For the briefest of moments, Sonny Vaccaro appeared in Sunday’s episodes of “The Last Dance,” the 10-part, Michael Jordan-focused documentary running on ESPN. The back of his head was in a photo of Jordan’s historic meeting with Nike, the start of the most significant sports marketing partnership in American history.
Vaccaro, then a consultant for Nike, was instrumental in the entire deal. He helped conceptualize the signature sneaker. Then he helped persuade Nike, a company known for running, to bet on professional basketball, only not by signing an NBA star but a rookie whose college team hadn’t even made the Final Four the past two seasons.