Jordan stopped by to watch North Carolina and Duke’s practice and made a point of letting the UNC players know that wearing Kobe Bryant’s Nike shoes was unacceptable in his presence.
MJ seemed to be joking—but with Jordan, behind every joke there is also some subliminal message.
This one seems to be: don’t forget who went to North Carolina and who is the major brand behind Nike. You have to understand excluding the Wizards years, Jordan’s last winning championship was in 1998— it is 2011 now.
A lot of the college players were in daycare when Jordan was balling at his peak. They are more likely to relate to the 2000s Lakers or even the Lebrons and D. Wades of the world, than vintage Michael Jordan.
While Jordan is a legend, to a lot of these kids, they just know him by highlights—whereas they grew up in high school watching Kobe Bryant live.
Someone should tell the North Carolina kids not to ever wear Jordan’s ripped jeans, but I digress.
It is a funny video, which also includes Kyle Singler’s face which is always good for comic relief.