Michael Jordan Parents: All You Need to know about them
Michael Jordan, also known by his initials MJ, is a former professional basketball player. He is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls. His biography on the official NBA website states: “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.” In his 15 seasons old basketball career, Jordan played for Chicago and Washington Wizards. He holds so many basketball records in the NBA which are still hard to break. Apart from the NBA, he has won two Olympic Gold medals with the USA Basketball team.
If you would have watched ‘The Last Dance’, you must have watched one of the most compelling figures in the docuseries, Deloris Jordan, mother of Michael Jordan. Jordan was born to Deloris and James R. Jordan Sr. in Brooklyn. So who is Jordan’s parents? Let’s find out.
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James R. Jordan Sr. was born in North Carolina on 1st August 1936. While still in school, James met Deloris. The couple began dating and stayed together for three years. After Graduation, James R. Jordan Sr. joined the Air Force and was posted in San Antonio, Texas. In 1956, James transferred his posting to Virginia and married Deloris. The couple’s first child, James Ronald Jordan Jr. was born in the following year. James Ronald Jordan is currently in the US Army. Jordan Sr. left Air Force and found work in a textile mill in Wallace. The couple had two more children, Deloris and Larry. The Jordans moved to Brooklyn in 1963 so that Jordan Sr. could get mechanic’s training on the GI Bill. Jordan Sr. studied airplane hydraulics there. Michael Jordan was born here in Brooklyn.
The drug and mafia culture were at its peak in Brooklyn during those times and it wasn’t safe for the Jordans to raise their family there. So, after working just 1.5 years in Brooklyn, the couple moved to North Carolina. Michael was just a toddler back then. Jordan Sr. and Deloris would raise five children – James Jr., Larry, Delores, Michael, and Roslyn.
Jordan Sr. was a huge basketball fan and he used to travel the country to follow Michael’s basketball career. He was also a semi-pro baseball player and loved the game as well. This was one of the prime reasons why Michael left the NBA to play baseball professionally.
In 1993, while coming back home, Jordan Sr. pulled over the car to take a nap. He was shot to death in his car while sleeping by Green and Demery, who also stole the vehicle. He now rests in peace at Rockfish AME Church Cemetry.
Deloris Jordan, formerly Deloris Peoples, was born in September 1941 in North Carolina. She also attended the Charity High School, where she met Jordan Sr. She followed Jordan Sr. during his work. In 1989, she and her son, Michael co-founded the Michael Jordan Foundation to give back to the community. Two years after the death of her husband, Deloris moved to Chicago, where his son was playing. She also founded James R. Jordan Foundation to provide academic support to underprivileged children. In addition to her social work through the foundations, she is also a New York Times Bestselling author. She has written several books. She currently lives in Chicago.
