On 17th February 1963, the greatest to ever lace up Michael Jefferey Jordan was born. Even after 6 decades, MJ has shown us one t thing – Greatness does not go out of style. At 62, His Airness has remained the gold standard in basketball, the name that is whispered whenever a young phenom does something spectacular. The benchmark he set? Still untouched. The aura? Unmatchable. 

Michael Jordan’s six championships, five MVPs, and an impressive ten scoring titles only begin to slightly unravel the iceberg of the mammoth’s legacy. He did not just play the game, he literally defined it. His gravity-defying hang time, solid dunks, clutch shot-making, and an unrivaled thirst for winning turned him into a globally adorned superstar. From the Jumpman logo dominating the sneaker culture, to the “MJ Mentality,” which has served as a blueprint for greatness across generations speaks volumes of the legend. 

It is not just fans that continue to pay homage to the great legend. Former players and current stars still marvel at his longstanding impact. One of these stars is Jamal Crawford. Crawford, a three-time sixth-man of the year and one of the most mercurial ball-handlers the league has ever seen, never fails to wish Jordan on his special day. This year he posted a picture on Instagram where Michael Jordan is seen in jeans and his iconic sneakers dunking. He captioned the post, “This man has jeans and Jordan’s doing this 🤣😳😤. Happy born day to the one and only!!”  

The picture is intriguing, right? The man can do anything. Donning jeans and Jordans, His Airness himself participated in a dunking contest in which he was invited to judge, but things took a wild turn when playful banter incited the legend to perform. Let’s see what happened.

The Story Behind Jeans, Jordans, and Dunks

It all began when Michael Jordan was invited as a judge for a dunking contest in South Carolina. The contest had seven dunkers and all of them were ready to leave a mark. However, one of the names there was Jo Jo English, a future Chicago Bulls teammate of Jordan from 1992-1995. He performed spectacularly earning Jordan’s recognition and ultimately winning the contest.

However, after the contest, he began to send some playful banter towards His Airness. Jordan not one to back down from a challenge decided to participate in a one-on-one dunking contest with English. Here’s the kicker though, Jordan had no equipment of his own. He was dressed in streetwear, in jeans. He then borrowed some sneakers from a fan in the crowd and went to town on the court.

Jordan then went on to provide a display to the fans and what’s exciting is the fans got to watch the G.O.A.T for just $3! That’s the deal of the century. While the media had the opinion that Jordan emerged victorious, Jo Jo English thought and insisted that he got the better of Jordan.

The greatest thing about this bonafide legend is that he has countless stories and countless encounters that people still reminisce about. Here’s wishing His Airness a Happy Birthday and wonderful years to come.