{"id":14171,"date":"2018-01-03T00:00:26","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T06:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=14171"},"modified":"2018-01-07T00:54:26","modified_gmt":"2018-01-07T06:54:26","slug":"the-billionaire-goat-is-still-in-charge-michael-jordans-influence-is-as-strong-as-ever-in-todays-nba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=14171","title":{"rendered":"THE BILLIONAIRE GOAT IS STILL IN CHARGE: Michael Jordan’s Influence Is As Strong As Ever In Today’s NBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It’s been 15 years since his last NBA game, yet Michael Jordan still carries an unmatched mystique in the eyes of players and fans. Simply put, MJ is the epitome of cool. A generational trendsetter whose influence on sneaker culture, basketball and modern day advertising stretches well beyond the NBA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to take a look at how far Jordan\u2019s influence stretches to today’s NBA, use Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell as an example. Mitchell, who played baseball in addition to basketball growing up, wears Jordan\u2019s secondary number 45 to honor MJ\u2019s other <\/em>career. And Mitchell wasn’t a Red Barons fan, either. In fact, he was born in 1996\u2014after<\/em> Jordan’s return to basketball.<\/strong><\/div>\n

\u201cI think that every generation really has their own thumbprint, but if you look at Michael\u2019s influence you still see the shaved heads out there on the court\u2014still see people playing with a great deal of flare,\u201d says Jordan Brand Vice President Howard White. \u201cI think that stamp obviously went beyond his culture and there is a thing that says \u2018Like Michael Jordan\u2019 or the \u2018Michael Jordan of\u2019 whether that it is in the NBA, NASCAR, hockey, they still compare people to Michael Jordan.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

White, who has worked with some of the biggest names in sports, including MJ, Penny Hardaway, Deion Sanders, Ken Griffey Jr. and Charles Barkley, played a huge part in transforming Jordan from a basketball player to a global icon. Back in the early days of Jordan\u2019s career, White and Nike<\/a>reps had Jordan travel to Paris, London, and Japan to play in exhibition games to increase his exposure and piggy-back off his Dream Team fame. The innovative move helped Jordan become popular with international fans who wouldn\u2019t have been able to see him any other way. His legendary overseas trips have now become a standard for sneaker brands, who send their athletes to places like China and Japan where eager basketball markets await\u2014much thanks to MJ.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Much like soccer, individual NBA players now enjoy the international spotlight thanks to predecessors paving the way. For every Ronaldo, Messi or Neymar\u2014there is now a LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. We are not only intrigued about what these players do on the court, but we follow their every move on social media. We hear what they have to say about politics. We know their brands. And of course, we always know what sneakersthey are wearing. You won’t find that same type of treatment in other sports. Then again, not every sport had a Michael Jordan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Sneaker Godfather<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The obvious connection between Jordan and the NBA’s younger generation is his Jordan Brand sneaker line, which is as popular as ever around the league. Whether the Jumpman logo is seen on players’ feet, clothing or on the uniforms of MJ’s Charlotte Hornets, the iconic symbol still goes hand-in-hand with the game of basketball.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cMJ will always be a staple on the NBA because guys care about how they look when they play and what shoes<\/a> they wear on-court,\u201d says Rockets star and Jordan athlete Chris Paul. \u201cMJ had a flare and style about him when he played. For me personally, I remember MJ used to tell me about going down to the corner in front of the other team’s bench so the other teams could look at his shoes, which is killer.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul counts Jordan\u2019s sneaker line as one of the reasons why his legacy and brand still resonates with players who never saw him play. The way Nike and Jordan mastered the sneaker business was through their storytelling. So many of his shoes are iconic because they have significant moments or games they are tied to\u2014from the the Flu Game to the Banned Jordan 1\u2019s.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition, the Jordan Brand still competes with sneaker titans like LeBron, KD and Kobe, who have signature lines that have all surpassed the double-digit mark. Not only is each signature Jordan shoe coveted, with the help of stars like Paul, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard, but their retro kicks are still some of the most anticipated shoe releases each year. With that type of diversity, the Jordan business model doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. It doesn’t matter how much Jordan oversaturates the market with retro releases and re-releases\u2014there’s always going to be a horde of consumers lining up to purchase Jordans in bunches.