The time Michael Jordan banned NBA team he owned from wearing his Nike shoes
NBA legend Michael Jordan once issued a ban on wearing his iconic Jordan shoes to the team he owned.
Jordan is one of the greatest players to ever grace a basketball court and a figurehead of one of the most iconic sports lines in history.
Air Jordan was produced by Nike for the first time in 1984 and the ‘Jumpman’ logo is still synonymous in modern day culture.
As of 2024, the Jordan brand is believed to be responsible for $6.59 billion in revenue which equates to 13% of Nike’s total sales, according to Essentially Sports.
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Back in 2010, Jordan purchased a majority share in the Charlotte Bobcats franchise, now known as the Charlotte Hornets, for a price of $275 million.
A 47-year-old at the time, Jordan once ordered the Bobcats to take off their Jordan shoes after suffering a defeat in the league.
Former NBA player Stephen Jackson revealed Jordan was furious and ordered the team’s first team players to take part in a scrimmage, without their Jordans, against Jordan and a lineup of second string players.
"We got our a-- beat by somebody, and he came in the locker room after the game just going off on us, like, 'We need to get our s--t together," Jackson said on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast.
"I made some little comment or something like that. He ain't say nothing, so he came into practice the next day. ... He's going off.
“He came out there, pushed whoever Gerald Wallace was guarding, the three-guard, kicked him out and got in that spot, played with the second team.
“He scored a couple points, and to the point where he talked so much s--t afterward, he grabbed the ball and went and dunked one on the way out. True story.”
Beating the Bobcats first-team as a 47-year-old further points that Jordan truly is the greatest basketball player of all time, a sentiment that Jackson agrees with.
He added: “That's why he's the GOAT. That's why I'm wearing his shoes.”
Topics: Basketball, Michael Jordan, Nike, NBA
Marcus Banks