Is Jordan Chiles Named After Michael Jordan? Bursting the Burning Myth

The women’s gymnastics roster at the 2024 Core Hydration Classic is expected to be one of the most extensive ever put together. Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles is one of the 13 international stage medalists set to perform at the 2024 Core Hydration Classic in Hartford, on May 19. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the 23-year-old emerged as one of the team’s mainstays for Team USA climbing the podium at Worlds and Pan American stages.

Jordan Chiles has become the face of African American brilliance. Leaving many curious as to whether her name is as authentic as her gymnastics expertise or whether it was influenced by six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan.

What is Jordan Chiles’s name mystery?

Jordan Chiles has been able to “find that motivation” and “keep grinding” in gymnastics since she was named after one of the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Jordan. Kudos to Jordan’s mother, Gina Chiles, a die-hard Michael Jordan fan. Her father, however, was opposed to having their child named after the legendary basketball player.

Nevertheless, Chiles’ father gave up after Gina’s hard six-year process to become a mother to another child. After the Bulls’ second three-peat ended in 1998 and just before Michael joined the Washington Wizards, Chiles was born. On April 15, 2001, Gina happily named her baby daughter Jordan Lucella Elizabeth Chiles, after the world-global cultural figure.

After steering the American team to victory in the 2022 World Championships, Chiles played an essential role in the 2023 Pan American gold medal team. Additionally, as the UCLA Bruins gymnast, she scored a perfect 10 on the bars and a score of 9.9875 on the floor to win the bar and floor titles at the 2023 NCAA Championship.

After the end of college, Jordan openly expressed her desire to meet the famed No. 23 player while she began training for the 2024 season. She manifested, “I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll actually be able to meet him and just get his advice for being somebody that looks up to him, what he gives out.” But does her fandom go beyond sharing Michael Jordan’s name?

Jordans: An expensive affair

During Michael Jordan’s 1985 rookie season, the first pair of Jordans were made available. “Sneakers were huge for me,” Jordan’s mother Gina recalled in an interview talking about the time of Jordan’s birth. Hence, Gina dressed up little Jordan in baby-sized sneakers. The gymnast was bound to be a devoted sneakerhead.

Gina was raised in a generation that pioneered the sneaker culture. Jordan, however, believes her generation embraced sneakers a little late, and her light blue Jordans are her favorites. As a gesture of gratitude for all that her mother had done for her, Jordan took Gina to a Los Angeles store and asked her to pick any pair she wanted.

The treat felt like life had come full circle for the 23-year-old Jordan. She has collected about 200 pairs; some are at UCLA with her, and some are at home with Gina, as reported by collegegymnews. Like any hardcore sneakerhead, for Jordan, sneaker collecting is a competitive pastime that requires timing purchases and waiting for the next big drops.