Month: May 2024

The ongoing debate regarding the crossover potential of NFL and NBA athletes reached a fever pitch this past week, with former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce lending his perspective on the matter.

ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark ignited the discussion by challenging NBA guard Austin Rivers’ assertion that 30 basketball professionals could seamlessly transition to the NFL. Clark cited Draymond Green’s less-than-stellar performance during a brief stint with Michigan State’s football team in 2011 as evidence of the challenges involved.

However, Kelce chimed in with a bold claim of his own, suggesting that LeBron James could easily become a formidable red zone threat in the NFL with just one offseason of preparation. Expressing admiration for Clark’s passion on the topic, Kelce highlighted James as a prime candidate for NFL success due to his unparalleled athleticism and physical prowess.

The initial spark for the debate came from Rivers, who asserted that while some NBA players could thrive in the NFL, the reverse scenario was unlikely. Responding to criticism from NFL star J.J. Watt, Rivers emphasized the athletic gifts of certain NBA players and posed hypothetical scenarios of basketball stars transitioning to football positions, such as Anthony Edwards as a wide receiver or Aaron Gordon as a tight end.

Rivers’ comments drew attention to the multifaceted abilities of NBA athletes and sparked speculation about their potential success in a different sporting arena. LeBron James, in particular, stands out as a compelling example, having showcased his football skills in high school before ultimately pursuing a career in basketball.

As the debate rages on, fueled by differing opinions and hypothetical scenarios, the question of whether elite athletes from one sport can seamlessly transition to another continues to captivate sports fans and analysts alike.

LeBron James received a thunderous standing ovation from Cleveland Cavaliers fans during Game 4 of the Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics matchup.

LeBron James attended Game 4 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics in Cleveland. The hometown hero, who delivered the city its 2016 NBA Championship, was celebrated enthusiastically by the fans, earning a regal welcome.

There was a period when the thought of LeBron receiving such an ovation in Cleveland after leaving the team was unthinkable. By 2010, James had arguably already become the greatest player in franchise history before his shocking departure to the Miami Heat. The night he left, fans burned his jerseys throughout Ohio, but he mended those bridges by returning to the team in 2014.

James secured a championship for the Cavaliers in 2016, leading them to four consecutive Finals. The three losses included facing a dominant Warriors dynasty, particularly in the 2018 Finals, where James almost single-handedly brought the Cavs to the Finals and solidified his legacy among any remaining skeptics.

When James departed the franchise for the second time in the summer of 2018, everyone understood his decision. Now, he basks in the admiration he rightfully earned as the greatest player in the history of the franchise.

During his time in Cleveland, James won one NBA title, one Finals MVP, and two league MVPs, averaging 27.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists.

The Celtics Once Assembled a Superteam to Challenge LeBron James
As the Cavaliers and Celtics are locked in a playoff battle, it’s impossible to overlook LeBron’s remarkable impact in past series between these teams. According to league insider Jeff Benedict, the Celtics specifically built a superteam to challenge LeBron James.

“Nobody understood superteams more than Pat Riley and Danny Ainge, and Ainge is up running the Celtics, Riley’s down in Miami running the Heat,” Benedict said. “The whole thing with [Kevin] Garnett and [Ray] Allen and [Paul] Pierce, what’s he doing? He’s trying to beat LeBron. He’s trying to make sure that the Celtics can beat LeBron because he knows how good LeBron is.”

James reached the NBA Finals in 2007, prompting the Celtics to assemble their big three, defeating James’ Cavaliers in 2008 and 2010. James answered this challenge by forming an even stronger superteam in Miami, where he never lost to the Celtics again.

 

LeBron delivered some iconic performances against the Celtics, notably in a Miami Heat jersey, including his legendary 2012 Game 6 showing where he scored 45 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to turn a 2-3 series deficit into a seven-game series victory.

