Will Smith’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was an integral part of hip-hop culture in the 90s. The show presented a platform for moralistic tales to be communicated through light-hearted jokes. While the show inspired many, it also unconsciously helped certain brands like Michael Jordan’s Air Jordans with their marketing plans. Despite being of help to Jordan, Will Smith revealed that there was a time when Jordan turned one of his requests down.

Much like Will Smith’s show, Michael Jordan‘s Air Jordans became an important part of the 90s culture and style. Hence, Will Smith flaunted the Air Jordans multiple times on the show. For the opening sequence of the show, one could see Smith in the Air Jordan 5s. He sometimes styled the Air Jordans with no laces which eventually caught the attention of many and soon became a trend.

Michael Jordan turned Will Smith’s request down

On the Showtime Basketball Podcast, Stephen Jackson asked Will Smith if he was aware of what flaunting the Jordans on-air was doing to the culture. Smith, rather excitedly, stated that he had no idea what he was doing.

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However, the Oscar winner was aware that he was “living the culture” of that time. He just focused on keeping the show’s sneaker game on point. Smith wanted people to see new sneakers on the show before they were advertised traditionally.

For this, he reached out to his dear friend and six-time NBA champion, Michael Jordan. Smith said, “I was literally calling Jordan and I was like Mike please please don’t give it to nobody like just let me be the first person I gotta be the first person to wear.” However, Jordan declined Smith’s request.

The Jordan brand honored Will Smith

Despite this, the Jordan brand honored Smith’s contribution to the brand twice. First, in 2013, they released a version of the Air Jordan 5s and named it ‘Bel-Air,’ after Smith’s show. Subsequently in 2018, the brand released another version of the Air Jordan 5s in multiple colorways.

The new version was named ‘Fresh Prince’. Additionally, they styled the shoe to be worn without laces as Smith didn’t have the laces on in the show. Will Smith posted an unboxing video of the Fresh Prince Jordans on his YouTube channel. He also tested the shoes while leaving a review for the fans.

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What do you think about this association between the Jordan brand and Will Smith? Let us know in the comments below.