Larsa Pippen Has 1 Word for Michael Jordan’s Son Marcus Amid Huge Milestone Celebrations

A tale of resilience: From a conclusive “No” to celebrating almost a decade in business, there are few things Marcus Jordan holds as dearly as the Trophy Room Store. His father, Michael Jordan, may not have been on board at first, but after witnessing its growth over the years, he only feels pride. And just like the Chicago Bulls legend, Marcus, too, prides himself in conceptualizing and turning his dad’s career highlights into a business was his dream. And he made that happen.

Founded in 2016, Marcus Jordan celebrated the Trophy Room Store‘s 8th anniversary on May 23. This high-end sneaker store initiative had the vision to give people an experience of the legacy of Michael Jordan. As the brand rolled into Year 9, that’s precisely how the Jordans celebrated the occasion – by experiencing the legacy of the Bulls legend—in his presence, something that left even Larsa Pippen impressed.

Sharing a carousel of pictures and videos predominantly from the celebrations, the first slide was a nostalgic throwback – a video that started from 1997, possibly the first time Marcus Jordan remembers his dad winning the championship and understood what it truly meant. That was the year they beat the Utah Jazz. And from there on, two more rings made it to the trophy room in the Jordan house, but with them were countless memories. After all, that was the basis for the Trophy Room Store – the emotions Marcus felt every time he stepped foot in that room.

After he ended his basketball career at the University of Central Florida, Marcus Jordan saw a gap in the sneaker market in Orlando. Although it was initially a no from the six-time NBA champion, Marcus devised a master plan. He partnered with James Whitner—who owned boutiques such as Social Status and Atlanta’s A Ma Maniere—and learned business tactics. The next time around, he floated a concrete vision at his father. And the rest is history.

His venture has now successfully completed eight years of business. On reaching this milestone, Larsa wanted to show some love to her 33-year-old rumored boyfriend. Commenting on his Instagram post, Larsa wrote, “Congrats ❤️” Joining Larsa in sharing their love for the store were many other celebrities and sporting icons, too! Besides the nostalgia-inducing video, glimpses from the Trophy Room Store‘s eighth anniversary included pictures of the father-son duo standing in front of the sneaker display case and a huge Trophy Room Store cake. And who can forget the OG trophy room?

Despite their on-again, off-again relationship, Larsa and Marcus have been good friends who take pride in each other’s success. This is one of many examples. But coming back to the success of Marcus Jordan’s Trophy Room Store, one of its most recent successes – besides its eighth anniversary – is the Trophy Room x Air Jordan 1 Low OG. After online teasers and a six-day wear test by Marcus Jordan, one of the most anticipated sneakers in Air Jordan 1 history dropped on March 21. And since then, many have already dubbed it the ‘Sneaker of the Year.’ But what makes it so special?

Other than the fact that this was a partnership between Air Jordan and Marcus’ Trophy Room Store, it drew inspiration from Michael Jordan’s 1986 Fleer Basketball rookie card and a 1984 Sports Illustrated photo. To add to that, two colorways make up the collection: ‘Home’ and ‘Away,’ much like NBA jerseys until the 2016-17 season. With the iconic winged basketball colored in gold on the back and Michael Jordan’s signature on both heels, each pair is packed in a special shoebox as well! Given how ingenious some of the Trophy Room Store’s ideas have been, what initially made His Airness deny the venture? 

Why was Michael Jordan initially not a fan of the Trophy Room Store?

To get straight to the point, MJ did not believe Marcus had enough experience to run a business. When Marcus first pitched the idea to the Bulls icon, he replied, “You’ve never run a store before. You’ve never been in business before. Finish school first.” But Marcus wanted to keep his dream alive. He pitched an idea once again to his dad, but this time with a more convincing reason. 

“We want to walk people through the legacy of Jordan Brand, my father’s history while also telling our side of things… The first thing that came to mind was the trophy room in our house growing up and how that was a spot that everyone wanted to hang out in,” said Marcus when asked about the idea behind his initiative. 

Although it started with a denial, Marcus later impressed his dad. In 2017, the 33-year-old revealed, “My dad’s reaction to all of this was that he was proud and excited, but leading up to it, we had a lot of competitive jokes.” Seven years later, it’s safe to say that MJ would be even more proud of Marcus, just like Larsa.