Duke standout Zion Williamson suffered a mild knee sprain 36 seconds into Wednesday night's matchup against the UNC Tarheels. The injury was unfortunate, but how it happened has Nike in a bit of hot water.
As he dribbled the ball near the free-throw line, Williamson planted his foot to make a cut in the opposite direction. However, in doing so, he slipped. As he fell to the ground, his shoe actually gave way, busting right apart at the sole.
Zion was able to walk off the floor under his own power, but he did have a slight limp in his gate.
It was a strange scene, but basketball shoes have failed in the past. Now, according to a report from ESPN's Jay Williams, Nike's stock is already taking a hit. In just hours, the popular sports apparel company saw their premarket stock fall by 1.37 percent, which equates to roughly three billion dollars.
This Zion Williamson situation has #Nike premarket stock down 1.37% this morning. @Nike is a $130 Billion market cap which means that’s almost 3 billion dollars. @boardroom @espn
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) February 21, 2019
Following the game, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski noted that Williamson's knee was stable and that a timetable for his return would be determined Thursday.
According to ESPN, Nike is working to identify the issue with the faulty shoe. Just keep in mind that Duke and Nike are in the fourth year of a 12-year deal.
“We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery,” Nike said in a statement. “The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
The Blue Devils will be back in action on Saturday, when they'll travel to Syracuse for a matchup against the 18th-ranked Orange. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. ET, with ESPN having live broadcast coverage.
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