Lee thinks MJ enhanced his legacy after he retired from the NBA.

They say time heals all in life. Well, it also enhances your legacy in the NBA – both good and bad.

In Michael Jordan’s case, the time that has passed since his retirement has been particularly fruitful, as the legend of the Chicago Bulls shooting guard has ballooned into God-like stature. Jordan’s mythical aura has expanded so much since leaving the game at the end of 2003 that Spike Lee thinks his legacy is bigger now than when he was playing in the league.

Spike sat down for an interview with Complex and paid Jordan the ultimate compliment over twenty years later.

“I would say, Michael hasn’t played in two decades, and he’s bigger now than when he was playing. That’s how much of an influence he’s had on this great game of basketball,” he said.

Lee is forever indebted to Jordan

Spike’s comments are rooted in deep respect and admiration for MJ, not just because of his excellence on the court but because of the personal opportunity he granted him that helped Lee’s career take off as a film director.

Little do people know, but Jordan helped to take Spike’s filmmaking to new heights, and the legendary director behind the camera has never forgotten Jordan’s gesture.

I’ve said this before: I’m blessed. It’s a blessing. It was up to Michael; he was asked by Wieden+Kennedy Nike’s advertising agency Bill Davenport, Jim Riswold, who saw ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ and my character Mars Blackmore wore Jordans. It was their idea; we want you as the director for this Jordan short film. They said, ‘We’ll see if Michael wants you as the director.’ I’ve never done a short film before, he could have got any big-time director, and he picked me. It’s a blessing, and the rest is history,” he added.

MJ played in the right era

Whether you agree with Spike’s comments on Jordan being bigger now than he was when he was playing is subjective. Still, it’s hard to argue that he greatly benefited from the time period he played in, given that there was less overall media coverage and social media didn’t exist.

As a result, Mike’s career has somehow been retold in an unblemished way to the younger generations, which has cemented his legacy as untouchable in NBA folklore. This has, in turn, created a narrative that MJ was undeniably perfect, seemingly never missing a shot, losing a game, or falling short in the playoffs.

Yes, he was 6-0 in the Finals, but Jordan played 15 seasons, meaning he came up short in nine other campaigns that are never talked about.

There’s no doubt that if MJ played in the modern era, the sentiment towards his career would look vastly different than it does now, as everything would be documented forever online and reported in real-time across the world.

Fortunately for the Bulls legend, he managed to avoid all of this, and perhaps Spike is right that it’s culminated in his legacy growing sizably more since calling it a day two decades ago.