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Part of Michael Jordan's image is his association with Nike, the athletic wear giant and basketball shoe brand that has established a sneaker empire bearing the likeness of the Chicago Bulls great and NBA icon for decades now.
It almost went to shreds, however, before Jordan's late father prevented the former Bulls All-Star from leaving Nike.
In a new piece by Wright Thompson of ESPN, he recounted the story of Jordan showing up late to the meeting with Nike chief Phil Knight at a time the athletic brand co-founder believed the NBA superstar was nearing an exit with the endorser.
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“We waited for four hours, which is about how long it takes to play 18 holes of golf.” Nike designer Tinker Hatfield said about waiting for Jordan in the said meeting. “From what I understand, Michael was out on the golf course with some prospective partners, and Howard was with them but he was trying to get Michael to leave the golf course and go to the meeting.”
James Jordan, Michael's father who tragically passed in the summer of 1993, was then embarrassed that his son showed up late for the meeting. After being shown the prototype for the Air Jordan III sneakers — which stunned everyone in attendance — the Jordan patriarch then grabbed his son to the parking lot and scolded him for his act. MJ apologized and asked his father what to do.
His dad said that Nike's commitment was on display because Phil Knight had waited so long, and its design skills were on display in the IIIs, and that this seemed like the right move for his future. Michael listened.
Since then, Nike's Air Jordan division has released 33 models of the iconic basketball sneaker with the five-time NBA MVP's silhouette distinguishing each design.
