Happy 63rd Birthday, Michael Jordan

Photo: Michael Jordan dunks against the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996. Photo credit: Nathaniel S. Butler, NBAE.

Over time, the debate of "the greatest of all-time" has become overdone and tiresome. Everyone has an opinion and viewpoint. Eventually, circles are run over and over, and the same blather gets repeated. GOAT athlete this, Mount Rushmore that.

Whatever your stance, there’s no denying Michael Jordan’s forever impact on the sport of basketball and the National Basketball Association. 

Considered by many to be the best player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers, Jordan was not only great on the court but responsible for many things off it.

Global visibility. The biggest sportswear brand in Nike that was the father to his infant Jordan brand in the mid 1980s, a brand that now continues to outsell all. In NBA history, there have been three different franchises to 3-peat, on five different occasions. Jordan's Chicago Bulls did it from 1991-93, and then, after Jordan went on a year and a half hiatus to try his hand at baseball, again from 1996-98. The Celtics from 1958-1966 and the Lakers from 2000-02 are the others. Now, of course there was Tex Winter and his revolutionary triangle offense, Phil Jackson to bring about a collective calmness and steady approach, and the complete play of Scottie Pippen to complement it all. But at the center of it all was Jordan.

The Bulls missed the playoffs from 1999-2004. They have made one Eastern Conference Final since 1998. They have missed the playoffs eight out of the last ten years. 

Yet, the Bulls’ logo is still one the most popular in the league. For 2023-24, based on NBA Store sales, the Bulls were the fifth-highest selling team in terms of merchandise. 

Nearly 30 years since his retirement from the Bulls, Jordan's fingerprints, despite forays for two last seasons as a Wizard and ownership in the Bobcats/Hornets, are all over the United Center and the windy city.

In retirement, Jordan has lived out of the spotlight. Fishing tournaments and yachts. Ownership and investments like 23XI Racing with NASCAR's Denny Hamlin (over the weekend, 23XI won at the Daytona 500) and Cincoro Tequila. In June of 2023, Jordan sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for nearly $3 billion. He lives in Palm Beach County, roughly 1,300 miles from Chicago. Lowkey. Peaceful.

He is of the world’s most iconic athletes and people. At one time, the athletic pantheon was Ruth, Ali, Brown, Gretzky, and Jordan (February 17 is coincidentally Jim Brown’s birthday, too - it would have been his 90th). Add Wilt in that pantheon, too. Since, the likes of Brady, LeBron, Serena, and Tiger have received admission to the exclusive group. 

A lot of what you see today in the sports world would not have been possible without Michael Jordan. Player contracts are astronomical. Company logos are present on jerseys. Jordan came along at a time that coincided with the media boom, and he accelerated it to the stratosphere. Think McDonalds? Think Michael Jordan. Same thing with Gatorade. His impact is now and forever felt. Superstardom does not get much bigger.

Happy 63rd to His Airness.