At the Final Four in April, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame will announce its Class of 2025 — players, coaches and contributors.
Sonny Vaccaro will not be among them, extending one of the puzzling — if possibly politically motivated — omissions in sports.
Vaccaro is most famously known for signing Michael Jordan to an endorsement deal at Nike, a story told in the 2023 movie “Air” featuring Matt Damon (playing Vaccaro) and Ben Affleck (as Nike’s Phil Knight).
It was a pivotal moment in basketball, not just for the billions in shoes that would be sold, including via Jordan’s signature brand, but in the way Nike marketed an individual athlete into a global icon (MJ’s otherworldly play being the key, of course).
That alone might be enough to get Vaccaro into the Hall as a “contributor.”
It is a loosely defined category that includes everything from NBA owners, NCAA…