The 2024 Cavaliers fell to a 3-1 deficit after Jarrett Allen and Donovan Mitchell missed Game 4 of their series against the Celtics. After overcoming an injured Heat team in Round 1, they are close to defeating a weakened Cavaliers squad in Round 2. They will face either an inexperienced Pacers or a depleted Knicks team in the Conference Finals, making them heavy favorites to advance to the NBA Finals from the East.

On Monday night, LeBron James was present at Cleveland’s playoff game against the Boston Celtics, which is sure to spark discussion regarding the superstar’s future.

James spent two spells in Cleveland before choosing to become a free agency this summer and opt out of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. Before departing the Cavaliers two years later, he guided them to their lone NBA championship in 2016.

James, the all-time leading scorer in the league, has continued to reside close to his hometown of Akron. Even though he left Cleveland in 2018, he has returned numerous times, but he hasn’t gone to any Cavs games.

James, his wife Savannah, and agent Rich Paul all took courtside seats as soon as the game started.

He received a thunderous ovation when shown on the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse scoreboard during a timeout. After giving the assembly his acknowledgement, King James pretended to place a crown on his head.

This year’s postseason was brief for the 39-year-old because the Lakers were eliminated in the opening round by the reigning champion Denver Nuggets. After the series, James made it apparent that he was keeping his options open and hadn’t decided what to do next.

James had previously discussed playing alongside his eldest son, Bronny, who played at USC the previous year and recently submitted a draft application this year.

After suffering a heart arrest during the summer, the younger James was given the all-clear by the league’s medical staff to take part in the pre-draft combine in Chicago on Monday.

James is a 20-time All-Star, four-time league MVP and champion. He was drafted No. 1 overall by Cleveland and spent seven seasons with the Cavs before signing as a free agent with Miami in 2010.

He returned to the Cavs in 2014 and led them to four consecutive NBA Finals appearances — all against Golden State.

Many sneakerheads consider the Air Jordan 11 to be the greatest Jordan Brand sneakers ever. Michael Jordan debuted these Space Jam shoes in his comeback 1994-95 playoffs.

There might be a little doubt about MJ’s status as the greatest basketball player ever. But no one can truly lay claim to his throne as the greatest sneaker salesman of all time.

The feats that Jordan achieved through his association with Nike are simply amazing. Nike and MJ negotiated a deal that would secure the Bulls star his full contract payment if the company managed to sell $3 million worth of sneakers over his first few years in the NBA.

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The Air Jordan 1 shoe went on to secure sales worth well over $100 million in the very first year. Most people still consider the original AJ1 shoes to be the greatest piece of streetwear of all time.

Mike soon began to earn royalties for the sale of every Jordan Brand sneaker, and with good reason. He still receives 5% royalties on those sales to this day – 18 years after his final retirement.

Michael Jordan had to discard the Air Jordan 11 Concords, but instead debuted the AJ11 Space Jam

Jordan had achieved everything one could picture any sporting star setting out to reach. It was indeed a matter of time before he obliged Hollywood and played a hero’s role. After all – he was the real-life hero for millions across the globe at the time.

This opportunity came in the shape of the Space Jam movie. Now Mike had always been a Nike ambassador, and this remained true even in the movie that he starred in.

He’d already debuted the iconic Air Jordan 11 ‘Space Jam’ colorway during the 1995 NBA playoffs. This happened because of an obscure NBA rule which mandated all players from one team to wear shoes of the same color schemes.

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Both the Concord as well as the Space Jam colorway represent 2 of perhaps the top-5 most iconic Jordan Brand designs ever. These shoes, released a whole generation or two ago, are still the hottest items on the market.

Jordan Retros command a loyal fanbase that practically no other shoe brand can match.

The Last Dance docuseries, produced by ESPN Films and Netflix and released in 2020, was a major hit. Fans around the world loved every bit of the show that revealed some intriguing details about Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls. The younger generation of today did not see the six-time NBA champion play live. So the series was perfect for them to understand the legend of Jordan. Also, for the older generation, it was a refreshing reminder of the greatness and accomplishments of the five-time NBA MVP. But before The Last Dance, in 1996, MJ starred in the movie Space Jam which was a massive hit as well. Interestingly, the film was shot after his first comeback from retirement and the subsequent 1995 playoff loss against the Orlando Magic.

