Tag: Phil Knight

Why Michael Jordan isn’t in the trailer for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Nike film ‘Air’

The movie “Air” is all about Michael Jordan’s deal with Nike. So why isn’t MJ in the film?

It seems almost counterintuitive to make a movie about the greatest sneaker deal in sports history, featuring the most marketable player in sports history, and leave that athlete almost entirely out of the script.

So you’re going to have to trust Ben Affleck and Matt Damon when it comes to their new Nike biopic “Air”. The film focuses on the quest to sign a rookie Michael Jordan to what was then a third-place company in the basketball market.

Though the trailer released on Thursday shows Viola Davis and Julius Tennon portraying Jordan’s parents, the NBA legend won’t make an appearance on screen. Not a cameo nor an actor portrayal. And that’s by design.

 

Affleck and Damon—who reworked a script originally penned by Alex Convery—are focusing less on Jordan and more on Nike execs Phil Knight (played by Affleck) and Sonny Vaccarro (Damon) as they work to build the company’s basketball brand.

Per The Hollywood Reporter:

The story will focus on Vaccaro’s relentless quest to sign Jordan to what was then the third-place shoe company, a journey that took him to Jordan’s parents, and in particular his powerful, dynamic mother, as well as to former coaches, advisers and friends. Jordan will be a mythic figure hovering above the movie and never seen, even as Vaccaro tries to reach him by gaining access to those close to him.

Jordan isn’t listed in any credits, so if there is a cameo the filmmakers are keeping it tightly under wraps. Certainly there’s enough star power attached to the project to interest Jordan, but considering the movie isn’t about MJ’s greatness, he likely doesn’t care to get involved.

Either way, fans of sneaker culture and basketball history should find themselves entertained by the story of a plucky little basketball division that took over the world.

WATCH: First official trailer drops for ‘AIR,’ a movie about Phil Knight and Michael Jordan

The first trailer for ‘AIR,’ a movie about Phil Knight and Nike’s pursuit of Michael Jordan has officially dropped.

You can feel the buzz starting to grow where moviegoers and sports lovers overlap. When you take a subject that contains arguably the greatest basketball player to ever live — Michael Jordan — and the most famous sports apparel brand in the history of the world — Nike — you’ve got sports fans excited. Then you put actors like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, and Viola Davis on the big screen to depict that subject matter?

Now you’ve got a movie.

The first official trailer for “AIR” came out on Thursday morning. It is a movie directed by Ben Affleck, depicting the journey that Nike co-founder and Oregon Ducks legend Phil Knight — played by Affleck — went through back in the 1980s when trying to get his company off the ground by creating a shoe-line around Michael Jordan.

The creation of the Air Jordan came about with the help of Sonny Vaccaro, who is played by Matt Damon.

For Oregon fans and sneakerheads who have read the book Shoe Dog, written by Knight, they know this story well. But soon a much larger group of people will be familiar with the improbable events that took place, creating the brand that is Nike, and helping build the legend that is Michael Jordan.

The movie is set to release on April 5, 2023.

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‘I wouldn’t have missed it;’ Oregon legend Phil Knight shares historic moment with LeBron James

Phil Knight signed LeBron James to Nike 20 years ago. On Tuesday, he was with the King to celebrate history.

Unless you happen to be living under a rock or were not tuned into the world of sports on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, then you probably are aware that NBA legend LeBron James made history with the Los Angeles Lakers in the past 24 hours, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, with 38,390 career points.

James broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record on Tuesday night in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, scoring 38 points, when he needed 36 in order to pass the historical mark of 38.388, which had stood for nearly 39 years.

As you would expect, there was an outcrying of support for LeBron both in the arena and on social media throughout the night. One of the best photos of the night came from Andrew Bernstein, one of the most legendary sports photographers in NBA history. The photo showed the moment that LeBron released the record-breaking shot; in the background is a sea of fans, all with their phones out trying to record history. There was a lone fan sitting on the baseline, taking it all in with his own two eyes, though.

That man was Nike co-founder and Oregon Ducks legend Phil Knight.

This legendary photo will be circulated for decades to come, and it was cool to see Knight get some recognition on Tuesday night, though many commenters had no idea who he was just by appearance.

After the game, Knight and James met up and shared some kind words. Here’s a video of that interaction, along with some of the best reactions to Knight’s historic photo on Tuesday night:

Phil Knight got a ton of praise for NOT watching LeBron’s record-breaking shot through his phone

Everyone loved Phil Knight not using a phone to take in LeBron breaking the NBA’s scoring record.

