Ben Affleck Cites Deloris Jordan as Hero of “AIR” and Reason Why Michael Jordan is Absent From the Movie

Jeet Pukhrambam | 04/04/2023
Ben Affleck Cites Deloris Jordan as Hero of "AIR" and Reason Why Michael Jordan is Absent From the Movie

Seldom do we see a movie that doesn’t focus on the titular character. In this case, we are talking about “AIR” a movie about Nike signing Michael Jordan to their company and the making of the legendary Air Jordan sneaker.

However, according to Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Chris Tucker, the eponymous hero is not even in the movie, instead, it is the unsung one, his mom, Deloris Jordan.

Yes, the story focuses on how the executives Sonny Vaccaro and Phil Knight came about discovering Michael Jordan and signing him. But before all that, they had to face trials and tribulations. And during all of that one of the most important characters was Deloris Jordan.

Deloris Jordan is the Star of AIR, not Michael Jordan, Ben Affleck, and the cast clarify

While on a segment for Kelly Clarkson’s show, Ben Affleck was joined by co-stars Matt Damon and Chris Tucker. They appeared on Clarkson’s show to discuss the movie and talk about why it is so influential.

Their reasoning for why the movie doesn’t feature MJ is simple, there are also other very important people behind the scenes who simply do not get the limelight they deserve.

And while the story is focused on Phil Knight and Sonny Vaccaro, Affleck likes to bring the focus back to Viola Davis’s character, Deloris Jordan.

Why was Deloris so crucial to the story?

Not only was Michael a “momma’s boy”, Deloris often made big decisions for her son. For a simple reason, she wanted to protect him. To that avail, she negotiated the deal for MJ.

The movie’s primary focus is the story of Nike approaching MJ. But also how Deloris was crucial in everything. It is a story of how a dreamer and an innovator wanted a protagonist for his shoe.

It is also about the mother’s involvement. And why she was the key to everything. To all the mothers, we salute you.

Post Edited By: Jeet Pukhrambam
Deloris Jordan Michael Jordan NBA

About the author

Jeet Pukhrambam

Jeet Pukhrambam is The SportsRush's Lead Editor for Basketball. After freelancing for five years as an independent writer, Jeet created thousands of blog posts and articles. He now covers intriguing news reports and throwback stories on all things NBA. His interest in NBA started with the ascendancy of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2016-17 season. Since then, Jeet has managed to coalesce his knowledge of the game and his writing to create pieces that are reflective of the current state of the league. Now, he ensures that The SportsRush produces the highest quality of writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, cooking, traveling, and dancing to techno. Jeet takes pride in his critical thinking, music playlists, and his love for spaghetti.

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