His Airness was one of the most competitive players ever and he wanted revenge following the embarrassing loss that year. Moreover, Jordan and his team had denied multiple Hollywood offers before this. So why did Michael Jordan star in Space Jam despite the loss?

Michael Jordan as a fictional character in Space Jam

Space Jam featured other NBA superstars like Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson, and Shawn Bradley. The plot of the movie starts with Michael Jordan retiring from the NBA and pursuing baseball after his father’s death. Meanwhile, the superstars mentioned above would suddenly lose their game powers mysteriously. As it turns out, their powers were stolen by aliens who had been challenged by the Looney Tunes for a basketball game.

Looney Tunes would ask MJ to come out of retirement to help them win the basketball game against the Monstars. The movie then slowly unfolds how Jordan and the Looney Tunes battle the aliens and help the superstars get back their basketball powers. Hollywood superstar Bill Murray also played a key role in the film.

Starring in Space Jam was a business decision for Michael Jordan

Space Jam was not the first time Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny joined hands. The duo first played alongside each other in a Nike commercial for the 1992 Super Bowl, which was an instant hit among fans. As it turns out, Jordan’s agent David Falk came up with the idea to expand the commercial into a feature film starring the two, according to a report from Vulture.com. However, it was not just about the chemistry between Jordan and Bugs Bunny. It was a business decision and a collaboration between major brands.

At the time, Warner Bros was looking to reboot the Looney Tunes and joining forces with MJ looked like the perfect opportunity. Falk believed that the movie had both box-office and merchandising potential and convinced the studio as well. On the other hand, the five-time NBA MVP and his team believed that this was the right script to promote a clean image by starring in a children’s movie.

However, the 15-time NBA All-Star reportedly did not enjoy his time acting in the movie. But the live-action was a major hit among children and even teens and adults. Jordan nailed his role as himself in the blockbuster.

Everything you should know about Space Jam

Warner Bros released Space Jam theatrically in the United States on November 15, 1996. The live-action/animated sports comedy was directed by Joe Pytka. The movie won various awards as well. In 1997, Robert Kelly won the Grammy award for the category – Best Song Written Specifically for Motion Picture or for Television, for the song I Believe I can Fly. Also, the movie itself received two awards in the 1997 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards.

Space Jam was then released on VHS, DVD, and LaserDisc in 1997. Also, the franchise expanded into comics and video games as well. The Space Jam video game was released for the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn consoles and MS-DOS computers in 1996.

Other games Michael Jordan has appeared in

Following the massive success of Space Jam, Michael Jordan appeared in the video game adaptation of the movie in 1996. However, this was not his first ever video game appearance. MJ has an interesting relationship with video games. The Chicago Bulls legend first featured in a video game four years after stepping into the league.

Jordan vs. Bird: One on One was his first-ever video game which was developed by Electronic Arts and released in 1988. He has since then featured in Michael Jordan in Flight (1993) and Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City (1994). MJ has been featured in various NBA games as well.

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Jordan made his digital comeback in NBA 2K11 after he signed a multi-year deal with 2K, which has allowed them to use his name and likeness so far.

Michael Jordan’s earnings from Space Jam

Space Jam was a box office success grossing over $230 million worldwide. According to a report, “the merchandise sales alone brought in an additional $1.2 billion.” The fee of Michael Jordan for the film was not disclosed. However, considering the massive profit and merchandise sales, it is safe to assume that he had a hefty payday.

A writer adored the basketball-Looney Tunes mash-up as a boy. Watching the movie again after his father died, he felt the movie resonate in a surprisingly deeper way.

When I was 10, I thought the coolest person in the world was Michael Jordan. The second-coolest person in the world was my dad. He played in an amateur men’s soccer league; I preferred basketball, so MJ got the edge. Like a lot of kids who grew up in the ’90s, I revered the seemingly unbeatable Chicago Bulls, and I was devastated when, on Oct. 6, 1993, Jordan announced that he would be retiring from the NBA to play minor-league baseball with the Birmingham Barons. I liked baseball even less than I liked soccer.

