Remember Magic Johnson? That dude on the Lakers way back when? Yeah, that guy. Now, remember what shoes he wore? No, not those. Nope, not those either. Exactly, he wore some forgettable Converse joints that we don't give that much of a shit about.
Now, remember Michael Jordan? I don't even have to give you his full name. Remember Jordan? Remember MJ? Remember J? I can probably just say, "Remember J?" and you'll know exactly who I'm talking about. What about those shoes he wore? Of course you remember those—the first iconic, true signature sneaker that had people going nuts. (Literally, the NBA fined Jordan $5K each game that he wore the black and red Jordan I's). And, uh, duh, that's exactly what Nike wanted.