Michael Jordan's Legacy
Although retired for many years now, Michael Jordan is still considered the greatest basketball player in the
world. He influenced the way the game was played and how it was perceived. His popularity and excellence
made basketball and the National Basketball Association known all over the world during the eighties and
nineties. Aside from this, Jordan was also a powerful marketing force and the most successfully marketed
athlete of his generation.
Speaking of awards, Jordan certainly has many to tout. ESPN named him as the greatest athlete of the 20th
century while the Associated Press called him the basketball player of the 20th century. In addition to this,
Jordan also appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 49 times. In the September 1996 issue -
the publication's 50th anniversary issue - he was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years.
Jordan's uncanny jumping ability has influenced a generation of young players. Many new NBA All-Stars
say they consider Jordan their role model while growing up. These include LeBron James and Dwyane
Wade. Many other players have been dubbed as "the next Michael Jordan" upon their entry to the NBA like
Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, Grant Hill, Kobe Bryant, and Vince Carter.
Surprisingly, while Jordan loved Adidas and wore Converse shoes during a game, neither of the two
companies made him an attractive offer so he signed up with Nike instead. This led to the birth of the
popular Air Jordan shoes which were released in 1985. The initial five-year agreement said that if Nike
made $3 million in sales after three years Jordan didn't have to meet any on-the-court performance quotas.
In the first year alone, Nike earned $130 million and Jordan earned NBA rookie-of-the-year honors after
being the Bulls' leader in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals. If you want to be like Jordan, practice
makes perfect.
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