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the biggest thing I want to see from the brand in the future is to push the culture forward and just keep being proactive and lead,\u201d says Paul. \u201cJordan Brand has been there for so long and should never take the back seat to any other brand and I think we have to put the pedal to the metal and lead.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"a<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hollywood and Hip-Hop<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Another reason why Jordan\u2019s influence can still be felt around the NBA is his ability to transcend from player to a pop\u2013culture figure. Seeing Will Smith in a pair of J\u2019s in episodes of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air<\/em> or having hip-hop stars like Nas, Drake and DJ Khaled wear his kicks have certainly helped reach a new audience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We all knew we were witnessing something special nobody had ever seen before. The greatest player ever born,\u201d says Nas. \u201cLike there were the greats before him, he took the torch and lit up the world. My son knew his entire name when he was three years old. He inspires kids, they want to learn his story, the history, the stats, and how he did it. They know most of the guys who play today benefited from doing that same study on him. And no one in sports has ever really done what he\u2019s done with sports apparel and his sneakersforget about it. Mammoth.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Jordan may hold the athlete record for most name-checks in rap songs. Most of ithe references come from becoming synonymous with the word “greatness.” Jordan\u2019s became a status symbol early on in the 90\u2019s. It’s one of the reasons why Jay-Z rapped \u201cGold Bottles, Scold models, <\/em>spillin\u2019<\/em> Ace on my sick J\u2019s\u201d<\/em> on his Watch the Throne<\/em> album\u2014a luxury rap that boasts about wealth and a wild night in Paris.<\/strong><\/p>\n

DJ Khaled who has become one of the Jordan\u2019s most prominent endorsers off the court (and biggest collectors) never hides his fandom<\/a> on social media.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cJordan is one of my biggest inspirations,\u201d says Khaled. \u201cFor me he is the definition of greatness. His influence is generational. A brand you can trust forever, timeless. It represents winning and being the best period.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can judge Space Jam <\/em>how you want as a movie, but the movie,\u00a0Space Jam,<\/i> was a box office success. At the end of its run, it grossed approximately $90.4 million in the United States and an estimated $230\u2013$250 million internationally.<\/sup><\/sup> As of July 2017, Box Office Mojo<\/a> ranks it as the highest grossing basketball film of all time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0but there is no denying the film’s impact on athletes off the court. Jordan and his deal with Warner Bros. paved the way for guys like LeBron and Kobe who have both dipped their feet into Hollywood through acting and producing. Space Jam, <\/em>which came after Jordan\u2019s first retirement, opened the eyes of 90\u2019s babies who never had the opportunity to watch him play prior to retiring. Seeing MJ lace it up with the Looney Tunes was an easy way to leave an imprint on a new generation that currently makes up the NBA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Future<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To look into the future for Jordan\u2019s brand you have to look back at the past. Inside Tinker Hatfield\u2019s Air Jordan manifesto<\/a> rests five pair of words that would eventually make up the brand’s DNA: Educated and Animated, Sporty and Tasteful, Class and Style, Fun and Flash, and Successful and Urban.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The brand has more lived up to all of those words. And in the year 2018, Jordan still remains one of the most influential athletes in the world. Somehow, a 54-year-old former basketball player is still the epitome of cool.<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE GOAT<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials, MJ, is an American retired professional basketball<\/a> player, businessman, and principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets<\/a> of the\u00a0National Basketball Association<\/a> (NBA). Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls<\/a> and\u00a0Washington Wizards<\/a>. His biography on the NBA website states: “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.\u00a0Jordan was the most effectively marketed athlete of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jordan played three seasons for coach Dean Smith<\/a> at the University of North Carolina<\/a>. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team<\/a> in 1982<\/a>. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984<\/a> as the third overall<\/a> draft<\/a> pick. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks<\/a> from the free throw line<\/a> in slam dunk contests<\/a>, earned him the nicknames Air Jordan and His Airness. He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball.