Michael Jordan changed the face of the NBA. He laid the foundation that helped elevate the league to its global status today. Despite retiring over two decades ago and staying majorly away from the spotlight, he remains one of the sport’s most talked-about figures. He is the bar — and his impact wasn’t limited to the court.
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Many athletes today aspire to be like Jordan — make it to the NBA, build fame and fortune, and use it as a springboard to create a business empire after retirement. But his former agent, David Falk, made one thing clear on The Stephen A. Smith Show: there will never be another Michael Jordan.
While the NBA has seen countless generational talents since MJ walked away from the game, Falk explained that Jordan’s greatness wasn’t just about stats or championships.
It was about who he was, what he represented, and how he changed the entire business of basketball. Falk said people often search for the next MJ by looking for someone who can match his scoring ability, his titles, or his killer instinct.
But the real gap between Jordan and everyone else isn’t found on the box score — it’s in everything beyond it.
He added that the opportunities Jordan created, not just for himself but for future generations, remain unmatched. As for who could follow in his footsteps, Falk pointed out that the search has been ongoing for decades. Names like Harold Miner, Ron Harper, and Penny Hardaway were all once dubbed “the next Michael Jordan.”
“The truth is, there’ll never be another Michael. There just won’t,” Falk said.
The former agent believes that there were a lot of factors that made his former client special, and the reality is that those factors cannot be recreated by anyone else. “He came from an incredible family, two-parent family, incredible coach. So, let’s leave it at that,” he added.
That said, it’s a matter of what greatness means for different people. Jordan doesn’t have the most points, the most trophies, or the most individual accolades, and yet he is the benchmark. For those who feel numbers define everything, Jordan can easily be eclipsed.
However, he has the perfect blend of everything, and on top of that, he is one of the most influential figures in all of sports. That’s something not everyone can chase.
One simply can’t recreate the impact of his historic deal with Nike in the ’80s, which changed the game for athletes and personal branding, or how he helped popularize the sport globally in the ’90s. Jordan is — and will always be — in a league of his own.
