But behind the scenes, Knight was watching. Studying. Plotting. Then came his revenge: The signing of Michael Jordan. At the time, Jordan wasn’t even the top draft pick. Adidas turned him down. Reebok didn’t believe in basketball the way Nike did. So Knight bet everything on a 21-year-old rookie — and built the entire Air Jordan brand around him. Within a year, Nike went from underdog to icon. By 1987, Reebok’s growth stalled. By 1990, Nike had taken back the crown. But Knight didn’t stop there.