Michael Jordan: “I’m sure I’m part of the reason why everybody tries to get a logo… But the thing is, that brand was established based on what I did on the basketball court. I didn’t put the brand before I put the work.”
The first thing he said in the clip is “it’s hard to be hungry when you have.”
That applies to a lot of players. Just look at how someone plays in their contract year. He’s just applying that saying to a logo
Hard to be hungry with NIL in college and then coming to the pro level and getting millions more. It’s why a lot of these guys feel entitled but Jordan makes a great point. So many guys create their brand and try sell their fans merch and whatnot when they haven’t done jackshit on the court
Sounds like you aren’t a Big Baller ™
NEVA LOSS
That’s actually a good example of why it was a good idea to get the merch money when the hype was high, since they ended up being made of glass so the brothers’ careers haven’t gone too far.
They can’t have made that much money off the brand that it makes a difference compared to their NBA salaries. Everyone hated the dad and he seemed like the biggest part of the brand.
This was a huge talking point when LeBron came into the league.
Difference is that LeBron is an exception. The amount of hype he had would have gone to most players heads and they would take for granted the level of dedication it takes to get to HoF level.
Zion is the inverse example.
I was in college when LeBron came into the league and I remember how much hype there was around him coming into the league. The fact that he was able to live up to that level of hype and exceed it is insane. Especially given the amount of young athletes being promoted as the next big thing that fail to live up to expectations. For sake of comparison there were Slam magazine covers when they were in high school of Lebron and Sebastian Telfair being touted as the next big things in basketball. Obviously their careers turned out completely different. This is also no knock on Telfair because he actually had a pretty long run in the NBA before going oversees.
It seems every year, we one of the big 4 leagues have a pick that’s said to be “generational”. Lebron lived up to it and probably exceeded that tag but not many live up to the expectation anymore. Just in the NFL, the last 2 generational guys haven’t. Wemby is doing damn good but to early to tell.
Hockey’s done a good job of nailing it. The only ones they truly said were generational and not just exceptional over the last 30 years have been Crosby and McDavid. And even with Ovechkin they pit him against Crosby from the start and out of all the manufactured rivalries you see that one turned out the best in recent history.
Bedard was absolutely considered a generational talent as well. Before this year would have been a solid no, but time will now tell with his start to this year.
Bedard sweepstakes were real, but nothing compared to Crosby and Mcdavid draft years.
Crosby is now a unanimous top 7-8 player all time. Mcdavid will be considered the same assuming he can get out of the hell hole that is Edmonton.
Ok fair but I still don’t think the hype was on the level of McDavid or Crosby. It felt a little more forced
It definitely wasn’t. It’ll be awhile until we get another McDavid. He was the #1 overall pick since he was a freshman in high school, and it never changed. AND he has delivered on everything he was promised to be, honestly a lot like LeBron. Just doesn’t have the Chips to go along with all the accolades
Anyone else since is just manufactured by media to get people hyped (their job), but true puck knowers know. McKenna had a chance but he hasn’t been lighting it up at Penn St like you’d expect a McDavid level talent to do so that has died down a bit.
yeah I think we’re going to see Bedard do stuff with the puck we haven’t seen before, him and Celebrini is going to be a fun generation
I always wonder what people see in players at that age to think that they’re generational? Like every year there’s a “best in class” but what is that difference? I guess with someone like Wemby though it’s more obvious lol
Combination of a lot of things.
No one had seen QMJHL numbers like Crosby’s in a long, long time.
Mcdavid was just stronger and faster and more skilled than literally everyone remotely close to his age. And he had insane junior numbers, too.
Hockey can be like baseball, though, where even highly touted picks can bust if not developed properly. I’ve personally watched the LA Kings botch the development of their last four lottery picks
LeBron gets shit sometimes for appearing fake, or media obsessed, or whatever, but none of us can comprehend what it’s been like for him to be under immense scrutiny since he was a teenager. He deserves a ton of credit for living a basically spotless life and being a genuine role model.
