There exists only one player in history with; 6 NBA Finals appearances, a record of 6-0 in the Finals, winning three in a row twice. No player has had, or ever will have, the overall impact globally on the sport of basketball the way he did. Based solely on statistics, this could be a debate until the end of time, but whatever, Michael Jordan is the best of the 10 Greatest Players in NBA History.
They Cut Michael Jordan?
Michael Jordan was only 5’ 11” in high school, and was actually considered too short to make his varsity team. That would not be the last they would see of Jordan. Working relentlessly in the summer, stringing together a bunch of games where he lit up the scoreboard for more than 40 as a junior varsity player, and growing 4 inches, Michael would make the varsity squad the following year.
Averaging over 25 points per game in each of his last two seasons in high school, and being named to play in the Mc Donald’s All-American game. 3 NBA teams will forever be linked to the drafting of Jordan out of college. Unfortunately for two of the teams, it is not in the manner that they would have imagined.
NIKE X JORDAN
In 1984, a 21-year-old rookie Michael Jordan signed a five-year deal with Nike worth $500,000 per year. Nike was a struggling company back then and Jordan himself preferred either Adidas or Converse. However, Nike agreed to give Jordan his signature line, which reportedly earned around $3.14 billion in 2019.
His agent David Falk and mother Deloris convinced him to fly and meet Nike in Portland, who were ready to give Jordan his own signature brand ‘Air Jordan’. In The Last Dance, the NBA legend revealed that his mother told him he would listen to them and attend the meeting, even though he might not like it.
Jordan was not happy with the presentation and even said that he could not wear those shoes as they were ‘devil colors’. However, Jordan still agreed to sign with Nike.
Till today, The Nike Air Jordan 1 is known as the shoe which kick-started a revolution. When introduced for the first time, the Nike Air Jordan 1 was black and red, which was banned by the league for being controversial.
The shoe then retailed at $60 and reportedly earned the brand $126 million. The brand was predicted to just make $3 million. Rapper Nas, who appeared in The Last Dance, compared the shoe to a light saber. He added that one ‘needed’ the shoe to be like Jordan and was more than a status symbol.
Currently, Jordan’s line is selling more than any other player’s apparel combined, according to reports. NBA stars like LaMarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler, Mike Conley Jr, Blake Griffin, Maya Moore, Chris Paul, Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Zion Williamson represent Jordan’s sneaker brand.