Chapter 2: Love and basketball

THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN INDEX

Last chapter: The wonder years

Brotherhood rivalry

When it came to basketball, older brother Larry was the more talented one of the family and Michael’s biggest opponent. Larry, being taller and stronger, would beat the smaller Michael in all their 1-on-1 games, frustrating Michael to no end. But the losing only sparked Michael incredible competitiveness, and prompted Michael to work extra hard to beat Larry.

The JV player

When Michael was 15, he grew to 5’10″, 2 inches taller than Larry. After the hard work he put in, he was now able to defeat Larry. He also joined the JV team at Laney high school. Larry was still a big influence on Michael’s at that point. Larry wore number 45 for the Laney high school Buccaneers, and since Michael wanted Larry’s number but couldn’t have it, he divided the number by 2, rounded up, and got his number 23.

I want to be tall

Contrary to popular belief, Michael was never cut from his high school team. That was a piece of fiction meant to make a good story, similar to the PEZ story about Ebay. Michael was already a member of the JV team when the varsity team needed more players for the upcoming playoffs. Michael tried out along with his best friend Leroy Smith. Michael felt confident that he would be chosen.

Although Michael was very skilled, the varsity team was looking for size and maturity and selected Leroy (6’4″) over Jordan (5’10″). Michael was shocked.  It was a major disappointment and a turning point in Michael’s career. He vowed to never let such a thing happen again and completely committed himself to becoming the best basketball player he can be.

Michael and Leroy

After the disappointment at the tryouts, Michael pleaded with his parents to be tall. His parents saw how desperately Michael wanted to be tall and told him to be tall in his thinking, and that the tallness was inside him. Luckily for Michael, he didn’t need to rely on just thinking. He grew 5 inches between his sophomore and junior year, becoming the only one over 6 feet in his family, and started the next season standing tall at 6’2″. As Michael outgrew Larry, Michael began to dominate Larry in their 1-on-1 basketball games. And those skills honed on the practice courts quickly translated into great performances for the varsity team.

Here is a video about Michael playing at Laney high school and his path to the University of North Carolina. The video is well researched and has great information on Jordan’s high school career.

Next chapter: First ever TV appearance

THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN INDEX

Chapter 1: The wonder years

THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN INDEX

New York City is one of the top basketball cities in the world, and the birthplace of many legendary NBA players. Many of these players grew up on the blacktop basketball courts around the city, where they honed their skills during the scorching summers and harsh winters. There was much talent to be found in New York, and many players went on to achieve NBA stardom. A few of the most notable names from the list are Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Julius Erving, Pat Riley, Larry Brown, Lenny Wilkens, and Red Holzman. It is interesting to note that Riley, Brown, Wilkens, and Holzman all returned to New York after their playing careers to coach the New York Knicks towards the dream of championship glory.

the famous rucker park

However, a fact that few people seem to know is that the greatest player to have ever played the game of basketball was also born in New York. And the irony is that it was this New Yorker who would repeatedly shatter the Knicks’ championship dreams all throughout the 90′s.

That player was Michael Jordan.

Here is a Air Jordan commercial, and what looks like rare footage of a young Michael in middle school at the very end of the commercial.

MJ as a child

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in Cumberland hospital in the Fort Greene area of Brooklyn on February 17, 1963. Although born healthy, the doctors kept little Michael in the hospital a few days to make sure his lungs were clear of mucus, obviously making sure that he would have the lung capacity to reach the altitude he would later visit on a nightly basis in the NBA.

Michael’s parents had moved to Brooklyn in 1962 with his older brother Larry. His father James Jordan came to New York to get mechanic’s training on the GI bill and studied airplane hydraulics, while his mother Deloris Peoples found work at a local bank. James and Deloris had left their two eldest children with James’s mother in Wallace, N.C. Michael was the fourth child out of five. He has two older brothers James and Larry, an older sister Delores and a younger sister Roslyn.

The drug and gang culture was beginning to take hold in the streets of Brooklyn, making it a less than ideal place to raise a family. So when James finished his traning, he decided to moved the family back down to Wilmington, N.C. while Michael was still a toddler. The family stayed in New York for only 18 months

Family had a very strong influence in Michael’s life. His mom would often get tired of having young Michael underfoot and send him out to help his father and brothers. James enjoyed working on cars and engines, and tried to get Michael involved. However, complex machines and getting his hands dirty was never something Michael never took an interest in. So he returned to his mom, who eventually taught him to cook, sew, and take care of himself. Despite learning those skills, Michael was still a mischievous child. He always tested the boundaries and even got his friends to do his chores for a cut of his allowance money.

Much of Michael’s character came from his disciplinarian mother. One day when he was 12, Michael was suspended from school for fighting. Instead of letting Michael stay home and watch TV all day, Deloris brought Michael with her to work and made him stay in the car all day to read. She kept an eye on him from her window at work. That evening, she brought Michael to a nearby library where he was made to read some more. Michael quickly learned not to get into trouble again after that. Today, Michael jokingly calls his mom’s form of punishment “child abuse”.

The young athlete

Interestingly, Michael’s first love was not basketball, but baseball. At the age of 12 he was named the best player in his league, playing both as pitcher and outfield. He then attended D.C. Virgo Junior High School, where he played baseball, football, and basketball, without committing to any. At one point he even became the quarterback of the Laney high school football team.

Michael’s love of basketball, as we will see next, was actually inspired by his brother Larry.

Next chapter: Love and basketball

THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN INDEX

Chapter 7: 1983 Pan American Games

THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN INDEX

Last chapter: Birth of Air Jordan

The 1983 Pan American games was the first international competition Jordan participated in, a fact that is not widely known. A quick look at the other sites about Jordan, including NBA.com, found no mentions at all about these games.

The games were held from August 15 to August 27, 1983 in Caracas, Venezuela. Jordan competed in these games as a junior at UNC, the year he also won NCAA player of the year honors. The team was coached by Kansas State’s Jack Hartman, and featured future NBA standouts Mark Price, Wayman Tisdale, and Sam Perkins. Jordan finished the competition averaging 17.3 points per game.

Here is the video of the Gold Medal match between the U.S. team and the Brazilian team. The first half of the game is not shown, and both teams begin the second half with the game tied. Based on the commentary Jordan did not have a good first half but his play in the second half guaranteed a victory for the U.S.

Jordan did not have much of a chance to display his athletic ability as much playing against the zone defense of Brazil. But he did show off his creative abilities with the ball. This Gold Medal would be the first of many the Michael helps win for the United States.

Next chapter: 1984 NBA draft

THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN INDEX