Michael Jordan doesn’t think NBA players today would be trying to create their own logos on sneakers and sportswear if not for him.
Jordan and Nike introduced the iconic Jumpman logo in 1988, and it has served as the logo for the Jordan brand since 1997. By the time it was established, Jordan had been playing for the Chicago Bulls for four years. But these days, rookies in the league will have distinct iconography on their signature sneakers. In an interview with Mike Tirico for NBA on NBC’s MJ: Insights to Excellence, the NBA legend acknowledged that it was his fault.
“Now it's like, it's a prerequisite. You know, everybody has to have a logo,” he told Tirico, who replied, “You know why, right?”
“Well, I'm pretty sure I'm part of the reason why everybody tries to get a logo. But the thing is that brand is established based on what I did on the basketball court,” said Jordan, who signed a five-year, $2.5 million deal with Nike during his rookie season. “I didn't put the brand before I put the work. I put the work first, and then the brand evolved based on the work, right?” His first Air Jordan shoe debuted in April 1985.
“A lot of times, it's different,” he continued. “We didn't see it in every sport, not just basketball, football, baseball, everybody's walking around with a logo on their hat, and I get it, but whatever I did here, it's never gonna affect what I do on the basketball court. … I like to think that most of the time that people will remember Michael Jordan based on what he did on the basketball court, and not always the commercial thing to do.”
MJ and Nike’s Jordan brand revolutionized the world of sneakers and athlete partnerships, and it’s perhaps no surprise that others have tried to replicate his success throughout the years. Even other NBA players have established logos within the Jordan brand, such as Kawhi Leonard’s “Klaw” design. There are plenty of signature logos that existed before Jordan, such as Adidas and tennis star Stan Smith, but few come close to matching the iconography of the Jumpman logo.
