Michael Jordan is the pinnacle of success and the epitome of greatness. All the generations look up to ‘His Airness’. Not only for young basketball players, but for every athlete MJ’s attitude, commitment, competitiveness and utmost self belief is something to feed off and learn.
Michael Jordan’s arrogance was something that made him the player he was and the personality he is. Jordan was someone who was always confident on the court. But there was a time when Michael was nervous. And only one person could identify the nerves getting the better of him, his brother Larry Jordan.
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“A lot of people don’t know this,” Larry said with a laugh, “but in that first game back against Indiana, I’m watching, and all of a sudden I realized he had his shorts on backwards. I never asked him about that. I keep forgetting. But I remember I was watching the game at a sports bar with one of my friends and I started laughing and said, ‘My brother has his shorts on backwards.’ I’m sure he was probably nervous being away from the game for almost two years. And I’m sure no one else noticed. But I did.”
WATCH THIS STORY: Michael Jordan’s baseball career.
Now, not many of us would have noticed this either. But obviously, who would know Michael Jordan better than his own brother? This was a rare moment where Jordan had shown any sort of nervousness on court, let alone mismatching his shorts before stepping on the court.
Elder brother Larry’s impact on Michael Jordan
Larry Jordan was considered to be the Michael Jordan before Michael. The Jordan family was more or less convinced that Larry had basketball talent and Michael was destined to be a great in baseball. But as things turned out, Michael learned a lot from his elder brother, as Larry was just as competitive. We can even say that Michael’s utterly competitive side might have been a product of basketball duels with Larry.
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Rare footage of Michael Jordan and his brother Larry Jordan. pic.twitter.com/dQ7jSsmWEf
— Real Talk 🏀 (@Real7Talk) July 27, 2022
So when Larry came out and revealed that Michael was nervous coming back into the NBA after almost two years of absence, he was taken seriously by almost everyone. MJ spent a professional season playing baseball in MLB. And when he came back to the NBA, he won another three championships.
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We often recognize people as ‘Michael Jordan of something’ if they are extraordinarily good at something. And that is testament to the impact of MJ on the sporting world.