The fact that LeBron not only lived up to but exceeded his hype by every single measurable metric is insane. 100% he should have been one of those kids who got the money at 19 and just didn’t give a fuck and became a Ben Simmons/Zion. But instead he actually chose to chase after greatness and it paid off.
IDK… I mean LeBron is obviously exceptional in every way imaginable. I agree most people coming from a home as broken as his was with that level of hype would flame out, but I think in general players didn’t have that situation and put in the work. There are obviously exceptions like Zion, Ayton, Morant. But wouldn’t say that’s the rule.
Ayton and Morant definitely did not have the same level of hype as Zion - this guy was a highlight reel since early high-school. Zion was touted as a generational prospect whod redefine the league, much like Wemby and Cooper now. Even Luka didnt get that level of hype
Wemby said he was stunned when he got to the league and saw the work ethic of other players, even some stars.
Honestly? I don’t blame them. It’s gotta be exhausting to start grinding a skill when you’re, what, 8 years old? And never stop until you’re 36+ years old? Your entire life basically has to be spent at one singular thing to compete at the highest level.
Fair, but Lebron was kicking ass from the moment he entered, and backed it up several times over.
Ya but he never rested, coasted, gave up after meeting an obstacle.
Maybe he’s just built different or maybe all the talk about how he’s not Jordan fuelled him to try even when at the top.
Except he put in the work
For every Lebron, there’s a dozen Ben Simmons/Zion/Ja/Ayton types that stopped working as hard after securing the bag.
The greatest players are not hungry for money, they are hungry for competition.
People who lose their hunger because they made millions were not meant for greatness anyways.
Hungry for competition, and also hungry for improvement. Winning can’t be enough, you have to be absolutely the best possible version of yourself.
At a certain level, they’re only competing against themselves.
Like every local band with shirts printed before a single song is written.
Lol local bands aren’t signing 5⁄150 mil contracts they need all the money they can get
Money from merch and not the song may be the reason
Most money for live bands is made from merch!
Especially artists without an international radio / msm hit
that happens?
You do not understand the music industry, especially independent groups/artists on the local level.
This isn’t just NBA. This trend is starting to infect a lot of American society as a whole. Most kids want to be “TikTokers” or “YouTubers” when they grow up, and while only the top 0.01% of influencers make millions, almost every wannabe influencer has the entitlement of someone who’s earned respect through decades of hard work.
Also have a worrying trend of politicians going into politics not to help the average American improve their life, but instead to use their political career as a launching pad to shill merch and become an “influencer” — to find an easy way to make big money.
Presumably unemployed people donating their money to millionaires streaming on YouTube or Twitch is the most dystopian example of modern culture to me.
Maybe it’s not all as connected as I’m suggesting, but it sure feels like a broad cultural trend.
Marvelous said it as well, “It’s hard to get up at 5 a.m. to do roadwork when you’re sleeping in silk pajamas,”
always in shape, always showed up, never complained. Rest in peace
Depends on your mindset too. Some people are happy with having the bag. Some players aren’t satisfied til they have a legacy. Some players can keep their hunger focused on a championship that season.
Just makes you appreciate how sick in the head MJ, Kobe, and Brady are. They could have a billion in the bank and play for free if their bodies didn’t break down.
KD type of basketball sicko
One thing I can say about MJ is that guy played really fucking hard all the time.
Coaches always said about Jordan that it set the tone for everyone else too, cause there was no way they could slack off when the best player was the hardest worker. You can see how this trickled down to other all time players too, like Kobe and LeBron. It’s important to not have people questioning your work ethic if you’re going to compete at the highest levels.
That’s literally describing his career as a basketball executive
look at someone who’s won a championship. the great ones separate themselves from the regular pack cos they are hungry for more.
I was preparing to “well actually” this and point out that the first Air Jordans came out when he was a rookie, which was absolutely unprecedented. If you remember, Howard White (the exec played by Chris Tucker in the movie ‘Air’) was interviewed for ‘The Last Dance’ and expressed trepidation in giving a shoe deal to (in his words) “a rookie that’s done nothing.”
