Introduction

If you watch any NBA game, highlight, or commercial, especially from the 2000s, you’ll notice something unique on the player’s feet; colorful and dynamic sneakers. Step onto any basketball court today, and you’ll see the same everywhere. Interestingly, this wasn’t always the case; it was highly discouraged by then NBA commissioner David Stern.

While the relationship between sports apparel companies and the NBA seems more vital than ever, it’s interesting to find out why Nike and the NBA got to a rocky start. So strict were the uniform rules back then that NBA legend Michael Jordan even got a ‘Stern Warning’ for wearing something deemed different. Let’s dive into the history of the two and how the Nike Air Jordan would come to shape the sneaker industry today.

While the partnership between Nike and Jordan has made them billions of dollars, Nike wasn’t first on Jordan’s list; Adidas was. Jordan had just arrived from the Olympics and wanted to sign a sneaker deal with his favorite brand. As the young star had garnered a lot of attention in his three collegiate seasons and Olympic debut, everyone was interested. Among the companies that offered Jordan a contract were Spot – Bilt, Adidas, Nike, and Converse.

As Converse and Adidas were already bigwigs in the sneaker industry, they weren’t as aggressive as the other two in pursuit of Jordan. It’s not that they didn’t see the potential in him, but their circumstances greatly hindered their efforts.

Converse, for instance, at the time had more prominent names in its portfolio, consisting of Magic, Larry Bird, and Dr. J, receiving around $100,000 a year. James Worthy was the top earner during that time, receiving about $150,000 yearly from New Balance. In a move to protect their relationship with their other stars, Converse declined to offer more.

Adidas, on the other hand, was facing emotional power struggles within its organization following the death of its founder, Adi Dassler. As such, they weren’t too focused on signing Jordan.

This left only two real competitors looking to sign the young star, Nike and Spot – Bilt. Though the latter was much smaller, it put up a good fight in the bidding wars. Pound for pound, Spot – Bilt had even out bided Nike. But it all came down to the wire.

“Jordan appeared in every game of his rookie season, averaging an impressive 28.2 points per game. This was enough to earn him the rookie of the year title and inspire kids to b “Like Mike” ”Jordan appeared in every game of his rookie season, averaging an impressive 28.2 points per game. This was enough to earn him the rookie of the year title and inspire kids to be”Like Mike.””