Jordan’s triumphant return to basketball in March 1995 was a moment of intense relief and exhilaration for me; and when the Bulls won their fourth championship, in the summer of 1996, my enthusiasm for Jordan reached a fever pitch. So when “Space Jam” debuted that autumn, I could not have been more excited. Michael Jordan teaming up with Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes in a feature film about a high-stakes basketball game? It was as if they had scanned my brain and made a movie of my innermost fantasies. I begged my dad to take me to see it, and the minute it was over, I begged him to take me to see it again.

He was not especially impressed with “Space Jam,” but it was everything I dreamed it would be. First, it was hilarious. The Nerdlucks, a cabal of short, wormlike aliens who smack one another around like the Three Stooges, had me in stitches; my friends and I impersonated their screechy, helium-pitched voices for months, to gales of approving schoolyard laughter. Jordan’s bumbling, nebbish assistant Stan — played by Wayne Knight, whom I knew as the guy who gets smeared by a dilophosaurus in “Jurassic Park,” another childhood favorite — was hysterically funny. And of course the Looney Tunes cracked me up. When the Tasmanian Devil spins around a basketball court and cleans it single-handedly in a matter of seconds, declaring it “lemony fresh” — that seemed like the funniest thing I had ever heard in my life.

Image

Jordan with the Looney Tunes in 1996 — a young basketball fan’s dream lineup.Credit…Warner Bros.

What I loved most about “Space Jam” was the candid glimpse it seemed to offer of Jordan’s life off the court. I had seen him in action, and in interviews as well as in commercials. But “Space Jam” showed me a family side of Jordan. Here was the star talking to his wife. Here was Jordan watching TV with his kids. And here was a flashback of a young Jordan, shooting hoops in the backyard, talking about his hopes and aspirations with his own dad.

His father, played by Thom Barry, has only a small role in “Space Jam”: He appears in the first scene of the movie, watching his son drop bucket after bucket in the moonlight. “Do you think if I get good enough, I can go to college?” asks the young Michael, played by Brandon Hammond. “You get good enough, you can do anything you want to,” the elder Jordan replies. Mike starts rattling off his dreams: “I want to go to North Carolina … I want to play on the championship team … then I want to play in the NBA.”

His dad takes the ball and says it’s time for bed. But Michael has one more dream to mention. “Once I’ve done all that,” Michael says, beaming up at his father, “I want to play baseball — just like you, Dad.”

In April 2020, as the coronavirus was sending most of the world into lockdown, my dad died suddenly in his home late one night of a heart attack. He was 58. He’d been in immaculate health. We were extremely close, and spoke or texted every day. I was shattered.

Around the same time, ESPN began to air “The Last Dance,” the network’s 10-part documentary series about Jordan and the ’90s Chicago Bulls. I watched the show in the weeks following my dad’s death as a distraction from my grief. But I was not prepared for the revelations of the seventh episode, which deals with the death of Jordan’s father, James R. Jordan, at the hands of carjackers in 1993. I was struck by certain similarities: how close Michael had been to his father, how much he relied on him as a mentor and a friend. James Jordan died a week shy of 57.

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A young Jordan (Brandon Hammond) and his father (Thom Barry) came to mean a great deal years later.Credit…Warner Bros.

After that episode, I put on “Space Jam.” Again, I was looking for distraction; again, I was floored by grief. That opening scene with young Michael and his father, such a beautiful testament to a parent’s influence, now seemed completely overwhelming. Three years after his death, Jordan Sr. had been resurrected onscreen for a heartfelt tribute. And what’s more, Jordan had invoked his father as the reason he was pursuing baseball — a career move most people had dismissed as ridiculous.

