Despite leaving the basketball court almost two decades ago, Michael Jordan enjoys a unique fanbase. His brand holds a special place in fans’ hearts as far as sneakers are concerned. One of the NBA media giants, Jalen Rose, who has immense faith in His Airness, recently asked his 1.7 X followers to bow down in respect to the Chicago Bulls legend’s unfathomable power and impact.
The former NBA player wrote, “Don’t front…you and your kids stay thirsty for Jordan’s. No other athlete has this stranglehold on the public. Bow down.” Well, the sale of the Jordan brand sneakers justifies his claim that people are thirsty for his shoes.
Don’t front…you and your kids stay thirsty for Jordan’s. No other athlete has this stranglehold on the public. Bow down.
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) March 17, 2024
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As per a Yahoo Finance report from September 2023, the Jordan Brand was on course to become the second-largest footwear brand in North America. The brand brought in more than $6 billion in revenue in 2023. Moreover, the Jordan Brand is still relevant almost 3 decades after its launch. Per the same source, total searches for Jordan brand keywords were up on most major retailers’ websites. So there is some truth to Rose’s tweet.
Soon after his tweet, there were numerous comments and plots shared by the netizens on what inspired the former ESPN employee to suddenly praise MJ. Rose has always been very appreciative of the 6x champion. He even named His Airness as the GOAT. However, this sudden rant was quite surprising to the fans.
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Jalen Rose hails Michael Jordan in a passionate rant
The argument began with the retired NBA player’s suggestion on X. Taking to his social media, Rose suggested retiring Jordan’s jersey number 23 throughout the league. “#23 should be retired throughout the entire NBA!!! Thoughts??” wrote the ESPN analyst. Bill Russell is the only player in the league to have this honor.
While some of the fans supported Jalen, others wrote back to show their disapproval. Unimpressed by the disapproval, Rose passionately defended his stance. He began by emphasizing Jordan’s prowess in the game. Following that, he went on to describe his off-court impact by explaining the popularity of the Jordan Brand shoes.
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Numerous comments suggested how this song of praise for Jordan was after LeBron James’ latest display of greatness. During Saturday night’s loss to the Warriors, King James became the 3rd oldest player to score 40 points in a game, after Karl Malone and Michael Jordan. Not to forget, Jordan has three 40-point games during his run with the Washington Wizards. However, the retired NBA player has written quite a lot on X to clear his stance.