Recently, Larry Brown Sports constructed an in-depth interview with former NBA great Larry Johnson. LJ discussed his basketball life prior to UNLV, his time at the basketball-rich university and his tenure with the Hornets and Knicks. However, one of the more interesting subjects he touched on was him being a member of Converse and how Nike declined him coming out of college.
In detail, Larry Johnson stated that, “Coming out of college, I was going to be the number one pick. I was coming out of UNLV which is a big time Nike school and that?s all we ever wore. I couldn?t wait to sign with Nike coming out of college. And believe it or not, Nike did not sign me. They flat out told me they didn?t think I was going to be a good pro. They went after Billy Owens, Kenny Anderson, and Dikembe Mutumbo as their three main guys. I was the number one pick and they didn?t have faith in my abilities. Converse came to me after that saying ?we love you, we have a great idea for a commercial.? And they pitched me a great idea. (in regards to the Grand Ma Ma character)”.
Obviously, LJ was far from a flop in his career and arguably had a more fruitful career than most of those names he mentioned. It turned out very well for Johnson and Converse. Both sides formed one of the most memorable marketing campaigns, and Converse supplied LJ with some nice sneaker such as the Aero Jam.
In the end, Nike purchased Converse in 2003 obtaining the rights to LJ’s Converse shoes so it all comes full circle.