However, when doing some Googling to get my facts straight, turns out the iconic jump man logo didn’t debut until 1988 when Jordan won his first MVP. So his point tracks.
Yea the first Jordans just say ‘Air Jordan’ where the logo is.
They actually say Nike Air and Air Jordan, with Nike air on the tongue and Air Jordan in the “wings” logo on the collar.
The jumpman didn’t exist until 1988s AJ3s where it featured prominently on the tongue of the shoe, packaging, and in marketing materials.
Lmao I have an irrelevant story to share:
I Some dude was arguing with me on IG about the jumpman logo. He was trying to say the jumpman logo is based off of Jordan’s iconic free throw line dunk from the slam dunk contest. He was being all loud and wrong about it until I pointed out how could the jumpman be based off the free throw line dunk, when he’s wearing the jumpman already as he’s doing it!? He never responded to the thread after that. 😂
Edit: I came back to this post at exactly 23 upvotes! Happy to share that and this story lol
TIL. So what was it based on (if anything)?
A photo shoot in 1984.
There was a hangtag included with AJ1s which showed a photo of MJ doing what eventually became tweaked into the jumpman.
It was not THE jumpman though.
Here is the original
fun fact: the jumpman logo is left handed
www.life.com/arts-entertainment/the-amazing-story-behind-jumpman/
Just started reading it but what a great article.
That must be a common misconception, because I definitely believed that. Only a casual NBA fan though.
He was also a college national champ, rookie of the year, and Olympic gold medalist. I’m sure some other stuff but that’s just on the top of my head
I always assumed Jordan’s first experience with the Olympics was the 92 Dream Team, didn’t know he won a gold medal in LA ‘84, not to mention he was the leading scorer.
Bob Knight coached him in those Olympics, which is where we get the legendary quote from him talking to the Portland GM before the draft.
“Bob, I need a Center, who do you like?”
“Draft Michael Jordan”
“But I just told you I need a Center”
“Then draft Michael Jordan, and play him at Center”
Bob Knight called MJ the GOAT before he had even played one game for the Bulls.
Him coaching MJ in the 84 Olympics and also being very close friends with his college coach, Dean Smith, had to have let him know that MJ was him.
Man what a fucking great quote. Dude took a stand.
Poor Sam Bowie.
Sandwiched between two HoFers with Hakeem and MJ. Would suck to be remembered only as a draft mistake.
Such an interesting point to that whole Bowie gets dragged for being above MJ, no one says the Rockets made a bad pick. Hakeem was a beast!
Yep, his Finals record for his career reads: College: 1-0 Olympics: 2-0 FIBA Americas: 1-0 FIBA Pan American Games: 1-0 NBA: 6-0
He was 11-0 in Finals games his entire career.
And he’ll always be my goat until someone else comes along and does what he did and more.
Argue at a wall. MJ is the goat
LOL that’s pretty crazy. He won at every level.
Bobby Knight has a funny story about MJ playing spectacular in the Olympics and Bobby needed to encourage him some how so he yelled at MJ for not setting enough screens and Michael replied maybe I’m setting them so quick you can see them(or along those lines)
He was also a college national champ
That was his rookie year where he was barely the third option. I know he’s remembered for scoring a key jumpshot in the championship game, but, after James Worthy went to the NBA, the Tar Heels were knocked-out in the “Elite 8” in 1983, and only made it to the “Sweet 16” in 1984.
But, in his final year of college, Jordan basically won every individual regular season accolade:
Bill Russell was also the 3rd option for 90% of his Celtics career and he still gets love like he was the 1st 🤷♂️
Actually he was the 4th or 5th option on some of those title-winning teams.
His rebounding and defense were obviously way way more important than his offense
Something that no one else in the nba top 20 has the luxury of saying. Every other top player of all-time needed to be a fantastic scorer.
Yeah, that’s really what makes him so unique. Literally no-one thinks he wasn’t the best-player on his team in most (say like 9 or so) of his championships. He’s got 5 MVP’s - so people quite clearly thought he was the best player in the league while watching him/others during his time.