When Jordan announced his retirement, back in 1993, he told the gathered reporters that, although he was sad to leave the sport behind, he was glad his father had been alive to see his last game of basketball. The same line appears in “Space Jam,” in a restaging of the retirement news conference, and in light of the earlier scene with Jordan’s dad, the moment has a special emphasis.

At the time, pundits could not fathom why someone as gifted as Jordan would give up his place at the top of one sport just to start at the bottom in an entirely different one. Jordan used “Space Jam” in part to explain his decision, to explain that while it looked as if he was following a whim, he was actually following his father. In light of my own loss, it seemed to me that Jordan was pouring his heart out. Watching last year — nearly 25 years later — I was profoundly moved.

“Space Jam” was not really as candid about Michael Jordan’s home life as I believed when I was 10 and as “The Last Dance” made clear. Understandably, “Space Jam” did not touch on Jordan’s sometimes reckless gambling, nor on his embattled relationship with the media nor his weariness with the demands of fame. But the movie does contain some sincere and deep-seated wisdom about loss, which I was only able to see once I was in mourning myself.

It’s about looking up to somebody and wanting to follow in his footsteps. To do right by him. To reflect back the love that person selflessly showed you. And although it might seem strange to say of a movie about Michael Jordan playing basketball with Bugs Bunny, seeing that truth in “Space Jam” after all these years helped me deal with the pain of what I’d lost.

The Air Jordan 11 is a sneaker with near limitless accolades. Michael Jordan wore it during the Chicago Bulls’ historically dominant 1995-96 season when it earned a place in his second threepeat, appearing on-feet for Jordan while he secured his fourth championship. In modern times it is a marker of consistency, with now-annual holiday releases causing mayhem. It even had a part in a battle for intergalactic basketball supremacy during the 1996 movie Space Jam, in which Jordan wore a sleek black colorway. That moment was guided by Marlene Stewart, the film’s costumer designer, who worked with Nike to get the footwear for Space Jam and designed the iconic Tune Squad jerseys.

“This was kind of a marriage made in heaven because everyone had the same goal. It’s not like I’m asking Nike to do a pair of high heels,” Stewart said in an interview with Sole Collector. “Many times you have a movie and sometimes the character doesn’t match the product that you’re trying to use. This was completely made-to-order. It couldn’t have been a better situation.”

The Space Jam sneakers remained the stuff of sneaker collector wish lists for many years. The pair never saw a retail release during the Jordan 11’s original run, appearing only on the feet of Jordan himself for an Eastern Conference Semifinals game in 1995 and then for its big-screen moment in 1996. It wasn’t until 2000 that the shoe was available to the public, with another retro following in 2009. Nike and Jordan brought the “Space Jam” Jordan 11 back once again in December, 2016, timing its reappearance with the 20th anniversary of Space Jam’s theatrical release.

Image via Nike

Each of the sneaker’s releases have made headlines. The 2000 pair marked its unvaulting, an important moment in the then-burgeoning collector culture. 2009’s return sparked retail madness and epic lines. And while 2016’s was thankfully more civil, the demand was still palpable. When Stewart used the sneakers for Space Jam, Air Jordans were already huge, but the hype around them wasn’t what it is today. Still, there were measures in place to keep the shoes secret and safe.

“Now, everything’s barcoded, all the inventory. It’s really easy to track with computers—everything is tracked. In those days it really wasn’t. It was all hand-written notes about things and they just relied on your integrity to make sure everything was put back.”

Stewart and her team also signed industry standard non-disclosure agreements ensuring that the details about the film, and the associated product, would be kept quiet until its proper rollout. This was especially important given the movie’s Nike connection as the Air Jordan 11 hadn’t released at retail yet. Stewart says her discussions with the sportswear brand began well before filming.

Image via Warner Bros.

“What we did was, prior to this because they’re in development for a long time, we coordinated everything with [Nike] and we worked it out with the director, what we needed to have for the movie,” Stewart explained. “I think it was more like a collaboration: These are our needs, what’s going to work for the movie? It’s like having an additional design team.”

