Editor's note: In honor of hip-hop turning 50, ESPN tapped the culture's top voices to write about their favorite athlete name-drops in hip-hop history.
"And with the third pick/I made the earth sick/MJ/him Jay/fadeaway/perfect" -- Jay-Z on "Hola Hovito" (2001)
First, we observe greatness -- we see someone do something we didn't know was possible, achieve something we didn't think a human being is capable of -- but the measure of greatness lies in the stories we tell about it. Why do kids who were born after Michael Jordan hung 'em up for good still covet Air Jordan sneakers?