I don’t think we can say that about any other player in history on just rebounding/defense.
Also though, I don’t think people quite get how astounding his defense really was. There’s a google sheet that tracked his blocks over games they could find and the numbers are completely ridiculous:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fRFgkADAK80/VkG0j3zRocI/AAAAAAAAHTA/swVybP9vvpE/s0-Ic42/Russell%252520blocked%252520shots%252520135g.jpg
We’ve got some anecdotal evidence that he might have been averaging around 5 steals per game as well.
Not to mention the number of shots altered by his presence alone.
There’s no way to put it into current context. Bill Russell is like, if you took Wemby and Kawhi, mashed them together with Dennis Rodman and added Lebron’s athleticism. https://streamable.com/zljyl
Russell was the leading playoff scorer on more championship teams than Wilt.
I actually didn’t know that about his college resume, kudos
Plus also, he had already won an Olympic gold medal, won national college player of the year, and a college national championship. So it’s not like he hadn’t at least had some accomplishments.
and maybe it was an exhibition match, but that Olympic team defeated an nba all star team
match
Matches, 8 of them. And the men’s Olympic team beat the all stars in each and every one.
And that was when college basketball was more popular than the NBA.
College basketball was very competitive then because almost everyone stayed at least 3 years.
Just totally different than it is now
Thats crazy iconic. Had a shoe, won mvp, slapped a logo on that bitch to commemorate your balling. Everything mike does is the way it should be done smh
The Air Jordan line has a lot of lucky breaks that turned it into what it is. Multiple people did things that had never been done and made a gamble. Jordan was a known star in college but people know that doesnt alway follow into the majors. So Nike bet big on Jordan because they needed a long shot to rise in the market to match Converse and Adidas. The people who design the actual shoes made something people had never seen in a basketball shoe. They paid fines in the league to wear the colors that nobody else did. Basically it was a perfect storm
Chris Tucker was so good in that role.
Just remember, Rookie year Jordon beat Team USA with NBA All Stars playing
7 times
I mean even then Jordan won UNC a chip
these comments are crazy….
Watch him switch his tone up if guys like sga and jokic start ranking up rings in the near future Do we have a GOAT in any other sports who only ever opens his mouth to say how he’s superior than everyone in every aspect
Watch him switch his tone up if guys like sga and jokic start ranking up rings in the near future
Do we have a GOAT in any other sports who only ever opens his mouth to say how he’s superior than everyone in every aspect
I mean, you can criticize MJ for alotta things, but he’s never said anything near that - in fact the opposite is true. he’s always been very careful to be respectful of those that came before him and players after, esp in the context of the goat discussion. I mean, of all the things to criticize him for, at least find something that has some semblance of factual basis.
Damn peoples brains are truly rotted by the 24⁄7 ESPN Lebron vs MJ rhetoric… cant understand that MJ is talking about putting the work in before chasing the extra off the court stuff, like many other greats have done but some young players seem to be putting the cart before the horse. Its insane that MJ cant talk about what made him successful without a bunch of losers taking it personally and claiming he’s trying to be superior.
Welcome to modern day media, it’s not just MJ. Anytime anybody says anything, the losers come in with their own soundbites. “By saying this, they mean [headcannon]”.
Its insane that MJ cant talk about what made him successful without a bunch of losers taking it personally and claiming he’s trying to be superior.
100%, but I will say though, the landscape has drastically changed, not just in basketball but sports in general - the formula for how to monetise a player is well known and it works. Just look at how many players have signature shoes before they’re even an all-star or MVP. He’s moreso talking directly to the players here, rather than claiming some sort of issue with having a pair of signature shoes/logo before you are “great”. Zion will forever be an example of this. He got his money, NBA 2k boxart, shoes, sponsor deals etc. and then released his foot off the gas pedal.
Yeah Im sure alot of the old school guys also wouldve been the same way if they had the option of getting so much wealth so early. I think guys like MJ tho also have this old school mentality of honor where their pride comes from what they achieve on the court and how they do it.
