Michael Jordan‘s love and loyalty for the Jordan brand know no bounds. He even threw away a pair of Allen Iverson sneakers when a guest was staying at his place. In the 2020 Netflix docuseries, MJ revealed Adidas as his personal preference before eventually signing with Nike. But, before Nike and Adidas, there was Converse, the NBA staple footwear.

Yes, Converse was the Chicago Bulls legend’s first choice. However, they were hesitant to offer Michael Jordan a contract, which opened the doorways for Nike to swoop in and provide their contract. So, naturally, MJ wouldn’t prefer any other sneakers to his place and his former trainer found out the hard way.

“Here’s the crazy part about it. Everybody knows how Michael is a Nike guy, you know, with the brand Jordan. I had a pair of Converse,” Tim Grover revealed in an interview with Dax Shepard. It was his first time meeting His Airness after he sent handwritten letters to Bulls players explaining how he could help them. Although he did not send a letter to Michael Jordan, because of his legendary stature, he was lucky that MJ eventually read his letter and they decided to meet.

“I was like all right I better take off the shoes. I take off the shoes before I go in the house and of course, I got two big holes in my socks. So, I’m like okay this interview is going really, really well.” Grover said on the Armchair Expert podcast.

In his book, released in 2021, Grover called it one of the most embarrassing moments. In Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness, he stated that Michael Jordan was shaking his head in disappointment after seeing the Converse shoe. Ultimately, he got to work with MJ and his fortune improved, which unfortunately was not the case for the Converse brand.

Did Converse make a wrong choice by not signing Michael Jordan?

The brand already had Celtics legend Larry Bird and Lakers legend Magic Johnson in association with them. Taking a risk on rookie Michael Jordan, who was yet to debut in the NBA, felt like a risk. “Converse had big players and told me, ‘We cannot envision you being put ahead of them,’” Jordan stated on episode five of ESPN’s documentary series.

The brand filed for bankruptcy in 2001, after failing to compete with Adidas and Nike. However, in 2003, Nike bought them for approximately $300 million. If only they had bet on the rookie, maybe they could’ve avoided this with all the fortune that Jordan would’ve brought to them. In the year ending May 31, 2024, the global revenue of Converse (Nike’s affiliate brand) amounted to about $2 billion.

It was MJ’s mom who insisted he speak with Nike, in the first place. According to Nike executive Howard White, the company had agreed to commit US$250,000–in 1984 dollars–to a rookie player who had yet to play his first NBA game. Even though Michael Jordan faced rejection, his Jordan brand now has clocked over 7 billion in revenue this year.