Very few people in the world could make acting goddess Viola Davis feel like a nervous teenage fan. But the man widely considered the GOAT of the NBA is one such eminence.
Davis — one of the few people in American history to acquire EGOT status which means she has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award — was nonetheless shocked when she learned that NBA legend Michael Jordan chose her without her knowledge to play his mother, Deloris Jordan.
MJ is readying another film on himself, titled AIR, where Davis is charged with portraying Air Jordan’s mother’s quiet but commanding stewardship over his young life.
“I’m just hearing about it now,” said Davis as she walked the red carpet with husband and co-star Julius Tennon at the annual festival extravaganza South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. “So yeah, so it blew my mind. I’m glad I didn’t know about it before.”
Tennon, 69, beamed with pride at his wife’s appointment, according to People magazine. “It’s pretty awesome that he wanted her to play his mom.”
Not only is Jordan’s mother in presumably good hands with Davis, but the movie AIR was also created by actors and filmmakers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The longtime partners created Oscar gold through the late Robin Williams in 1997’s Good Will Hunting, which also took home the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Original Screenplay.
In AIR, Affleck will play Nike’s famous founder Phil Knight. Damon will play the man (Sonny Vaccaro) who successfully recruited Jordan to the then-fledging Nike shoe apparel that immediately rocketed into orbit thereafter.
Deloris Jordan has already been immortalized by her son when the six-time champ debuted the Dear Deloris shoe line in 2021 as part of his Jordan Series to pay homage to folks who helped shape him.
