Jaylen Brown is one of the most thoughtful superstars in the NBA right now. The man who proclaimed he’d build ‘Black Wall Street’ in Boston after signing the biggest NBA contract (at the time) is looking to establish himself in the real world outside just basketball. There’s no better example of an NBA player than Michael Jordan when it comes to approaching life that way.
On the ‘Earn Your Leisure’ podcast, Brown spoke about the incredible value generated by Jordan for being one of the biggest promoters of the sport. Brown also namedropped LeBron James as an example of a player who still hasn’t surpassed Jordan.
“The people you see in all the commercials, the people you see with the big deals and they use the machine to force them to be an undeniable star. Their talent is already there, but now they’re being globalized and pushed. The deals they actually get aren’t that lucrative, Jordan was one-of-one.”
“Nobody surpassed [Michael] Jordan since, not even LeBron [James]. And we [are] in a whole different era. That was over 40 years ago.”
"Nobody surpassed [Michael] Jordan since, not even LeBron [James]. And we [are] in a whole different era. That was over 40 years ago."
— Jaylen Brown 👀
(via @EarnYourLeisure/ Youtube)pic.twitter.com/T8JPBeCQpp
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 24, 2025
Based on the context of what Brown is talking about, it seems it’s a comment about athletes profiting from their own likeness in an equitable way as the major companies that offer them endorsement deals.
Jordan made more money as part of the Jordan Brand created based on his marketing appeal than he ever did playing basketball. While players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant can claim lifelong Nike contracts and spinoff brands under them, they’ll never be given the kind of ownership Jordan was given.
Brown’s assertion isn’t 100% accurate as multiple modern-day players have tried replicating the Jordan strategy with similar ownership in their own spinoff brands, primarily Stephen Curry with Under Armour. Unfortunately, it’s Under Armour and Curry’s shoes aren’t considered among the most popular anyway, so it doesn’t come close to making the kind of impact Jordan did.
Everyone can discuss basketball reasons between Jordan and LeBron until the cows come home, but one thing is indisputable. All the nine-figure guaranteed contracts which continue to get even bigger every season would’ve never been possible in the NBA if Jordan wasn’t the launching post for basketball as a sport, not just the NBA.
His presence changed the culture entirely both on and off the court. He created wealth that most basketball players will spend their lives chasing, just like his accomplishments on the court.
He remains, to this day, the richest basketball player of all time, purely because he took basketball to unimaginable heights before anyone else.
While LeBron has been comparable and charted his own course by becoming the first active player to become a billionaire, nobody will ever have the supersonic impact that Jordan had on the game.
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