Spike Lee tells hilarious story of how he was chosen to direct iconic Michael Jordan commercial

Jael Rucker

Spike Lee tells hilarious story of how he was chosen to direct iconic Michael Jordan commercial image

Spike Lee took trip down a memory lane with Supreme in honor of his new collaboration with the brand.

The legendary director, whose 40 Acres and a Mule production company just put out a capsule collection that pays homage to his iconic films "Malcolm X" and "Clockers," sat down to discuss a wide range of topics in-regards to his career. One of those topics was Lee's iconic Mars Blackmon "It's gotta be the shoes" commercial with Jordan. Spike was asked to give a rundown of how he started working with number 23 in the first place, and he broke it all down for us.

"I finally got enough courage to ask him Mike why did he give the okay," he reminisced. "He didn't know who I was, he had not seen the film ["She's Gotta Have It], and Mike said, 'Motherf—cker, you wearing my shoes!" 

Classic Jordan.

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@overtimekicks Spike Lee explains how he began making Air Jordan commercials with Michael Jordan 🐐 @supreme #shoes #fashion #sneakers #supreme #nike #filmmaking #filmtok #basketball #michaeljordan ♬ original sound - Overtime Kicks

"It was a great decision to have Mars wear the shoes," he added. As for Spike's new collaboration with Supreme, the Supreme x 40 Acres collection features a baseball jersey, a varsity jacket, two t-shirts and a ball cap. The varsity, in-particular, features an X on the back (a nod to "Malcolm X"), alongside the 40 Acre patch and Supreme lettering across the chest. 

MORE: Lil Wayne has officially teamed up for a partnership with the NFL

The collection will be available to shop online and in-stores beginning April 24.

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Jael Rucker

Jael Rucker has worked as the Associate Commerce Editor at PureWow, focusing on analytics and trends to pitch stories and optimize articles that build and engage their audience. Her work has also been seen in Footwear News and WWD. Prior to 2024, she was the style and pop culture editor at ONE37pm for over three years, contributing numerous product reviews, brand profiles and fashion trend reports, which included interviewing Steph Curry, Snoop Dogg and more.