Vintage Gear: Michael Jordan Nike “Mount Dunkmore” T-Shirt

Back before there was a Jordan Brand, there was only Nike Basketball and they had four NBA players leading the entire marketing. A veritable Mount Dunkmore.

This vintage Dream Team-era Nike Basketball t-shirt not only canonized Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, and Scottie Pippen as the NBA’s top dunkers, it represented them as the tip top hoops talent in Nikeland. Michael headed all things Air Jordan, Chuck and D-Rob migrated back and forth with Force and Air Max, and Scottie was Flight.

And it worked very well because pretty much any Nike sneaker or t-shirt or sweatpant with any of those Nike Basketball terms on it was associated with one of the four players. In a way, the categories of Nike Basketball at the time were bigger than the signature athletes themselves because you didn’t need to be a fan of the specific player to be able to identify with the marketing.

There were dads who maybe didn’t follow Charles Barkley’s career but they understood that the image a Nike Basketball Force t-shirt was conveying was about physically dominating on the court. Even if the only muscling they ever did was cracking open a jar of Jif on Saturday morning, the messaging gave them something to be a part of. Aspirational.

This shirt and others like it can be had now via constableguybrush on eBay. Do you have any of this Vintage Gear stored away? Share your favorites with us in the comment section.