2 A FAMILY AFFAIR A FAMILY AFFAIR James and Deloris had five children in all Ronnie Deloris Larry Michael and Roslyn The Jordans were a close family and Michael credits much of his competitive spirit to playing countless games against his brothers particularly Larry We had this barbecue pit that we’d use as the backstop and we’d play baseball with a tennis ball and we had numerous battles Larry told ESPN If I lost I had to keep playing until I won That’s why more often than not it would end in a fight I don’t think from a competitive standpoint I would be here without the confrontations with my brother Michael said in The Last Dance documentary When you come to blows with someone you absolutely love that’s igniting every fire within you And I always felt I was fighting Larry for my father’s attention Of all the Jordans no one was closer than Michael and his father The two were often inseparable during MJ’s career with the Chicago Bulls My heroes were and are my parents I can’t see myself having anyone else as my heroes Michael once said 7
3 MICHAEL JORDAN MICHAEL JORDAN GOT CUT GOT CUT OR DID HE OR DID HE One of the most famous and often-repeated stories from Michael’s younger days was that he was cut from the Laney High School basketball team Michael himself has repeated the tale admitting that he went home and cried when he heard the news The story is seen as an early example of his ability to turn someone doubting him into the motivation that fueled his greatness But did it really happen Was Michael Jordan not good enough to make his high school basketball team The truth is not exactly Michael wasn’t actually cut from the team as a sophomore he was placed on the JV squad rather than the varsity team As the coach Clifton Pop Herring explained to Sports Illustrated it was rare for a sophomore to make the varsity roster and the only one who did was 6-foot-7 much taller than the 5-foot-11 Michael Michael joined the varsity for his junior and senior years and was an instant star averaging 27 points 12 rebounds and six assists per game in his final season Sometimes good things come to those who wait 8
