It's true. But he was the best player in the league, so people sort of ignored that.
Plus, Jordans weren't necessarily flying off the shelves while he was a player (especially early in his career). I don't have the figures in front of me, so I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that he had a similar rise in sales as LeBron and KD.
I was born in 85, so my age corresponds with each Jordan release. When the 7s came out, I was 7, etc. I don't remember a ton of people walking around in Jordans until around the the 12s. Like I thought if you had Jordans on your parents were wealthy. My parents couldn't afford to get us Jordans. What does everyone else remember? Were these more popular earlier on?