She says she worked with Nike to procure upwards of 20 pairs of sneakers in Michael Jordan’s size, along with 10 or 15 more for doubles and stuntmen. Stewart recalls with awe the size of NBA players’ pants, which she says were as tall as her. In addition to outfitting athletes in the film, she was partly responsible for Bill Murray’s sneakers, a pair of Air Jordan 2 Retros that stood out amongst the other, more modern designs.

Image via Warner Bros.

“You always want to talk to the actor about which way you want to go, so that was a collaboration between he and I. When you talk to actors, you always get a bit of an idea of what direction they want.”

Stewart says that over the years she has been contacted plenty of times by Space Jam fans hoping to get their hands on memorabilia from the film. Their pursuits have been for naught though—all of the footwear and apparel she handled for the movie either went back to Warner Bros. or to Michael Jordan. But, upon hearing how much an original pair of “Space Jam” Air Jordan 11s could sell for these days, Stewart pondered the investment opportunity she missed out on.

“I wish I did have something but I don’t, but I guess it’s good that I don’t have to feel uncomfortable about having something I shouldn’t have,” she said, laughing. “I wish I was gifted a pair, it was not in a swag bag. I wish I had found a pair of Air Jordans in my swag bag.”

The Greatest Of All Time—or more simply, The GOAT.

It is the title bestowed upon one person that is perceived as superior to all the rest. It is the person believed to be the best basketball player of all-time. It belongs to the one who not only battles against the competition, but also against time, history and health, and comes out victorious.

There are many legends, but there is only one GOAT.

But who is it? What criteria determines the GOAT?

Is it stats? Is it rings? Is it longevity? A mixture of the three? Something else?

This is an age-old debate.

You hear it when you go to the barbershop to get a shape-up. You hear it in between pickup games at the local rec center. You hear it at the lunch table in school. You flip on the TV, or play that video you scrolled onto in your newsfeed, and watch two analysts hollering back-and-forth in disgust that the other believes that ‘that guy’ is the GOAT. You even hear it at the park where the old-timer in the neighborhood is telling you about so-and-so, who back in the day could jump up and put a quarter on the top of the backboard, and could have beaten Michael Jordan one-on-one had he just made it.

You probably even made a case for the player that you believe is deserving of the title.

The debate has been going on for decades and has no signs of slowing up. The more time that passes, the more it intensifies.

Throughout the history of the GOAT debate, the people have been left without a definitive answer. However, one guy believes to have solved the timeless debate once and for all.

Ben Hinson is the founder of Hickam’s Dictum, a business intelligence blog where he shares tactical insights across various industries. On Hickam’s Dictum, Hinson published an article titled ‘The G.O.A.T: Who is the Best Basketball Player of all Time (mid 70s — early 00s)?’ In the article, he ranks the NBA’s greatest players of all time from a playoff performance perspective using a holistic weighted ranking system.To ensure accuracy of statistics, Hinson pulled data from basketball-reference.com and audited the numbers by matching them against data from ESPN. He then enlisted the help of his colleague to review his work.

It is hard to argue about the greatness of the players on this list because every player is great in their own right.

However, the order of the players is debatable.

Statistics are useful in determining the GOAT but ultimately, the debate is subjective. Various studies can provide an answer statistically but without context it is hard to fully comprehend the greatness of each player and their accomplishments.

Anyone that has played basketball knows there are certain things that cannot be measured. Intangibles that you cannot coach and may not even be developed. Traits that are innate. Think Jordan’s competitiveness, Russell Westbrook’s motor or Allen Iverson’s heart. No statistical analysis can measure these qualities.

Also, people tend to cling onto the stars of their era. The ones they witnessed growing up that made them fall in love with the game. The emotional connection people feel toward the stars of their generation influences their opinion—people tend to stick with their generation.

These are just a couple of considerations that influence the discussion.

One thing we can be confident in is that the debate will continue going on and no one analysis will provide us with a conclusive answer.

So, is Hakeem Olajuwon really the greatest of all time?

Hinson believes so.

