Elder Brother Larry, who Had “Real” Basketball Talent, Made Michael Jordan Extremely Competitive: “If I Lost, I Had to Keep Playing Until I Won”

Micahel Jordan lived in a loving household. Every story from Michael’s childhood indicates he learned everything there was to life from his family. Michael’s family was just like anyone else’s. While there was love and care, there was also strictness. Where there was support, there were also insults. But one thing which was in abundance was competitiveness. Starting from his father James, then eldest brother Ronnie who joined the army, elder brother Larry and finally Michael Jordan who is most probably the most competitive athlete ever.

Father James Jordan always claimed that his son Larry had the real basketball talent in the family. The Jordan family was convinced that if Michael would go play a sport professionally it would be baseball. But Michael had his mind set on a legacy in basketball. However, it all started with being competitive from a young age. And that competitiveness came from his duels with elder brother 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 recalled. “If I lost, I had to keep playing until I won. That’s why, more often than not, it would end in a fight.”

Also read: Rare Moment of Michael Jordan Being Nervous After Coming Out of Retirement Was Only Noticed By Brother Larry

Michael and Larry often used to invent games in their vast backyard. It was about five acres and 13 acres beyond that owned by their mother and uncle. It was not about a single sport, it was rather about winning. No matter what they played, the two brothers used to get hell bent on winning.

Michael Jordan and his brothers’ love for sports

Larry was 11 months older than Michael. His height could only reach till 5’8”. Whereas luckily for Michael he grew 5 inches between his sophomore and junior years. Until then Larry had a competitive advantage in almost every sport. However, this never meant young Michael gave up easily. He would compete in whichever sport was in season. He played quarterback and wide receiver in Pop Warner. This was through his freshman year of high school. 

They also had a cousin who shared Michael’s tall genes. When he lived with the Jordan family briefly, he worked on basketball with the younger boys. This was when Larry and Michael would also join him and get a real knack for the game of basketball.

Despite all that, their first love was still baseball. While Larry was more about subtlety and aimed for baseruns. On the other hand, Michael often used to aim for home runs. He always had the glamorous, star side to his persona. At 12, MJ even got an MVP award for representing his college team in a state tournament baseball. Moreover, basketball started becoming a regular sport they used to battle in. Larry won most of the duels until Michael outgrew him. And once MJ outgrew his brother there was no stopping him. 

WATCH THIS STORY: Michael Jordan’s baseball career.

“We played one year of varsity basketball together when I was a senior and Michael was a junior, and that’s when his play just went to another level,” Larry shared. He also said that even though there were five guys on the floor, Michael Jordan pretty much played all five positions. It was at that time everyone started to realize that his level of play was just so much higher than all the others. Moreover, not only Larry pretty soon the whole world became a witness to Michael Jordan’s elite basketball.