I think it speaks to a larger issue where get the bag culture is valued over all else. So a guy saying perfectly reasonable things like yeah if you get 100 million dollar shoe deals and such before you’ve done anything on the court it dulls your hunger it’s considered an insult. These types can also broach no question of the notion that this is the bestest most super duper era eva so that’s also a factor. But between rules changes and all the money available to young players before proving anything reasonable people can at least UNDERSTAND why someone may think the league has lost something.
Skip and SAS ruined sports talk
I mean he is quite literally superior. He’s fucking MJ.
MJ barely ever speaks on anything anyways lol he doesn’t really gaf
MJ is the textbook definition of that “I don’t think about you at all” quote from Mad Men…
That’s true but not in the way the internet remembers the quote.
I 100% guarantee you the second person thinks LeBron is “The GOAT”. Mr. “That One Right There Made Me the Greatest”.
The internet and social media is ruining the world
bro made up something and then got mad at it
As much as I have this vague distaste for Jordan for some of his bristly personality issues, I respect the hell out of his savvy. He almost always speaks extremely thoughtfully, never getting baited into some off the cuff hot take. He protects his brand fiercely and always has. Like, this man clearly had a plan for success in life, and NOTHING was going to make him deviate from that.
He protects his brand fiercely and always has
Hence how before the internet, basically everyone thought MJ was this super humble and nice guy. There were stories here and there about him being kind of a dick, but given the smaller media landscape, there was so much evidence to the contrary that you had a hard time taking those kinds of articles seriously.
You saw the competitor/asshole come out in games sometimes obviously, but he was always super careful to act professional when he wasn’t playing and a camera was rolling.
And pretty much all his commercials made him seem like this fun, chill, happy-go-lucky dude off the court who would hang out with anybody and everybody.
The buildup of his empire should be Brand Management 101 tbh.
Ja Morant got a shoe deal for being a human highlight for one season.
Got them on sale for like $30 at the Nike outlet. Not bad for some beaters I can wear for practice
Are they comfortable?
From my experience , playing as a SG , I really like the JA3 design
Has a low feel which is great for cutting and quick movements , not recommended for bigger dudes but amazing for me
Honestly not terrible but I probably wouldn’t get them again. My favorites comfort wise are usually Kyries (Nike) or KDs
I picked up a pair of his shoes in the store the other day and took the longest time trying to figure out who’s they were. Finally figured it out.
They all literally gave a giant JA logo on them 🙄
Jennifer Aniston
Ja Rule
Murderrrrrrr
You kidding? Every time I see them I think I found a pair of marked-down Jarrett Allens
honestly I don’t see the problem with this..he worked hard to make the nba and that season he put the work in to be a human highlight. what’s wrong with getting a shoe deal after the fact?
MJ’s statement shouldn’t be taken as just pointing towards the players but to their agents and surrounding businesses as well. although can you really blame them for trying to squeeze as much money out of it as possible as soon as they can? that’s capitalism in a nutshell
Those were the best point guard highlights since Derrick Rose though. I was sending some of those to people that don’t even watch basketball. He was amazing
He will get his gun deal sometime after he retires.
He ain’t lying. Every dude get they own signature show right away lmao.
And they all have some logo with their initials made into chains before they’re even drafted.
And when everyone and everything has a brand now, none of them really transcend like Jordan did. No monoculture anymore
Cooper Flagg had a shoe deal with New Balance in College, despite him not allowed to wear New Balance in games, because Duke had a shoe deal with Nike.
So they paid him solely for marketing and for the future after college. Like picking the player before he is coming to the NBA.
And he already had deals with Gaterode. But the biggest oomph is, his sports betting sponsorship was paid the most, bigger than his shoe deal, while he was still in college.
Yup, same with Wemby.
People across the entertainment spectrum are doing the same thing with their own self-produced documentaries…
Why shouldn’t they? You can make money on it. Isn’t that point of having a career? Either you blow up in which case your logo takes off in value or you don’t and you still cashed in a bit while your name/likeness was in demand.
