#12: Michael Jordan in 1984
During the early eighties, Michael Jordan, one of the best basketball players of all time, was still on the brink of his professional career. Photographer Jacobus “Co” Rentmeester took this photo for a story in Life Magazine. Little did he know he was documenting a basketball legend or that this photo would become so iconic.
This is one of the most influential photos ever taken of the basketball legend. What makes this photo so unique is that it inspired the famous Jumpman logo by Nike. This photo started the trend of athletes becoming commercial property for big companies, which has kept growing. Following the success of this photo, Jordan signed a contract with Nike and released the first line of his famous Air Jordan basketball shoes.