I know that he was extremely popular/famous and there was a lot of interest in him, but being a famous player doesn’t have to be the same as being a loved player.
For example, in todays game, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are both very famous players in the league who get a lot of attention from media and from Basketball fans, but Curry is a player who seems to be almost universally liked, not many fans have negative feelings about him. Durant on the other hand is as media famous as Curry, but he is less loved, a lot of regular fans have negative feelings about him.
So how was it with Jordan? Yes he was extremely famous. But was he liked/loved by many Basketball fans (apart from Bulls Fans of course)? Or was he just respected? Did many even have negative feelings about him?
As a person that watched Jordan win a National championship in college. As fans we loved and hated Jordan at the same time; because he was better than EVERY player on our hometown teams and he got the best whistle in the history of the NBA when he was already arguably the best offensive and defensive player in the league and the most athletic.
But no matter how you felt about Jordan you appreciated his game, style, talent and skill and RESPECTED and FEARED him as player, competitor and opponent.