Jordan Soars: The Dunk That Created a Brand
Michael Jordan took off from the free-throw line during the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest and seemed to hang in the air longer than physics should allow, his legs spread, left arm extended, the ball cocked behind his head. The judges awarded a perfect 50. The dunk itself was a basketball move; what it became was a global brand identity. Nike's Jumpman logo, derived from a posed version of that silhouette, turned the Air Jordan line into the most valuable sneaker franchise in history, generating over billion annually decades later. Jordan won the dunk contest that night in Chicago, his home arena, beating Dominique Wilkins in a competition many consider the greatest dunk contest ever held. He was twenty-four years old and had not yet won an NBA championship. The sneaker empire he launched from that single leap would eventually dwarf his basketball earnings by a factor of ten.
February 6, 1988
38 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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