Michael Jordan
The Chicago Bulls guard who won six NBA championships, made the air-leap-with-tongue-out the universal logo for basketball, and gave English a new word for the best at anything.
Origin
Michael Jordan (b. 1963) was famously cut from his high school varsity team; he made the next year's, played at North Carolina, and was drafted third by the Bulls in 1984. Six rings (1991–1993, 1996–1998), five MVPs, 'The Shot,' 'The Flu Game,' 'The Last Dance.' His Nike deal launched Air Jordan, which is still the most lucrative athlete brand on Earth thirty years later. Retired three times — the middle one was an unsuccessful try at baseball after his father's murder.
Modern usage
'The Michael Jordan of [X]' is the universal English compliment for the undisputed best of any field. The Jumpman silhouette is one of the most recognized logos in the world. The 'crying Jordan' face is the meme template for any visible humiliation. The 'flu game' is shorthand for performing through impossible conditions. 'I took that personally' (his Last Dance interview tic) became a 2020s catchphrase.
In the wild
She's the Michael Jordan of M&A lawyers.— common usage
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