The only reason to wait would be if your trajectory is a top 5 player who can wait a year or two and sign a massive shoe/apparel deal.
He had a signature shoe as a rookie lol
It’s just that the logo didn’t come till later
Logo is just about marketing now, it’s not a big deal
Whats going through their minds is: MJ got a logo, I got a logo, therefore I am MJ 😂
Even Trae pulled up with custom “Ice Trae” merch when he first got in the league, guys do the most before accomplishing anything
Regardless of what people think of Mike as a person (and there are clearly some differing viewpoints ITT), this series has been such a letdown for me.
I was really excited when I found out he was going to be involved in NBA coverage in some capacity. Obviously I didn’t expect him to be traveling or doing any sideline bs but I kinda thought at some point we would get to hear him analyze modern plays or modern players.
Finding out that this was all pre recorded, mostly about Jordan himself rather than actually covering the NBA, and could be retitled as “Things I meant to say in The Last Dance but forgot to” is just really lame to me.
I was hoping for Gruden style breakdowns from him in these where he would walk us through what he thinks about what teams and players doing. I’m not an MJ hater, but the segments on the Prime show on the light up court are so much more interesting.
It might as well be Last dance extended commentary. Also this interviewer sucks, they should’ve had some other NBA legend interview him, someone that can actually have a conversation with him rather than scripted questions
The interviews being prerecorded and Tirico asking scripted questions is 100% something MJ’s camp required before agreeing to the series.
It’s fun to think about a reality where he agrees to sit down with Chuck instead.
“You’re the king of branding, you fool. The hell you talking about?”
Likewise, I was really excited to hear MJ do some analysis 😓
MJ was the most famous person on the planet for almost 15 years….. I doubt he even watches that much NBA now because he’s busy doing his own thing.
He always told the media that once he retired they wouldn’t see him much and that’s largely been true.
I seriously think he had enough fame for one lifetime and just wanted to mostly fade out and do his own thing after retiring.
He rarely gives interviews (in fact the longest one I know of went to cigar aficianado), etc
I get that people would like to see breakdowns and stuff… but he was never going to do that because I just don’t think he’s interested in doing it.
In sports, maybe, but Jackson was bigger, comfortably so
Crazy they’re both MJs tho lol
For sure, both Michaels 😂
Yeah, a long sitdown interview released at once would be cool I guess but they were hyping this up as some huge get for the new NBA on NBC. Pretty soft too, it’s just Mike Tirico asking variations on “how is it being so great?”
Same. And what I hate about this is somehow, these will bring out tired out MJ-Bron debates again. I’ve been really appreciating the X’s and O’s materials lately and I was hoping MJ would be doing the same ala Kobe’s detail.
I never expected Mike to do something like that when he’s been out of the game for over 20 years. I’d be shocked if he has any interest in breaking down the Xs & Os of today’s very different game. Guarantee most would probably just complain about his takes and call him an out of touch old man if he tried anyway.
Kobe’s series was like a year after he retired when everything was still fresh for him. He played in and against all the schemes and players he was commentating on.
Always will love the player, anyone who has seen him play knows the force of nature he was. Nothing quite like himX
Hated the owner. Penny pinching. Nepotism. Poor drafts.
I’m so disappointed they hyped up MJ and it’s them milking a single interview and not even him discussing new shit or his specific thoughts on current players or offensive systems etc
This is basically scraps from the Last Dance and even duller with uninspiring questions
No shit Jordan is critical of load management, or remains competitive still and wishes he could play basketball
I could’ve told you that before the couple minute clips they dropped
What are the iconic player logos outside of MJ? Kawhi’s hand? DRose’s rose with a 1 in it?
Shaq hanging on the rim is the closest I can immediately think of. What, you didn’t have Shaq sandals?
Penny’s 1 c was cool as well
And Lil’ Penny was iconic.
