No other player in the 77 year history of the NBA has been able to carry as much influence on the sport as Michael Jordan. During a career of 16 seasons, His Airness took his team to over six championship victories and earned numerous accolades along the way. For his service, he was rewarded well. Apart from his lucrative contracts, MJ raised the bar on player endorsement deals. Not only was he iconic on the hardwood but also in various advertisements.
With Jordan approaching the end of his career in the early 2000s, a commercial helped establish that the senior legend still struck fear into the hearts of his opponents.
Michael Jordan facing his biggest opponent: himself
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A Twitter user uploaded an old Gatorade commercial recently. He captioned it as the ?Greatest commercial in NBA History?, accompanied by a goat emoji. The clip started off with a then-39-year-old Jordan, dressed in black, practicing his shots at a dimly lit basketball court. He turns his head after hearing the sound of a door opening. A young person wearing a Chicago Bulls jersey, with the words ?23? adorning its chest, approaches the six-time champion. The person turns out to be none other than the 23 year old version of Michael Jordan himself.
?Nice shot,? says the 23 year old. Moving in closer to the elder Jordan, no more words needed to be said. Both of them knew what was coming next. A 1v1 game.
Of course, in classic Jordan fashion, the match kicked off with both versions engaging in trash talk. The young athlete made use of every opportunity to score points over his elder. 39-year-old Michael Jordan wasn?t that far behind but was still unable to reach the same level.
?Had enough???said the 23 year old after both were sweating and panting in the middle of the court.
The elder Jordan took the comment personally and showed his alter ego that with age comes experience. Being in full form, he scored and scored and was successful in blocking the advances of his younger and less experienced version.
Greatest commercial in NBA History 🐐
Michael Jordan (Age 23) vs Michael Jordan (Age 39) pic.twitter.com/VZPM7xE5XB
— Bucketsquad (@BucketSQD) August 16, 2023
?That?s Ugly. I could have dunked,? said the 23 year old after missing his mark. ?You should have dunked,? replied the 39 year old.
$48 billion brand asks “Who’s got next?”
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The video shown above was the original 30 second version of a Gatorade commercial that was aired during the Super Bowl XXXVI back in 2003. The same year would also mark Jordan?s last season with the NBA, with the player marking his third and final retirement.
The clip concluded with both versions of the player enjoying a Gatorade drink while a high school version of Jordan approached them and asked ?who?s got next??
The video made by the $48 Billion worth company helped to prove an illustrious fact. Whether it?s a 23 year old Michael Jordan or a 39 year old, each possessed a set of skills that made them dominate over everyone else on the basketball court.
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In the end, the biggest opponents they could have faced were themselves.
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