gotta be the shoes,” as the famous Nike commercial once told us.
With the NBA on All-Star break, one of college basketball’s great rivalries, Duke-North Carolina, took center stage Wednesday night. The star attraction was Duke freshman forward Zion Williamson, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
But Williamson only lasted 36 seconds in the game. On the Blue Devils’ first possession he moved toward the paint and his left shoe gave way, leading to what has been reported as a mild right knee sprain as he slipped to the floor. Full clarity on the severity of the injury should come Thursday.
At 6-foot-7 and 285 pounds Williamson’s sheer power as an athlete is practically unmatched, but the equipment malfunction halted him against North Carolina on the biggest stage he’ll have before March Madness.
Zion's shoe: destroyed 😳 pic.twitter.com/LqQ2te0Jay
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 21, 2019
After Williamson’s shoe blowout, Nike offered the expected statement.
NIKE STATEMENT: “We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 21, 2019
One of Nike’s competitors, Puma, posted and quickly deleted a tweet saying “Wouldn’t have happened in the pumas.” But the heat did not stop there, from all corners.
Adidas new marketing campaign: we may get investigated by the FBI, but our shoes don't fall apart.
— Dana O'Neil (@DanaONeilWriter) February 21, 2019
Here's my @darrenrovell tweet for the night:
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) February 21, 2019
Zion Williamson was wearing the Nike PG 2.5 when he had a flat tire and his foot came through the sole.
It's a low-end Nike model. Probably Duke's cheapest PE (player exclusive) option. Retail is $110.
Somehow Darren Rovell, now of Action Network, started a tweet suggesting the Williamson shoe malfunction is “not a material loss to Nike’s business.”
It’s not a material loss to Nike’s business, but I wouldn’t be completely surprised if Nike’s stock, on no other news, didn’t do a little dip tomorrow morning from this prominent event.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 21, 2019
To be fair, the impact on Nike’s broader business may prove to be insignificant. But having another high-profile NBA player as an endorser is significant to the brand, and Williamson’s first pro shoe deal is surely now open to bidders.
There goes Nike's chances of landing Zion
— Jeff Eisenberg (@JeffEisenberg) February 21, 2019
Can’t wait til Zion signs with Puma.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 21, 2019
As expected Nike’s stock was down a bit in pre-market action Thursday morning, and was down a little more than 1.25 percent at the opening bell from a closing price of $84.84 per share Wednesday. Within the first 15-20 minutes of the trading day, as of this writing, the price got as low as $83.42 before stabilizing around $84.00 (approximately one percent down). You can track the price through the day here.
Rovell has given us some sense of the on-paper impact of a drop in stock price for Nike.
Nike stock down about 1 percent in first 10 minutes of trading, an on-paper loss of $1.12 Billion in its market cap.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 21, 2019
Even if it won’t necessarily torpedo Nike’s stock price, Williamson’s blowout is sure to have some short-term impact on their retail shoe sales. Beyond that, it’s a bad look and a publicity hit that will be impossible to recover from quickly.