In 1984, Nike is a fledging start-up struggling to make an impact in the world of basketball against the likes of Converse and Adidas. With everything on the line, brash executive Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) hatches a daring plan to build an entire line of shoes around just one athlete: an up-and-coming player named Michael Jordan.

Supported by Nike's eccentric billionaire co-founder Phil Knight (Ben Affleck, who also directs), Vaccaro and his unconventional team set out to form a partnership that will revolutionise the world of sports and contemporary culture – but they must first get Jordan and his uncompromising mother (Viola Davis) on board.