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Jay-Z had some serious love for Michael Jordan’s $278 million venture

Ashish Priyadarshi
Published

Jay-Z had some serious love for Michael Jordan's $278 million venture

Michael Jordan is in a class of his own when it comes to legacy, and iconic rappers like Jay-Z have always made sure to pay homage to the NBA GOAT.

The Bulls legend has accomplished what NBA players dream of doing in his career. Six championships, six Finals MVP’s, five NBA MVP’s, an obvious Hall of Fame induction, and much more has cemented Jordan’s legacy as the greatest NBA player of all time.

So, why was his career so confusing? Well, he retired thrice in his career, to give you some context. If that sounds weird to you, that’s because it is. His first retirement was by far the most surprising as it came only nine years into his career, and he had just started to win at the highest level, coming off of his first threepeat.

Also Read: “Michael Jordan wouldn’t share information with nobody, but he did with me”: Kobe Bryant got the secret to MJ’s game because only he was ‘about that life’

Michael Jordan received a special shout-out in Jay-Z’s hit song

As if Jordan’s first ‘un-retirement’ wasn’t enough, the Bulls legend decided to do it once more before the 2001-02 season. His second stint was wildly confusing.

He first became the Washington Wizards president of basketball operations and part owner in 2000. Washington was worth $278 million at the time.

However, it wasn’t enough for him to just manage the team, he still had that competitive drive which carried him to six titles. He returned to the court for the Wizards while still being their owner.

Jordan didn’t have a bad run with the Wizards personally. He finished both seasons averaging over 20ppg, and he was named to the All Star game in both years.

However, Washington wasn’t a very competitive team. They finished 37-45 both years, missing the playoffs. Jordan retired for good after the 2002-03 season. He showed he could still show up and play, and people took notice even if he wasn’t the Jordan of the old.

Rapping icon Jay-Z dropped ‘The Best of Both Worlds’ with R. Kelly in 2002 featuring the song, ‘The Best of Both Worlds’ which included an MJ name-drop.

The song goes, ‘It’s not even close, just leave it alone. I’m Michael Jordan, I play for the team I own.’ Even Jay-Z knew the kind of legacy Jordan had, even when he wasn’t titles.

Also Read: LeBron James, who has built a $1 billion fortune, reveals his ‘key mantra for success’

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi

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Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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