Reggie Miller tried to use Michael Jordan’s $7 billion brand against him in heated rivalry

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Indiana Pacers great Reggie Miller had a heated rivalry spanning several years.

Reggie Miller tried to use Michael Jordan’s $7 billion brand against him in heated rivalry

Reggie Miller tried to irk Michael Jordan with his own shoes

Many consider Michael Jordan to be the GOAT of basketball. In his path to win six NBA titles that ended up defining his GOAT status, he faced off against a lot of rivals. Those opponents wanted to defeat him, both for bragging rights, as well as to create a legacy for themselves.

Those who had a good game against ‘His Airness’ have lived to brag about it. But those who have not have tales of how they tried to unsettle the Chicago Bulls star, only for their tactics to bite them back. Jordan was a master of finding ways to get riled up.

He would create situations where he felt that his opponents were trying to usurp him or belittle him. That instantly riled him up, and he would go berserk. His rivals had heard those tales of his tactics. But even then, a competitor would not back down from trying to unsettle him. One of his longtime rivals, Reggie Miller, tried one trick.

I knew it would be an irk for him. He wasn’t gonna call me and tell me he wanted me to be on Jordan brand. He would never do that. Couple of times, when he was with the Bulls, I wore them in the game just to irk him. I just wanted to f**k with him a little bit.

Reggie Miller said

The Indiana Pacers legend decided to irk Michael Jordan by wearing his Jordan brand sneakers in games against him. Miller believed it would tick His Airness off and could help the Pacers win the game. Miller did not, however, reveal how those two games ended. But it did work out for his future.

Reggie Miller’s stunt earns him a deal with Jordan brand

The 59-year-old mentioned that he knew Michael Jordan himself would not ask him to join his brand. The Chicago Bulls superstar was too egotistic to do that. Along with their rivalry, Miller knew there was no chance he would get a shoe deal.

Then, the people called and was like, ‘Hey, you wanna be a part of brand Jordan?’. I’m like, ‘S**t, alright, I’ll do it. Be sure you put my name on them. So people, even tho they see him spread-eagled with his legs all out, it does say Reggie on there.’ Make it my own a little bit.

Reggie Miller said

That means Miller’s stunt to try and irk His Airness helped him land a custom sneaker deal with Jordan Brand. The Hall of Famer had custom PEs with his name on a few Air Jordan sneakers. That made him a part of a brand that is now valued at $7 billion.

It is not known if the Indiana Pacers legend still gets a cut of shoe sales. But even if he does not, he has probably earned a pretty dollar by teaming up with his arch rival. However, neither of them ever stood together for an official Jordan Brand promotion.

Jordan brand is more sought after than its parent Nike

Any person who has a faint idea about sports has heard the name Nike. Even those who are not interested in sports have thought of purchasing Nike sportswear. That has made the company grow from being just a sneaker manufacturer to being a sportswear giant.

One of the major contributors to that growth has been its association with Michael Jordan. Signing him up was one of the best decisions the company has ever made. He might have been basketball’s most prominent figure, but he was also synonymous with sporting greatness.

Since he wore those custom-designed Air Jordans, sports fans started to embrace both Nike as well as his custom Jordan Brand. The then sneaker manufacturer started to grow into a sportswear company who catered to the globe which meant, they had sneakers of all shapes and sizes.

But because Air Jordans were different, they were more sought after. That is the primary reason for its rise to be a $7 billion brand on its own. Fans are ready to pay top dollar for an Air Jordan, even if they might not do the same for a top-of-the-line Nike shoe.

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