With Nike being arguably the biggest sneaker giant in the basketball realm, they have a plethora of superstars under their belt. From veterans like LeBron James and Kevin Durant to young guns like Devin Booker, most big-name players are represented by the swoosh brand. Despite the vast resume, Nike will probably always regret fumbling one of the biggest superstars of this era, Stephen Curry. More so now, after the Baby-Faced Assassin led Team USA in Paris to win his first gold medal at the Olympics.

By now, everyone knows about the infamous story of Nike blowing their pitch meeting with Steph when he first started his career. During an episode of The Heat Check Podcast, Steph’s agent Jeff Austin even revealed how that meeting influenced their decision to pick Under Armour over Nike, “In the Under Armour case, I didn’t push but I let them know that I prefer Under Armour for a number of reasons. Part of which was the Nike pitch meeting was fraud and mistakes.”

Well, from the get-go, Jeff got a feeling that Nike did not value Steph because one of their representatives pronounced his name wrong during the pitch meeting, calling him ‘Steph-on’. Adding to the disrespect, the sneaker giants mistakenly used a deck designed for Kevin Durant to pitch their brand to the Baby-Faced Assassin. However, the brand name was too big to ignore and Steph spent the first four years signed with Nike despite the faulty pitch. But his father Dell Curry knew that there were levels to the sneaker game, “They have certain tiers of athletes. They have Kobe, LeBron and Durant, who were their three main guys. If he signed back with them, we’re on that second-tier.”

Sure enough, Steph switched brands and signed with Under Armour in 2013. While it’s been years since that incident and Steph is well and truly an Under Armour guy now, fans are frequently reminded of what could have been if he had partnered with Nike. And one such moment came after Team USA’s gold medal win in Paris.

NBA World in shambles imagining Steph’s Nike commercial after the Olympic victory

With Steph, LeBron and KD winning a gold medal together in Paris, this well and truly seemed like the last hurrah for the three legends on the international stage. And one fan was left wondering what the possibilities could have been if Steph was also a part of the swoosh brand just like LeBron and KD, “I wish Steph was with Nike. we could’ve had Lebron Steph KD in a commercial UA ain’t gone do nothing but tweet lecrae lyrics and say congrats to them him.” Obviously, Nike is famous for its creative commercials and they could have capitalized on the three superstars’ victory together.

However, one netizen blamed it all on the sneaker giants. “Nike fumbled. They don’t deserve Steph.” Had Nike valued Steph the way he deserved to be fifteen years ago and not made the major mistakes during the pitch meeting, he might still have been with them as one of their faces. But that opportunity is long gone for them.

One fan told the harsh reality that Nike, just like many others during the early stages of Steph’s career, underestimated the 6’2 guard. When he first entered the league, no one could even have imagined that he would turn into one of the greatest to ever play the game. And Nike made the same mistake.

Meanwhile, one hopeful fan was so eager to see a Steph Curry in a Nike commercial that he even tapped into the multiverse to imagine a reality where Steph was still a Nike guy and they celebrate his gold medal win with an epic commercial.

With Steph’s greatness on full display during the Olympics, he even turned some of the non-believers into his biggest fans as one claimed he finally understands why the Warriors fans are always so “annoying” and even he enjoyed rooting for Steph during his Olympics run.

Although we might never get Steph, LeBron, and Durant together in a Nike commercial, everyone is grateful that we finally got a chance to witness the three legends team up and dominate the best teams in the world.

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger