Michael Jordan‘s disdain for players wearing any other brand is well known. His Airness likes to see great players wearing his shoes and for that, he can go to any length. On a recent episode of the ‘Run It Back‘ show, ex-NBA star Darius Miles unveiled how stepping up against Jordan helped him land a deal with his brand.
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During his early playing days, Miles was a regular at the Jordan camps, where he got an opportunity to play against the NBA legend. It didn’t take long for the high schooler to get MJ’s attention as he blocked one of his shots in the very first game he played against him.
Soon, MJ asked him to switch sides and play with him in the next game. Once Jordan recognized the potential in Miles, the last thing he wanted to see was the youngster repping someone else’s brand. At the time, Miles was on a deal with the brand AND1 and was wearing AND1 gear during games.
He said, “We’re draped in AND1’s and when he looked at us, he was like, ‘man, why y’all got that on?’ and we was like we can’t get a deal, we want to be with Nike.” Things changed pretty quickly for Miles and his crew as the next morning they received, “boxes and boxes of Jordans.”
Confused by the sudden turn of events, Miles’ agent asked him and Quentin Richardson if they did something behind his back. The youngsters were just as confused but Miles knew that his courage against Jordan had paid off. He said, “He signed me and Q to Jordan and made Nike pay us.”
Getting signed by the Jordan brand is a privilege for any athlete in the NBA just because of the legacy that the Bulls legend has created. Miles was lucky enough to get noticed by the GOAT himself for his game skills and the rest is history.
Darius Miles enjoyed facing off against Michael Jordan
Whatever people might like to think of Jordan, he always liked a fierce competitor who wouldn’t back down from a challenge. Very early in his career, Miles earned that spot in Jordan’s eyes by having the courage to guard him at the Jordan Camp.
During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show in 2021, Miles recalled meeting MJ for the first time. He said, “Just when I first met him. Everybody was kinda scared to guard him…and I just accepted the challenge. I was a sophomore in high school.”
Miles said that he blocked the first two shots from MJ, but after that, he completely took over the game. Despite that, earning Jordan’s respect was easy because all it took was for him to stand up against the NBA legend. Since then, the two developed a strong relationship, Miles got his Jordan brand deal, and to this day, they’re on great terms.