The kids today have no clue what they are missing
I miss SLAM the most I think. Getting the new issue every month and reading some big feature on an NBA player, an article on some old European dude that we didn’t really get to see in the league, an article on a high school kid who would end up being Tracy McGrady or Dwight Howard or something,Trash Talk, the pull out SLAMUPs, Scoop Jacksons Letters to the Editor, and rookie diaries. Not to mention all the newest shoes.
Ugh, take me back.
SLAM still exsists, it’s still a good read and it still has posters.
I didn’t realize that. I haven’t seen it out in the wild in a long time.
SLAM was THE Bible to me for shining a light on obscure ballers who were outside the mainstream consciousness. I still remember when they put Skip on their cover with a headline saying “Best Point Guard in the World….that you never heard of.” This was before we could verify anything on the Internet. This was before any half decent baller had a mixtape or a reel. This was before every notable high school baller competed in nationally televised tournaments. SLAM was really the only way for people like me to find out who was Next, or the urban legends who flamed out.
The main thing that I miss is that they seemed to understand the soul of hoops culture. The words and the imagery were like the perfect marriage of hip hop and hoops culture. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just old, but the way the League markets players now seems so corporatized and sanitized. Man, thinking about SLAM got me feeling nostalgic as hell.
I’ve still got boxes of them in my basement. Every once in awhile I’ll dip into them and re-read stuff.
Reading an article about the bench unit from the Kings or about some summer league in NYC that had great runs was amazing for a kid in Midwest suburbia at the time.
I also mix the early blog days too for a lot of the same reasons.
Mamba logo. But I think the point is there’s a lot of players with logos even if they aren’t iconic. Luka has one too. I’m sure others. Does Ant? Curry? Lamelo? I’m just spit balling
Stephon Marbury.
For a broke ass kid growing up this was gonna be my answer
Kawhi hand?? Cmon now.
Tbf, it’s a cool logo
This is a good point. The only ones I can think of are Lebron, Kobe, KD, and Shaq.
Also, if you can please clear the air, is it that you enjoy Bill Kennedy or rather that you ensure he remains joyous? Thank you.
Lebron’s and KD’s logos are not iconic at all.
If you polled a general audience I bet a vast majority recognize the Jordan logo. I also bet less than a quarter can name any other one.
KD sneakers were pretty popular. I think his logo is as iconic as lebrons. Which might not say much as compared to Jordan but I’m putting it above kawhi and drose
Rose’s logo has a “D” not a 1
The 1 is the negative space inside the D. The layers of it was so great.
Damn I never realized that
DominAyton.
Even Bones Hyland made merch with skulls and bones after he emerged in Denver as a 6th man for a short stint
To be fair, Jordan had a 20-year headstart and came out pre-internet/smartphone.
This is why there will likely never be another Michael Jordan.
As long as there is poverty, there’s always a chance
He was the perfect storm. Multi-Generational talent of course but so many other factors completely outside of his control had to be primed for “Michael Jordan” to happen in the way it did, very doubtful anyone rides that dragon again.
It will never happen again. LeBron is the closest thing we will ever see to Jordan again in our lifetimes, and they aren’t even in the same stratosphere on likeability or marketability.
I agree, one of the most interesting aspects of the entire Jordan v LeBron “thing” is the level of access that we had to both. LJ was under a higher general expectation of maintaining an audience via social media (not that he doesn’t like it) than Jordan, which makes me wonder how differently Jordan’s legacy would look under the microscope of social media and how LJ’s might look absent that presence.
That is just one of the many factors that I mentioned before that just happened to be in the right place for Jordan to become the worldwide phenomenon that he was I guess.
I’m sure things would be drastically different if Jordan played today but if he went out and got six rings for a franchise as the unquestionable best player in the league every season, I’m not sure how much criticism would stick to him.
If Ja was putting up 35ppg this season no one would be talking about his prior bullshit. He was actually starting to unravel some of the ill-will he had generated before this latest idiotic foray.
Winning makes everyone forget. Or perhaps more accurately: Ink doesn’t have memories. The people writing about Jordan today would probably run out of gas pretty fast if he’s dropping 55 points on Giannis or getting 60 at the Garden.
