He’s had a rough week in the win-loss column, but when Michael Jordan sits down and thinks about it, he should realize that 2010’s been a very successful year for him.
True, his Charlotte Bobcats were swept out of the playoffs on Monday night, but the team’s 47-win campaign and Playoff appearance marks Jordan’s most successful season as an NBA exec.
In Mike’s sneaker business, his first year working with Dwyane Wade came to an early close as well. However, Wade’s run in the Air Jordan 2010 was also a success — maybe at its most successful through the Playoffs.
When Wade jumped from Converse to Jordan Brand last summer, the potential of the pairing was through the roof. While Jordan has young and talented athletes in his stable in Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, he failed to land someone of the right superstar magnitude when it came to wearing the Air Jordan. Sure, there’s been no shortage of J’s on-court through the years, thanks to Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson and others (Juwan Howard, Eddie Jones, Mike Finley and Derek Anderson get the old-school shoutout). In teaming up with MJ, Wade changed all of that.
As disappointing as the Heat’s five-game loss to the Celtics may be to some (sorry, eboy), it was exactly what Jordan Brand needed from Wade this season. Casual fans of the League got to see one of its top superstars on a big stage, wearing multiple colorways of the Brand’s flagship joint.
Perhaps most important for JB was Wade’s play in Sunday’s Game 4 win. His 46-point, series-extending outburst was a Jordan-like performance that came in a player-exclusive version of the soon-to-be-released W3lcome Home colorway. Off the top of my head, the last Jordan-like Playoff performance that I’ve seen in a pair of J’s was back in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals.
Anyway, let’s bring it back to those multiple colorways. Below is the Playoff kicksology for one Dwyane Wade. In a way, it’s too bad that the Heat are already out (though I like these grizzled, seemingly refueled Playoff Celts). It was fun seeing some MVP talent working his magic in Jordans and it would have been fun to follow Wade’s feet for at least another series. But you know what they say: There’s always (Chris Bosh) next year.