The photo from the moment LeBron James broke the all-time NBA scoring record — among the many incredible shots from the night — that everyone’s talking about had SO MUCH to take in.

There was the shot itself, a midranger that was clearly going in. There was Thomas Bryant calling for the ball (LOLOLOL).

And there was Nike co-founder Phil Knight watching.

Now, that might not be noteworthy in the moment. But look at the rest of the crowd, including James’s kids Bronny and Bryce. Nearly everyone is using a phone to watch and record the moment happening.

But not Phil Knight! Check out the reaction on Twitter:

Details released for Ben Affleck’s ‘AIR,’ a movie about Oregon legend Phil Knight

A new movie starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon will reportedly come out in April, detailing Oregon legend Phil Knight’s creation of Nike.

Oregon Ducks’ legend Phil Knight is coming to a big screen near you this spring.

On Monday, it was announced that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are releasing a new move titled “AIR” which depicts the beginning of Nike, and Knight’s pursuit of NBA legend Michael Jordan in the 1980s.

Affleck, a two-time Oscar Award winner, will be portraying a young Knight, while Damon, another Oscar Award winner, will portray Sonny Vaccaro, one of the driving forces in creation of Air Jordan.

Viola Davis and Jason Bateman will also star in the movie, per Front Office Sports.

The movie is reportedly being released by Amazon.

Seeing Knight portrayed on the big screen isn’t a new phenomenon. In fact, most recently in the HBO series ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,’ Knight was portrayed once again in the race to land Magic Johnson to a sneaker contract early in his career as well.

Tyson Alger, with the i5 Corridor, interviewed the actor who played Knight, Olli Haaskivi, about playing the sports apparel giant.

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Report: LeBron James discusses Dana Altman, Bronny James ‘mutual’ interest with Oregon Ducks

Is Bronny James’ interest in the Ducks real? LeBron James provided some clarity on the subject over the weekend.

By all accounts, it’s been a tough few months for Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks, who look to be on track for another disappointing trip to the National Invitational Tournament rather than a spot in the NCAA Tournament in the middle of March. Despite that, there is some positive buzz around the Oregon men’s basketball program, thanks to the recruiting prowess held by the Ducks’ head coach.

Oregon has already signed the No. 8 recruiting class in the 2023 cycle, and there’s a chance that could get better going forward. Last week, 4-star recruit Bronny James, the No. 33 player in 2023 and son of NBA legend LeBron James, reportedly narrowed his recruitment down to three schools; Ohio State, USC, and Oregon.

While the Buckeyes have a close connection to the James family from LeBron’s upbringing, and the Trojans are the current hometown option, it’s Oregon’s relationship with Phil Knight and proximity to Nike that is keeping the Ducks in the mix.

LeBron was in Portland over the weekend for a game against the Trail Blazers, and The Oregonian’s Bill Oram (subscription required) caught up with the Lakers’ superstar to gauge how real his son’s interest in the Ducks really was.

“Dana knows,” James said. “He knows the interest. And it’s mutual.”

While the prospect of going to ‘Nike University’ is certainly appealing to a high school player that has already inked a lucrative NIL deal with the brand, James talked about how impressive Altman’s success has been in Eugene over the past few years.

Will all of that be enough to put the Ducks out front in Bronny’s recruitment? It’s too early to tell, but we will know more in the coming weeks and months as the eldest James son plans to commit at the end of his basketball season.

Bronny James’ Recruiting Profile

11 things that Oregon Duck fans should be most thankful for in 2022

What are you most thankful for as an Oregon Duck fan as we get into this holiday season?

Last year when we checked in on the Oregon Ducks’ world of sports during Thanksgiving time, things weren’t looking so great. The football team had just suffered the first of two blowout losses to the Utah Utes, falling from their No. 3 spot in the nation; the No. 9 men’s basketball team was quickly exposed as fraudulent; the women’s basketball team was tanking in the standings after back-to-back losses as the No. 12 team in the nation.

Of course, things didn’t get much better from there, either. Oregon’s football team went on to get blown out in the Pac-12 title game by Utah again and watched as their head coach Mario Cristobal jetted to warmer weather. Dana Altman failed to align the Rubik’s Cube and missed the NCAA Tournament. Kelly Graves had his squad competitive, but nowhere near as good as we expected going into the year.

By comparison, the Ducks sure do have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season.

Not only did the football program bounce back in a magnificent fashion with an up-and-coming head coach that looks to be among the best young signal-callers in the nation, but Altman and Graves also have things rolling in the right direction on the hardwood.

