Michael Jordan‘s signature sneakers with Nike, the Air Jordans were so revolutionary, that Nike decided to give the now-Chicago Bulls legend his own brand, Jordan Brand. While it is still a subsidiary of the Swoosh, this company has been able to sign basketball athletes as if it were its own entity. And in a recent episode, former NBA player Stephen Jackson admitted that MJ saved him by using this power on him.
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Speaking about the incident on a recent episode of All the Smoke, Stephen Jackson revealed that when he got to Charlotte Bobcats [now Hornets], he was still wearing Proteges. There were holes in his shoes as well, as his toes seemed to be hanging out every time he went to make a move.
Jordan soon caught notice of this, and even felt bad for the player, as per Jackson. So, he soon did something about it.
“At the time I got my Jordan deal, I was wearing Proteges,” Jackson said. “The worst decision I ever made. I end up breaking my toe playing in them, right? So then I get traded to Charlotte, where MJ at, I’m playing in them s***, I make a move … I got my toe hanging out them … [Jordan] felt so bad for me … the next day I had a Jordan contract in my locker.”
Moving forward, Jackson criticized Protege’s poor quality and performance by describing them as “Walmart shoes” based on his experience. Thankfully, Michael Jordan provided him with a pair of Jordan shoes, which worked in his favor as Jackson made big bucks collaborating with MJ.
That said, working with MJ isn’t easy. After all, as Jackson revealed on a different show, the Chicago Bulls legend was liable to go off on just about anyone at any time.
Stephen Jackson recalls the Bobcats getting torched by MJ in practice
Michael Jordan may have retired from the NBA in 2003, but it didn’t stop him from lacing up to prove a point in his team’s practice sessions. In fact, as Stephen Jackson claims, a 49-year-old MJ once absolutely torched him and his Bobcat teammates during a practice run back in 2010.
During an appearance on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game“ podcast, Jackson vividly recalled the whole incident, Talking about the infamous practice, he said,
“He came out there, pushed whoever Gerald Wallace was guarding, the three-guard, kicked him out and got in that spot, played with the second team,” Jackson said. “He scored a couple points, and to the point where he talked so much s*** afterward, he grabbed the ball and went and dunked one on the way out. True story.”
In the end, the former Warriors star admitted that there wasn’t really anything he could do to stop MJ. Even at his advanced age, the Bulls legend had enough in the tank to prove a point against much younger and fitter athletes.
Jackson then went on to say that Jordan’s torching of them wasn’t much of an indictment on the players. Instead, it was simply a testament to just how great of a player the greatest of all time was.
