Michael Jordan has always credited his parents without a second thought for his enormous success in the NBA. His parents, Deloris Jordan and James Jordan have always been his best supporters and parented him and his siblings well. After the horrific death of James, Michael found himself in the deepest sorrow.
It was the toughest battle for him to speak about his father without getting emotional. There have been numerous instances where fans got to witness their undeniable love. Notably, after his death Michael changed his jersey number from 21 to 45. The absence of James in the court was not only felt by His Airness but also by everyone present.
(1986) Young Michael Jordan at home with his parents, James and Deloris.#TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/Z87HSOTBWT
— Timeless Sports (@timelesssports_) May 11, 2020
In the famous documentary, ‘The Last Dance‘, Michael spoke about his father in numerous episodes. He candidly spoke about his father and said, “He’s a voice of reason that always drove and challenged me. That’s the type of father I had”. Furthermore, the director Jason Hehir asked Michael if he meant like a friend.
To which Michael responded, “Yeah, like a friend”. Everyone could see how Michael was just a blink away from crying out. Undoubtedly, just the mere mention of the name of his father is enough to make the legend cry. This speaks volumes about the kind of relationship that the two shared.
Michael Jordan and his father James Jordan shared a friend-like relationship
Michael Jordan was only 30 years old when he lost his father, James. There is a long list of moments wherein Michael missed his father’s presence dearly. The list continues to get longer as life proceeds. MJ has also emphasized how his father is never going to watch his kids’ grow.
At the time of James’ death, Jasmine was a year old, Marcus was 3 years old, whereas Marcus was 5 years old. The Jordan family had a difficult time dealing with the death of James. All of them were devasted, to say the least, and it is undeniable that Deloris became the backbone of the family.
She stood tall in the face of adversity and provided everyone with the warmth to accept and live their life again. Even though Michael has processed this huge loss, he is only a human behind the legendary figure. From time to time, he has been witnessed crying while speaking about his dad. Furthermore, he also shed light on how his father’s advice got him on a straight path.MJ spoke about one of the high school incidents where he got into trouble. His father, James noticed the pattern and warned him that he was not headed toward the right path. This advice to either straighten his path or forget sports acted like a wake-up call for His Airness. Michael and his father are one of the most iconic father-son duo in the history.
