The Intriguing Story Behind Michael Jordan’s Jersey Number

Number 23 is one of the most commonly used numbers for jerseys, not just in the NBA but all of the sports, and it is all due to one person, Michael Jordan. Like many other things, Jordan started with this jersey number right from the start of his NBA career, and eventually, other players followed. The 6 time NBA champion rocked this number for the duration of his career with the Chicago Bulls. 

Now Jordan had also worn no. 45, but that is due to some other significance. And no, I’m not talking about his Washington Wizard days. But today, we will have a look at why Michael Jordan chose to wear number 23 at the back of his jersey.

Jordan has worn the number 23 from an early age of high school. He had the same number when he played at Laney High School. However, Jordan’s elder brother Larry was also on the same team with 45 as his jersey number.

Now upto this point, Jordan and his brother Larry both always wore the number 45 but there eventually came a time in Jordan’s life where he had to bow down. And who would’ve thought this would’ve been the best decision he had ever made. Jordan halved the number, which came to 22.5 but rounded it off to 23. Jordan believed that doing so gave him magical powers, and I don’t know about that, but what he did from there on out was truly magical.

Jordan continued to wear the same number in his days with the University of North Carolina and eventually onto the NBA. He was drafted 3rd overall by the Chicago Bulls and then just went on to create history. 

Jordan eventually made the switch to number 45 in his career for a brief stint. Jordan retired from the NBA in 1993 and went onto play baseball. The bulls retired his jersey in 1994, but Jordan eventually made his way back in 1995. He chose to wear his older brother Larry’s jersey number, no. 45. However, Jordan felt that no. 45 didn’t quite feel like no. 23 and made his way back to number 23 to silence the opposing crowds and critics across the country.

Jordan even wore a no. 12 jerseys in one Bulls home game when his original jersey had gone missing from the locker room.