How The Jordan Brand Classic Can Further Elevate The Nike Brand

A mile from where Michael Jordan was born at Cumberland Hospital in 1963, a Jumpman logo adorned center court of the Barclay’s Center.

The home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets hosted a special Jordan Brand Classic, which represented something of a rebirth.

It was the 23rd — Jordan’ jersey number — anniversary of the boys game, but it’s just the second time the game has been played since 2019. Rosters of the elite high school basketball players were named in 2020, 2021 and 2023, but contests were not played due to the pandemic and ensuing scheduling issues.

Though telecast on the NBA’s app and YouTube channel, the Jordan Brand Classic was back at a crucial part of the basketball calendar. March Madness has finished, leading into the WNBA draft, and now the NBA playoffs have commenced.

“This is the time of year when all eyes are on basketball. Sarah Mensah, president of the Jordan Brand exclusively shared. “So for us to do this event at this particular time absolutely just helps reinforce the importance the Jordan Brand has within the game.”

It’s also a great way to promote a significant arm of the dominant sportswear company.

Nike earned $50.6 billion in revenue in 2023, and Jordan Brand brought in $6.59 billion in revenue — or about 13% of Nike’s total fiscal year 2023 sales.

Aside from the obvious product association, any way to help advance future of basketball is a positive for the Jordan Brand.

And the Jordan Brand Classic featured a plethora of future NBA first-round picks. Those prospects spend their spring participating in a banquet circuit of postseason games, including the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game.

“Each All-Star game you go to has its own,” said Cooper Flagg the consensus No. 1 boys basketball player and projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft, “sort of culture.”

The Jordan Brand Classic definitely had its unique feel. It had the intensity of Dylan Harper hitting a game-winning shot and barking that he’s the best player in the 2024 class to the whimsy of two quasi, on-court, public-address announcers launching wisecracks during the game.

Taking it all in were Carmelo Anthony and Aaron Judge, who sat next to each other on the court-side baseline.

Jordan Brand’s coolness, of course, stems from the signature Air Jordan shoe that forever changed the athletic shoe industry. The brand resonates, even though Jordan, the 10-time NBA scoring champion, last played in 2003 — one year after the creation of the Jordan Brand Classic.

“Wearing Jordan on my chest,” said Drake Powell after practicing at Nike’s New York headquarters, “that means something.”

Powell will have a Jumpman logo on his chest next year too. He’s headed to North Carolina, Jordan’s alma mater.

The Jordan Brand provides shoes and all other gear for the UNC basketball team — just like it did for girls and boys in the Jordan Brand Classic.

“The brand of Jordan is about finding your inner greatness,” Mensah said. “When you put on Js, you’re literally taking it to the next level, and so this tournament represents the same.”

The Swag Factor

The Jordan Brand Classic was originally the Capital Classic in Washington, D.C., which Jordan played in and was started in 1974. Then Jordan Brand joined forces with the Capital Classic and rebranded it in 2002. The girls’ version of the Jordan Brand Classic began in 2015.

In addition to playing in Jordan’s birthplace, the site of the All-Star Game has intentionally ventured to Charlotte, North Carolina, the state where Jordan starred in high school and college and Chicago, where he starred professionally for the Bulls.

Jordan, himself, does not attend. But one of the treasured pieces of swag is an autographed letter mailed to each athlete in a suitcase also containing a pair of Air Jordans.

It reads: “Congratulations on your selection to the Jordan Brand Classic of 2024. Pack your suitcase, bring your Js and come fly with us. Brooklyn, New York April 19-21, 2024”

“Getting that,” 6’5” Baylor-bound guard/forward VJ Edgecombe said, “felt surreal.”

One of five future Duke players in the game, Kon Knueppel II wasn’t at his Milwaukee area home when the suitcase arrived, so his father, also named Kon, opened it, sent him video of it and will likely keep it in a babybook of his son.

Like many of the All-Star Games, they receive shirts, shoes, shorts, sweatpants, backpacks, but this one took it to another level.

Jordan Lee, who is going to Texas, said she received seven pairs of free shoes (the total number she got from the Hoop Summit and McDonald’s Game combined) from participating in the Jordan Brand Classic.

“It was amazing,” she said.

Jordan Brand Gives Back

All adorned in “Flight” warm-up suits, Jordan Brand Classic participants spent the morning of the game at PAVE Academy Charter School in Brooklyn, playing pop-a-shot, engaging in trivia contests, doing arts and crafts and signing autographs with the 10- to 13-year-old students.

The McDonald’s All-American Game also has a strong altruistic aspect. The players annually go to the Ronald McDonald House, where families, including as Flagg’s once did, can reside, while a loved undergoes lengthy medical care at a nearby hospital.

But for the Jordan Brand Classic, its community initiative has the added benefit of promoting the brand in a unique way. It creates positive association for students who may end up being part of the NIKE ecosystem, playing in youth camps or on AAU teams affiliated with Nike and Jordan and sporting their gear.

“One generation passes the baton to the next,” Mensah said.

In fact, this year’s roster included Kiyomi McMiller, who signed a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with the Jordan Brand.

A couple of years ago, when her agent messaged the Rutgers-bound star about this opportunity, she described it as being like a dream.

“That’s how it was,” she said. “I didn’t think it was real.”

Players, however, don’t have to appear in the Jordan Brand Classic to become a Jordan Brand athlete like McMiller. For example, Rui Hachimura, Russell Westbrook and Doncic were not on Jordan Brand Class rosters but still are part of an impressive list of Jordan Brand’s NBA ambassadors including Chris Paul, Jayson Tatum Zion Williamson.

Similarly, playing for high school or AAU teams that wear different gear than Nike or Jordan brand doesn’t prevent prospects from playing in the Jordan Brand Classic, whose rosters are determined by the brand’s sports marketing department.

They sought 26 high school seniors who excel on and off the court.

“This game is really about continuing the legacy that was started by Michael Jordan,” Mensah said. “He represents the best of the best.”