<\/sup> In 1991<\/a>, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992<\/a> and 1993<\/a>, securing a “three-peat<\/a>“. Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the beginning of the 1993\u201394 NBA season<\/a> and started a new career playing minor league baseball<\/a>, he returned to the Bulls in March 1995<\/a> and led them to three additional championships in 1996<\/a>, 1997<\/a>, and 1998<\/a>, as well as a then-record 72 regular-season wins<\/a> in the 1995\u201396 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in January 1999<\/a>, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Wizards.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Jordan’s individual accolades and accomplishments include five Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards<\/a>, ten All-NBA<\/a> First Team designations, nine All-Defensive<\/a> First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game<\/a> appearances, three All-Star Game MVP Awards<\/a>, ten scoring titles<\/a>, three steals<\/a> titles, six NBA Finals MVP Awards<\/a>, and the 1988\u00a0NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award<\/a>. Among his numerous accomplishments, Jordan holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN<\/a>, and was second to Babe Ruth<\/a> on the Associated Press<\/a>‘s list of athletes of the century. Jordan is a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame<\/a>, having been enshrined in 2009 for his individual career, and again in 2010 as part of the group induction of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team<\/a> (“The Dream Team”). He became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame<\/a> in 2015.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Jordan is also known for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike’s<\/a> Air Jordan<\/a> sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today, with Jordan grossing over $100,000,000.00 in annual salary from nike.<\/sup> Jordan also starred in the 1996 film Space Jam<\/a><\/i> as himself. In 2006, he became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the then-Charlotte Bobcats, buying a controlling interest in 2010. In 2015, Jordan became the first billionaire<\/a> NBA player in history as a result of the increase in value of NBA franchises. He is the third-richest African-American, behind Oprah Winfrey<\/a> and Robert F. Smith<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been 15 years since his last NBA game, yet Michael Jordan still carries an unmatched mystique in the eyes of players and fans. Simply put, MJ is the epitome of cool. A generational trendsetter whose influence on sneaker culture, basketball and modern day advertising stretches well beyond the NBA. If you want to take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[330,11,8,1314,1456,1156,13,14,106,1,7,9,10],"tags":[2238,2232,2069,2070,2067,1475,1667,1367,2066,2068,2235,2239,2060,2065,2058,2057,2063,2064,1681,2062,2059,2236,1555,2061,2071,2237,2072,2231,2233,2234],"class_list":["post-14171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball-sports","category-business","category-entertainment","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-global-sports","category-health","category-most-commented","category-nba-sports-news","category-news","category-sports","category-us","category-world","tag-12a-career-history-1984-1993","tag-1963-age-54-brooklyn","tag-1984-acc-player-of-the-year-1984-no-23-retired-by-the-university-of-north-carolina-2x-usa-basketball-male-athlete-of-the-year-1983","tag-1984-career-statistics-points-32","tag-1988-no-23-retired-by-chicago-bulls-no-23-retired-by-miami-heat-3x-ap-athlete-of-the-year-1991","tag-1475","tag-1667","tag-1367","tag-1993-2x-nba-slam-dunk-contest-champion-1987","tag-1993-sports-illustrated-sportsperson-of-the-year-1991-nbas-50th-anniversary-all-time-team-ncaa-champion-1982-national-college-player-of-the-year-1984-2x-consensus-first-team-all-american","tag-1995-1998","tag-1995-1998-chicago-bulls-2001-2003-washington-wizards-career-highlights-and-awards-6x-nba-champion-1991-1993","tag-1996-1998","tag-1996-1998-3x-nba-steals-leader-1988","tag-1996-1998-5x-nba-most-valuable-player-1988","tag-1996-1998-6x-nba-finals-mvp-1991-1993","tag-1996-1998-all-nba-second-team-1985-nba-defensive-player-of-the-year-1988-9x-nba-all-defensive-first-team-1988-1993","tag-1996-1998-nba-rookie-of-the-year-1985-nba-all-rookie-first-team-1985-10x-nba-scoring-champion-1987-1993","tag-1681","tag-1998-10x-all-nba-first-team-1987-1993","tag-1998-14x-nba-all-star-1985-1993","tag-2001-2003-position-shooting-guard-number-23","tag-1555","tag-2003-3x-nba-all-star-game-mvp-1988","tag-292-30-1-ppg-rebounds-6","tag-2237","tag-672-6-2-rpg-assists-5","tag-charlotte-hornets-position-owner-league-nba-personal-information-born-february-17","tag-new-york-nationality-american-listed-height-6-ft-6-in-1-98-m-listed-weight-216-lb-98-kg-career-information-high-school-emsley-a-laney-wilmington","tag-north-carolina-college-north-carolina-1981-1984-nba-draft-1984-round-1-pick-3rd-overall-selected-by-the-chicago-bulls-playing-career-1984-1993","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}