Who Is Sonny Vaccaro, the Basketball Icon Who Made the Air Jordans Legendary?
AIR might become the most iconic Ben Affleck and Matt Damon collaboration ever. Sorry, Good Will Hunting. With AIR, the two actors and filmmakers will get to finally unearth the origin story of the Air Jordan. Based on true events, the film will follow how Nike employees managed to strike a business deal with then-rookie player Michael Jordan—and subsequently made history.
Ben Affleck stars as Phil Knight, Nike’s then-CEO, while Matt Damon stars as basketball talent scout Sonny Vaccaro, the man who was instrumental in making the Air Jordan legendary.
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Sonny Vaccora, the Sneaker Legend
Born in 1984, Vaccaro is best remembered for signing Michael Jordan with Nike, Inc. for the player’s first sneaker deal. At the time, the deal was groundbreaking.
In the ‘80s, Converse was king and the brand had secured court superstars like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Meanwhile, Adidas was basking in its “cool factor”, attracting the likes of Michael Jordan, who was at the time a third draft pick fresh out of the University of North Carolina. As for Nike, the brand had been relegated to the status of jogging shoes.
“That was one of the things that was so surprising to me when I read the script,” said Matt Damon, who plays Vaccaro in AIR. “Because I always had this idea of Nike as this absolute powerhouse in the basketball shoe market, which they are now. But when you catch them at the beginning of this story, they are the clear underdogs.”
But Vaccaro dreamed of something bigger for Nike. Taking a huge risk with his career, Vacarro pitched creating a shoe specifically designed just for Jordan.
“It is an all-or-nothing gamble, but one in which he entirely believes because he absolutely knows and loves the game,” said Matt Damon, who plays Vaccaro in the film AIR.
“But he’s at a point where his career is in a precarious place and Nike’s entire basketball division is on the brink. He is risking all their jobs by pushing that agenda because he’s been told Jordan really wants to go with Adidas. Their shoes are cooler, and Nike is considered a jogging shoe company that Michael doesn’t associate with basketball. Nobody really does.”
That is, until a certain Mrs. Deloris Jordan entered the picture. When Ben Affleck contacted Michael Jordan to create the film, Affleck quickly adapted his script to emphasize the pivotal—and untold—role of Michael Jordan’s mother in his Nike deal. It was only after Vaccaro met with Mrs. Jordan that the family was convinced Nike would give Michael the attention and focus that other brands like Adidas and Converse would not. At its heart, AIR is a story of family and friendship, which is a focal point of the film.
“One thing Sonny Vaccaro was very clear with me about was that the feelings of camaraderie, friendship and loyalty are his takeaways from that time. That’s what we wanted to put in the movie—a story about these underdogs doing something that had never been done before,” said Matt Damon.
The finer details of Jordan’s Nike deal are broken down in AIR, but you’ll have to catch it in cinemas to get the full story. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, AIR will be in cinemas starting April 19 in the Philippines. Book your tickets here.
