Lee, who created and starred as the shoe-obsessed character in his film, “She’s Gotta Have It,” gave credit to Nike’s founder for giving his stamp of approval for the campaign. “Nike’s agency saw the film, called me up outta nowhere and said, ‘we want you to be in a national campaign with Michael Jordan, you play Mars Blackmon, but there’s one catch Michael Jordan has not seen the film and does not know who you are,’” Lee recalled, laughing about his early days in the industry. “We gotta give credit to Phil Knight. It’s his decision — to have a black guy be the face of your company — so give him credit and the rest is history,” he added.