It is quite rare for a sports figure to achieve prominence outside of the region associated with their team. Rarer still for the sports figure to retain that status after they retired from the sport. Michael Jordan is one of these rare individuals. Best known for his incredible basketball career with the Bulls, a team of the American National Basketball Association.
His fame has remained so great that a documentary was recently released about his time with the Bulls. Also, the shoe giant Nike still uses his name with a specifically branded series of shoes. It is hard to name more than a few living people in any category that can command such instant recognition.
His Basketball Story
Michael Jordan began his professional basketball career in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls. He quickly became a fan favorite, entertaining crowds with his skill at making slam dunks from the free throw line. This skill earned him the nickname Air Jordan.
He led the Bulls to his first championship victor in 1991 which was then followed by two additional victories in 1992 and 1993. These three consecutive championship wins where known as the first three-pete of Jordan’s career.
After 1993 Jordan retired from basketball to attempt a career in baseball, however he returned to the Chicago Bulls in the 1995 season. After his return he led the Bulls to another three consecutive championship victories also known as the second three-Pete from 1996 to 1999.
In 1999 he retired for the second time from the NBA only to return again for two seasons from 2001-2003 with the Washington wizards.
In addition to playing in the NBA Jordan has also played on two of US Olympic Basketball teams. On both teams Jordan helped win the gold medals the first in the 1984 Olympics and the second 1992 games. Over the course of his professional career Jordan has won several titles and has held several records.
The awards include six NBA most valuable player and three All-Star game MVP awards. One of the records he holds is the NAB highest career regular season scoring average. One of his more notable claims to fame is his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice; once for his NBA career and the second as part of the Olympic teams. With such an impressive career it is no wonder that he still remembered by sports fans.
Endorsements
Jordan is also extremely well known for the number of endorsements he has participated in over the years. By far the most well-known being his partnership with the shoe company Nike. The company Nike created a line of sneakers called Air Jordan’s. The shoe line was first launched exclusively for Jordan in his first season in the NBA.
The Air Jordan’s were released to the public the following season and have remained a popular brand right up to the present. In fact, a little while ago Nike released its newest incarnation of Air Jordan’s in tandem with the documentary entitled the Last Dance.
The Last Dance is a film documentary following the history of Michael Jordan’s career with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan has appeared in other films as well the most notable being Space Jam. Jordan played himself in this Warner Bros. picture starring alongside Bugs Bunny, Daffy duck, and other Looney Tunes cast in a basketball game to decide the fate of the Looney Tunes world.
In 2006 Jordan became part owner in the then Charlotte Bobcats who are now the Charlotte Hornets. In 2010 Jordan bought controlling interest of the Hornets, a fitting position for a former basketball player.
Key to fame
There can be no doubt that Michael Jordan is a superstar in the sports world, with exceptional abilities. That being said he was not the only player who had such fame while he was playing basketball. So why has he remained a household name after his third retirement from active participation in the NBA? The answer can be found by looking at similarities between Jordan and other sports figures who maintain the same fame.
One good example would be David Beckham one of the United Kingdom’s greatest soccer players and still well-known worldwide. There are many differences between these two not least of which the fact that they played in different sports.
There is however one notable similarity, that being that they both endorsed items to this day. As a result, both of their names are still talked about on a semi regular basis in the news and most households. In Jordan’s case this is usually in connection to Nike’s Air Jordan’s shoe line.
Though Michael Jordan is kept in the public eye whenever a new first edition of Nike’s Air Jordan’s sneakers is released this is not what he is known for. What he is known for is being one of the all-time great basketball players in America if not the world.
