Yeah all of that definitely came into play. I also think dude was a trailblazer when it came to flashiness and dribbling style.
Even culturally I think AI is the reason why basketball got fused into entertainment with players popping up in music videos and not just to take some eye candy role for a female artist either. It was almost like they wanted to be like AI vs basketball players wanting to be like an artist. Dude made the "cool kids" care more about basketball than any other player in history. It's probably because at his frame it made cats believe they could start dunking all over the place and the fact that dude's individuality made him seem rebellious and intriguing to cats from the outside. Even to today you can't tell that guy how to dress/how to look. AI was an craftsman playing basketball, not simply a craftsman at basketball.
Interest in sports imo has fallen off somewhat to the youngsters today, but I think a major part of that is there has been no player like AI to make that leap. Somebody that is so unique that it nearly pulls you in to watch. Right now you have bigger points guards being what it takes to win, but that makes it unrelatable to most cats. You gotta understand, the average person didn't/doesn't even know what a "crossover" is/was. AI made that a household term, even if cats don't what it is, the fact that the term is that famous is because of AI.
That's why when cats shame AI by talking about him playing "hero ball" and talk about winning, they're missing the bigger picture imo. Something that transcended sports.