Spike Lee And Michael Jordan: A Relationship of “100% Serendipity” That Changed the NBA

In 1985, Jumpmania was born with the first Nike commercial marking the birth of Air Jordans. But no Nike commercial can be as timeless as the ones starring the most unusual duo – the namesake and Mars Blackmon. One genius at the ad agency with the Nike account paired Michael Jordan with the iconic character portrayed by Spike Lee. Yes, the Malcolm X filmmaker. As The Last Dance put it, it was the starting point for MJ’s impact.

This pairing not only started the sneaker revolution, it created an unbreakable friendship between two pop culture titans. Now that’s a blockbuster story.

The ‘Spike and Mike’ Story began with an ad agency

Jim Riswold, then a copywriter at the ad agency making Nike’s commercials, watched the movie, She’s Gotta Have It (1986). It had a character, Mars Blackmon, who was portrayed by the movie’s writer and director, then an unknown debutant, Spike Lee. Blackmon had an Air Jordan obsession that caught Riswold’s attention and he called Spike the next day.

The future Oscar-winning filmmaker’s first question was, “I get to direct the spots, right?” That’s how the ‘Spike and Mike’ series of Nike commercials began. It speaks of Spike Lee as a director that he got Michael Jordan, who’s usually critiqued for stiff acting, to show more human emotions.

Through Mars Blackmon, every MJ fan was in the focus of the Air Jordan sphere. Even though the world is lacking more ‘Spike and Mike’ collabs, both stars remain lifelong friends to this date.

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Riswold gets credit for it though he said to Complex that it was, “100% serendipity.” Just think, if he hadn’t decided to watch a random movie by an unknown director… that world, especially the NBA, would’ve been vastly different as we know it.

Michael Jordan and Spike Lee transformed the NBA

When Nike took a gamble on an unpredictable rookie from the Chicago Bulls in 1985, they expected about 100,000 pairs of Air Jordans to sell in its first year. They sold 1.5 million pairs. Michael Jordan was ushering the NBA into primetime television and more marketable opportunities. The Air Jordan commercials went from riding that bandwagon to driving it.

A big credit goes to Mars Blackmon. Spike Lee and the ad folks smartly filmed the Spike and Mike commercials through the lens of the diehard Jordan fan persona that Lee created. The aftermath was summarized by one sports writer as, “Mars Blackmon saved the NBA from extinction.” 

he down-and-out NBA got sponsorships. The athletes who worked other jobs to sustain were getting signature shoe deals. For Spike Lee, a New York Knicks fan, it was the career breakthrough he needed. Now the Spike and Mike duo sit at NBA games together, hang out with their famous friends Samuel L. Jackson and Laurence Fishburne, His Airness reaps the benefits of the Jordan Brand, Spike is cozy among his Oscars and Emmys.

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Though Lee once poked the bear by asking why pick Mars Blackmon. To which Jordan ended the discussion in one sentence. “Motherf****r, you wear my shoes.” This should’ve been a commercial.