Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) became a hyper-growth apparel company and Wall Street darling in 2014-15 for one big reason: NBA superstar Stephen Curry.

The superstar guard signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Under Armour in what many insiders viewed as a perfect marriage of underdogs. Those underdogs proceeded to win over America. Curry won two NBA MVP awards and his Warriors team notched the best regular season record in NBA history, while winning  three championships. As all this played out, Under Armour sold a ton of Curry sneakers and Under Armour stock soared.

But the Curry magic has faded over the past year for multiple reasons. Namely, Curry shoes had some design hiccups and NBA superstar Kevin Durant signed with Golden State, forcing Curry to share the spotlight. Curry’s overall popularity dropped. Under Armour started selling less shoes. Under Armour stock dropped.

Now, Under Armour is looking for its next NBA superstar catalyst. It might have found one. Under Armour just signed rising NBA superstar Joel Embiid.

But, Embiid won’t propel Under Armour stock higher like Curry did back in 2014-15. Instead, this is a minor upward catalyst in otherwise troubled growth narrative at Under Armour. As such, Under Armour stock remains a sell, especially amid broader market turmoil.

Why Curry Worked So Well for Under Armour

The Steph Curry endorsement worked wonders for Under Armour stock.

Why? Because it was the perfect deal at the perfect time. Back in 2014, Curry was well known among NBA circles, but his popularity in the general public was anemic relative to fellow star LeBron James. Likewise, Under Armour was well known as an athletic apparel brand, but no one really wanted Under Armour shoes over Nike (NYSE:NKE) shoes.

Hence, both Under Armour and Curry were underdogs in 2014. America loves an underdog story. So, when these underdogs turned into Cinderellas in 2015, America fell in love. That love affair led to Under Armour selling a ton of Curry shoes — and all those sales pushed Under Armour stock to new highs.

The euphoria didn’t last, mostly because Curry was forced to share the spotlight in Golden State. And Under Armour hasn’t struck a big NBA deal since, so as dropped Curry’s popularity, so dropped Under Armour stock.

Why Embiid Won’t Work As Well

Under Armour is hoping it found another Curry in Philadelphia 76ers rising superstar Joel Embiid.

I’m unconvinced. You have some of the same underdog tones that were present between Curry and Under Armour in 2014. But that is about as far as the similarities go.

The big difference? Curry was a small guard. Embiid is a big center. In NBA sneaker history, small guards tend to sell a ton of shoes. Big centers — even the most marketable ones — hardly sell any shoes.

Just look at the top-selling NBA sneakers and biggest NBA shoe contracts. None of them belong to traditional centers. I’m an avid basketball fan, from a ground-level perspective, and there haven’t been any top-selling basketball sneakers from a big man in recent memory.

You’d have to go back to the most marketable and arguably greatest center of all time, Shaquille O’Neal, to find a center who sold shoes. And, he didn’t sell that many premium sneakers with Reebok. Instead, he made a killing selling discount footwear.

If that is where Under Armour is heading with Embiid, that is a bad move. The Under Armour brand is already being diluted by over-allocation of product to off-price distribution channels. Selling discount basketball sneakers would only further dilute the brand image. That means lower profit margins, which translates to lower profits unless sales ramp considerably, which they are showing no signs of doing.

As such, Embiid isn’t another Curry for Under Armour. Instead, this is simply a minor catalyst for a stock that is otherwise very troubled.

Bottom Line on UAA Stock

Joel Embiid is a great player and projects to be one of the NBA’s best. But, he won’t sell that many shoes for Under Armour, and as a result, this signing is not a catalyst for Under Armour stock.

As of this writing, Luke Lango did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.