NBA legend Michael Jordan almost quit basketball after not making the varsity team as a sophomore in high school at Emsley A. Laney in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Jordan went home and cried with his mom.
“When I got home and I told my mother I was cut, I was demoralized,” Jordan said in The Last Dance doc. “I didn’t wanna play any more sports. I felt like the coach didn’t like me.”
“He was devastated,” Jordan’s mom said in The Last Dance. “He came home upset, crying. And we both cried because I knew he wanted to really compete with the other guys. My words to him was, ‘If you really want it, you work hard over the summer.’ And he did that summer. He focused. He would practice all day. That basketball never left his hand.”
Jordan was a junior and senior varsity starter at Emsley A. Laney. He was recruited by North Carolina and played his college basketball at Chapel Hill.
Jordan played three years at UNC. He helped the program win the National Championship as a freshman by hitting the game-winning shot in the title game against Georgetown.
In 101 games at UNC, Jordan averaged 17.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
The Chicago Bulls drafted Jordan with the third pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. The rest, as they say, is history.
Jordan had two stints with the Bulls. He averaged 31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.9 blocks and won five MVPs, six championships, six Finals MVPs, three steals titles, 10 scoring titles and one Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Jordan also won the 1985 Rookie of the Year Award.
The Bulls went 6-0 in the NBA Finals and three-peated twice during the Jordan era. Chicago never played in a Game 7 in the NBA Finals with Jordan leading the way.
A Hall of Famer, Jordan finished his pro career with averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks with the Bulls and Washington Wizards. His Airness played two seasons with the Wizards in 2001-02 and 2002-03.
Jordan is first in NBA history in points per game, fourth in steals, fifth in field goals and second in player efficiency rating. He holds the NBA record for most points (63) scored in a playoff game.
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