All of what you said is accurate in my opinion but to me it begs the question of not only how the media would react to Jordan’s greatness but also how Jordan would react to the exposure of his “mortality” if that makes sense.
I love the Jordan era so much, I was 10 in 92 and was full of wonder at the height of JodanMania, it’s fun to think about the “what ifs” but nothing can top the reality of it all, which is what (I believe) truly endures about MJ.
Eeyyyy we’re the exact same age.
I honestly don’t think Jordan would care all that much. He was famous for taking adversity and turning it into gas to throw on his competitive fire. Any criticism that did get leveled at him back in those days just seemed to ignite him and make him play harder. Sure you’d have guys like Max Kellerman or Pablo Torre doing work to make it obvious that he wasn’t a nice guy to be around, but after that first ring, everything starts getting muted. 3rd ring? You can cast justified aspersions all you want but they’re just not going to pick up much traction. It’s just the nature of sports that winning is winning and everything else short of a massive felony-type situation is secondary.
Frankly I think it’s kind of sick how much we care about winning as a society. Sure I want my team to win, but it shouldn’t be able to cover up issues so readily. I’m glad at the very least that domestic violence is being taken more seriously these days.
How’s your back pain? Cheers man 🍻
and to be clear, I think after this year I’ll settle. I think LeBron is the better player. His durability, his stats. I do think it’s time to admit he’s better.
However Jordan is an icon, LeBron is a player.
I have LeBron shoes and no one ever comments on them. People stop me all the time when I’m wearing Jordan’s though.
Won’t happen with the way media and social media is now
There’s a reason we don’t have one big star like the 90s and have a bunch instead, same applies to music (like Michael Jackson). It was just easier to be concentrated on one person back then
And he had the self-awareness and charisma to not only carry the media, but to market himself in a way that we’ve simply never seen before and probably isn’t possible to do any longer. If LeBron was unable to transcend the league, it may not be possible again.
I just keep coming back to how charismatic and magnetic he was. Growing up in the 90s, he was the singular athlete that you could see anywhere you went, because his jersey was absolutely universal (outside of maybe boston or LA). And the way Nike marketed him was one of the greatest moments in the history of advertising.
At the time the only thing close on the same scale was Michael Jackson, it was bananas.
both MJs transcended cultures
Jackson is on a different level tbh
I think he’s on to something with the idea that everyone’s a brand before they are a true superstar but I think that’s more of a function of the hyper commercialized and commodified NBA rather than players obsessed with branding. These players come into the league and are expected to turn everything about them into something they can sell because the league is all about marketing their players and every piece of the game. Something as simple as walking up to the arena? This is now a sponsored TV segment, they build sets for it, break it out for socials. Every player is being told to be a brand.
Even beyond sport, social media pushes lots of people to become brands.
If there’s one thing I’ll listen to Jordan as an expert on it’s anything to do with competition.
I like seeing Jordan in the spotlight again
There’s levels to Boomer wisdom. I find his takes refreshing
Looks like Mike still has that fire in his eyes!
Who does this guy think he is? The Kyrie of his time?
Some times I am not sure if this is the jerk sub
Really are gonna get tiny clips of the same interview for the next 5 years huh
THANK YOU MJ.
The ammount of fucking god awful logos these players have, when they aren’t even playing like that is crazy.
“I need a graphic designer to make my logo.. it HAS to be my initials with my number, and it HAS to look like a middle grader did it” - every NBA player these days
Dude’s too modest. Fuck the logo. He made Nike…the struggling tennis shoe company…into a global athletic behemoth.
Did he or did he not have a contract with Nike before he ever touched an nba basketball court? Smh
Jumpman logo he’s talking about
He also had the greatest marketing campaign of all time that cannot be replicated today.
These new fans need to hear this when us older people try to explain the difference
He’s an asshole, but he ain’t lying.
Every word Jordan speaks is purposeful and articulated just the right amount. He oozes charisma like a Steve Jobs or bill Clinton
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Pretty much every time Nike gives a player a signature shoe…
Mike’s eyes looking a bit glassy