But we all know who the real GOAT is…

Tell me who the GOAT is in the comments below.

The man, the myth, the legend. Michael Jordan rose to stardom for his time with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards — which was only the beginning of his professional career.

After playing college basketball for three seasons, Jordan became a global icon when he joined the NBA and went on to play 15 seasons in the ’80s and ’90s. Over the years, the professional athlete developed a reputation for his slam dunks during games — and his appearance in the film Space Jam.

Jordan started to explore prospects as a businessman when he took on a collaboration with Nike in 1984. The company crafted the Air Jordan around the promising basketball player, who would go on to bring Nike plenty of success.

In 2000, fans got a glimpse at Jordan’s ups and downs in a documentary titled Michael Jordan to the Max. Jordan’s life was front and center again in ESPN’s 10-part TV documentary, The Last Dance, which premiered in 2020.

However, the limited series seemed to create tension between Jordan and some of his former teammates. Scottie Pippen. who won six championships alongside the Jordan CEO in the 1990s, revealed that they were no longer close because of how Jordan alleged minimized the role his coworkers played in the Chicago Bulls’ success.

“They glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates,” Pippen, whose ex-wife Larsa Pippen ultimately started dating Michael’s son Marcus Jordan, wrote in his 2021 memoir, Unguarded. “Michael deserved a large portion of the blame. The producers had granted him editorial control of the final product. The doc couldn’t have been released otherwise. He was the leading man and the director.”

Michael, for his part, praised his teammates for the support they offered him at the height of their success. “I think it was [a] genuine time, even though we were competing and we were learning about each other and we were pushing each other, those are still genuine times,” he told ABC’s Australian Today in August 2021, adding that he felt “sad” when it ended. “And you don’t share those with too many people.”

In 2023, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reunited on screen to bring the story of Nike’s pivotal partnership with Michael to life. Ahead of Air‘s debut, Affleck discussed Michael’s response to the biographical movie.

“I had a chance to sit down with Michael Jordan, because I just wasn’t going to make this movie without asking him, ‘What matters to you?’” the director said in March 2023 at South by Southwest. “Michael Jordan, for those of you who don’t know, is one of the most intimidating, impressive men you’ll ever see in your life. He told me about his father. And then he talked about his mother. It was the first time I saw this look cross his face. It was a look of reverence, of awe, of love, and gratitude, and innocence.”

According to Affleck, Michael emphasized that his mother’s casting was the most important aspect of the film for him.

“He said, ‘None of this would have ever happened without my mother.’ I said, ‘Who would you like to play your mom?’ He said, ‘Well, it has to be Viola Davis,” the Pearl Harbor star continued. “That’s like saying, ‘Can I play basketball on your court?’ ‘Yeah, if you get Michael Jordan.’ Viola Davis is the best actor I’ve ever seen. This is a hard business. It’s hard to know if you’re successful. It’s hard to know if you’ve accomplished something. But honest to God, I always felt that if i was a director one day, and I had Viola Davis in a movie, that would really be something. That would mean the world to me. And it does.”

Keep scrolling for a look at Michael’s life in photos:

1984

After going to the University of North Carolina on a basketball scholarship, Michael joined the Chicago Bulls. He was part of the team from 1984 to 1993 before retuning two years later. Michael officially parted ways with the Bulls in 1998.

During his first year in the NBA, the athlete collaborated with Nike on Air Jordan sneakers — which found major success.

Credit: Fitzroy Barrett/Shutterstock

1989

The New York native married Juanita Vanoy in Las Vegas. They expanded their family with sons, Jeffrey, Marcus and daughter Jasmine. After more than a decade of marriage, Michael and Vanoy called it quits in 2002. The pair briefly reconciled before filing for divorce, which was finalized in 2006.

Credit: Colorsport/Shutterstock

1993

The former professional basketball player announced his initial retirement three months after his father was killed. Michael moved on with a brief stint in the MLB, which ended one year later.

Michael made headlines when he was spotted gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Bulls’ 1993 NBA playoffs.

