Magic Johnson Late to Wish Spike Lee, Who Once Used Lakers Legend as Michael Jordan Bargaining Chip

Two names that always get associated with the 90’s Nike is Michael Jordan and the famed director, Spike Lee. Lee was the mastermind behind the iconic “It’s Gotta Be The Shoes” commercial. The film director shares a great relationship with both the MJs of the basketball world. While the Lakers star Magic Johnson might be late, he didn’t forget to wish his old friend on his birthday. 

Spike Lee was born on 20th March, 1957. To celebrate Lee’s 67th birthday (even if a few days late), Magic shared an old picture of the two enjoying a New York Knicks vs Los Angeles Lakers game. Johnson captioned it, “Happy belated birthday to my man Spike Lee! Praying for many more.”

The Los Angeles Lakers legend has supported Spike Lee through several highs and lows. Notably, while making the iconic movie, Malcolm X, Lee faced a major financial issue as he ended up exhausting the entire fund before production concluded. The only help he could use was from his friends. So, he called numerous celebrities to make donations. One of them was Johnson. The 5x champion contributed a generous amount to the movie. However, that was not the only help he received from Johnson.

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Spike Lee used Magic Johnson to fuel Michael Jordan’s competitive fire

The director called numerous other celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Tracey Chapman, and more. In the end, he decided to call Michael Jordan as well. Lee needed at least a few million dollars. So, he cleverly used Johnson to negotiate with the Chicago Bulls legend. When Lee called MJ, he decided to mention Johnson’s contribution to the movie intentionally. “I called Magic; he wrote a check. Then I called Michael Jordan, told him how much Magic gave,” said Lee.

The result? The director made a better deal with Jordan who donated more than the Lakers legend. Lee and Jordan teamed up for the first time for the commercial in 1989. He was well aware of the champ’s competitive nature and made good use of it. He even went on to include Johnson in the plan which turned out to work great.

Finally, in 1992, Spike Lee was able to release Malcolm X with Denzel Washington portraying the titular character. It would gross a total of $73 million. Did you know about this story? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

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