“Had Problems with His Teammates”: Michael Jordan “Has Two Personalities” That Helped Pave a Path for LeBron, Kobe and Now Victor Wembanyama

Recently, Vanity Fair sat down with the man who made the iconic Air Jordan sneaker a reality, marketing legend Sonny Vaccaro. He was the mastermind who convinced Nike to go all-in on Michael Jordan. During the conversation, Vaccaro discussed the upcoming film ‘Air’ and his experience with His Airness while being by his side for a decade. One of the topics he spoke on was MJ having ‘two personalities’, and how that has helped exceptional athletes like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Viktor Wembanyama in the long run.

The recently released movie ‘Air’ depicts the inception of the Jordan brand, with Matt Damon playing the role of Sonny Vaccaro.

Vaccaro explains how Michael Jordan began the revolution for great athletes

Vaccaro went into detail about the multiple personalities of MJ. On one end, the marketing executive claims Jordan was the great athlete the world saw. The second personality was one where the five-time MVP could detach himself from certain people and lead a private life. According to him, ” …Michael has two lives. He has two personalities. He is this great athlete that does extraordinary things athletically, but he has this mindset that he can divorce himself from people and be a private person.”

“Michael had problems with his teammates, didn’t get along with everybody. Didn’t mean guys on the team hated them. He just didn’t get along with him. He’s also the same guy who said, “Republicans buy sneakers too.” Michael in my mind is two different people that achieved the same goal because the same goal was to be a great basketball player…,”  Vaccaro told Vanity Fair.

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Before Jordan’s deal with Nike, there was never the concept of a signature shoe with one’s own name. Not only that, but the deals didn’t include revenue generated from the sale of such shoes. Telling Vanity Fair about Jordan’s aptitude, the former Nike executive claimed that MJ’s approach to the deal with Nike paved a path for the likes of King James and Kobe Bryant.

“[MJ]  took that mindset to own part of Nike and create it as a business. LeBron, Kobe, all these guys got a piece of whatever. Maybe Victor [Wembanya’s] going to get a piece. This new kid. If I’m Victor’s agent, I want a piece of it right now,”  Vaccaro added.

With Jordan’s deal, his mother Deloris Jordan helped negotiate an agreement where her son gets a portion of the revenue generated from the sales. Until 2020, reports claimed that Michael Jordan had received a billion dollars from the sports apparel company. It was only after the design of Jordan’s deal that LeBron James and Bryant were able to craft a deal of a similar pattern.

The veteran executive thinks Wembanyama should aspire for such deal even before entering the league, with the kind of hold he has in the hoops world. However, as it turns out, Wembanyama’s agent had revealed earlier this year that the budding star has dismissed many lucrative offers to concentrate on basketball.

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It also ensured signature athletes got paid more. Sonny Vaccaro claims no one can emulate what His Airness did for the athletes pertaining to sneakers. Now, as one of the hottest prospects in Wembanyama prepares to enter the NBA, what should he ask for from a potential deal?