“Yeah, I’ve gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I’ve pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you’re willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah,” he said during a 2005 interview on 60 Minutes about his history with gambling.

Credit: Sonia Moskowitz/Shutterstock

1995

After a break from the sport, Michael returned to the Bulls. He retired again in 1999 but remained in the basketball world as part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards

Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

1996

Michael starred as himself in the live-action movie Space Jam. In 2021, Space Jam: A New Legacy was released with LeBron James in the lead role.

Credit: Richard Young/Ian McIlgorm/Shutterstock

2001

Following a hiatus, the businessman announced his return to the NBA to play for the Washington Wizards. He noted he would donate his salary to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11 attacks.

Michael retired for the final time during the 2002-2003 basketball season.

Credit: Reix Stephane/ABACA/Shutterstock

2006

Three years after retiring from basketball, Michael bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats which made him Managing Member of Basketball Operations. The team, which has since become known as the Hornets, was ultimately sold to Michael for majority ownership in 2010.

Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock

2011

After a lengthy courtship, Michael proposed to Yvette Prieto and they got married in 2013. Later that year, the duo announced that they were expecting their first child together. In 2014, the model gave birth to twin daughters, Victoria and Ysabel.

Credit: Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Shutterstock

2016

Michael became the first billionaire player in NBA history in 2016. That same year, Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In response to 2016 shootings committed by and against the cops, Michael $2 million to a police organization and the NAACP.

“As a proud American, a father who lost his own dad in a senseless act of violence, and a black man, I have been deeply troubled by the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement and angered by the cowardly and hateful targeting and killing of police officers,” he wrote in a blog post for The Undefeated in 2016. “I grieve with the families who have lost loved ones, as I know their pain all too well.”

The basketball legend confirmed that his charitable donation would be divided up with half going to the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Institute for Community-Police Relations and the remaining amount to NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

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2020

Michael was the main face of ESPN’s miniseries The Last Dance, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. The special also featured fellow NBA personalities, including Michael, Scottie, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr and Phil Jackson.

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2023

The origins of Michael’s partnership with Nike was the central story of the biographical sports film Air which was released in 2023. The project starred Damon, Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker and Davis.

That same year, Larsa opened up about how Michael gave her romance with Marcus his stamp of approval. “They’re all happy, our whole family is fine,” the reality star said on The Tamron Hall Show. “When you’re an adult, I think your parents just want to see you happy. My parents want to see me happy, his parents want to see him happy.”

Michael Jordan, often hailed as the greatest basketball player of all time, once displayed his extraordinary talent by casually sinking a free throw with his eyes closed. Known for his no-nonsense style of play, Jordan was virtually unstoppable throughout his illustrious career. He clinched six NBA championships in two stints with the Chicago Bulls, earning the NBA Finals MVP title on all six occasions, including three consecutive triumphs twice.

Amid his relentless pursuit of success, Jordan also exhibited a playful side, as demonstrated by his memorable no-look free throw during a game against the Denver Nuggets in 1991, where he tallied an impressive 37 points. Despite his stellar performance, Jordan failed to dunk over then-rookie Dikembe Mutombo.

In a revealing interview with Pete Holmes in 2014, Mutombo disclosed that Jordan’s no-look free throw was an attempt to mock him. Their rivalry persisted into Jordan’s second tenure post his brief retirement.

Footage captured Jordan engaging in banter with Mutombo in the Eastern Conference team’s locker room before the 1997 NBA All-Star Game. During their exchange, Mutombo questioned if Jordan had ever dunked on him, to which Jordan coyly replied, “Don’t even try it,” acknowledging that he hadn’t dunked on Mutombo “recently,” much to the Hawks player’s chagrin.

Subsequently, Jordan made it a point to dunk on Mutombo during their next encounter, ensuring that the center was acutely aware of the feat. Following his sixth NBA championship win with the Bulls in 1998, Jordan retired for the second time, only to return to the court in 2001 to play for the Washington Wizards, leaving behind an indelible legacy in the annals of basketball history.