On top of the tangible success, Oregon is still Oregon, and Phil Knight is still the greatest Uncle in the world. The Ducks have some of the best facilities, best uniforms, best coaches, and best players in the nation, and routinely are in the conversation among the best teams across all sports.

So on this Thanksgiving Day, as we gather with friends and family, we thought it would be nice to reflect on what Oregon fans should be the most thankful for this year. Here’s what we came up with:

Nike will probably never go back to working with Kyrie Irving again, according to Phil Knight

Kyrie Irving talked his way out of a deal with Nike

Kyrie Irving’s standing with Nike was already on shaky ground. Now, it seems to have finally fallen through.

The company suspended its deal with him last week amid his failure to outright disavow antisemitism. But even before that, his signature shoe line’s future was in question dating back to last season. His latest exploits were just the nail in the coffin.

But a suspension isn’t necessarily forever. At least, it didn’t seem to be that way. But, according to former Nike chairman Phil Knight, it does seem to be forever in this case.

Knight told CNBC that he doubts Nike would go back to working with Irving in any capacity after he “stepped over the line” with his retweet of an antisemitic film.

“Kyrie stepped over the line. It’s kind of that simple. He made some statements that we just can’t abide by and that’s where we ended the relationship. And, yeah, I was fine with that…I would doubt that we go back. But I don’t know for sure.” 

If that’s not 100% certainty, it’s awfully close. Knight isn’t necessarily the end-all, be-all decision maker at Nike anymore — he retired a long time ago and is chairman emeritus now. However, he still holds influence and power as one of the co-founders of the company. What he says matters.

And what he’s saying here is that Kyrie Irving is done with the swoosh. At least for now. So there you have it, folks. Don’t expect to see Kyrie sneakers coming down the line anytime soon.

Oregon, Washington, and the Big Ten — has anything new happened here?

Has anything meaningfully affected the calculus of a possible Oregon-Washington migration to the Big Ten, or is stagnation the reality?

Let’s check in on the world of realignment in the Pac-12.

One reader asked Jon Wilner, “How long before Oregon and Washington leave the Pac-12?”

Wilner’s response serves as, essentially, an update for anyone who is curious about this subject but hasn’t paid very close attention over the past month. Pac-12 football on the field has been the focus. Things have quieted down behind the scenes.

Has anything meaningfully changed the reality which existed in late August, before the 2022 football season began?

Here’s Wilner:

“As we have written repeatedly, there is no indication the Big Ten plans to expand again in this contract cycle — meaning the next opportunity for movement would come at the end of the decade.

“Could circumstances change swiftly? Sure. Anything is possible in realignment. But at this point, it doesn’t appear that the Pacific Northwest powers have that option, and they certainly aren’t interested in joining the Big 12. As a result, Oregon and Washington are likely to sign a media deal with the Pac-12, serving as the twin anchors that hold the conference together.

“One more point: The Hotline doesn’t believe the Big Ten’s ultimate goal is to add more West Coast schools.

“Instead, it wants to plant the conference flag in ACC territory, particularly in Florida. Why? Because its primary media partner, Fox, is currently boxed out of the third-most populous state in the country. ESPN dominates the Sunshine State, along with North Carolina and Georgia, through its agreements with the SEC and ACC. Expansion to the southeast makes more sense financially for the Big Ten — and Fox — than additional acquisitions on the West Coast.”

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Ranking Oregon’s best ‘guest picker’ candidates for ESPN’s College GameDay in Eugene

Sabrina Ionescu? Payton Pritchard? Neil Everett? Who do you think should be the guest picker for ESPN’s College GameDay in Eugene?

ESPN’s College GameDay is officially returning to Eugene, and with it will come all of the fanfare and buzz that is fit of the weekly marquee show for the mothership.

Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Reece Davis, Pat McAfee, and Desmond Howard are going to find some place on campus and set up shop this week to preview what will be one of the best football games of the weekend, a showdown between the No. 12 Oregon Ducks and No. 11 UCLA Bruins. Of course, as is tradition, there will be one “guest picker” up on stage with them at the end of the show that goes through the top games of the weekend and makes picks for who will win.

The guest picker is almost always someone affiliated with the home university and a person who can get the crowd rowdy. For example, Peyton Manning was the guest picker for the Tennessee vs. Alabama game on Saturday in Knoxville.

So who will the guest picker be in Eugene on Saturday? We’ve got a few ideas…