When MJ’s Mother Deloris Jordan Taught Michael Jordan How To Shoot and Dunk

Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest player ever to grace the basketball court. From his massive impact on the court where he won six titles, five MVPs, and had a boatload of All-star appearances, to his off the court presence, MJ had it all.

Jordan entered the league at the perfect time. He came in at a time when the NBA was gaining popularity because of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson; these players had become the talk of the town. This resulted in NBA players dominating the small screen in appearances at multiple shows and advertisements.

While Magic and Bird did have their fair share of iconic commercials and appearances on shows, no one came even remotely close to the charisma Jordan brought to the screen.

When Dolores Jordan taught Michael Jordan how to shoot and dunk

Jordan was a superstar in the making, and television played a massive role in this. Be it his Gatorade ‘Be Like Mike’ commercial or the legendary Hare Jordan commercials, MJ certainly left his mark every time he was on screen.

But one of the most iconic moments came in 1988 when MJ’s mother Deloris Jordan appeared alongside Mike. In a Mother’s day special program for ABC’s superstars and their moms, Deloris can be seen teaching MJ how to dunk and shoot the basket. Till today, this remains one of the most iconic MJ appearances on television.

Deloris Jordan reveals MJ’s letters from college

Jordan has always spoken about how important his family was in his journey to becoming one of the best ever in the game. Be it his father who pushed him to pursue basketball, or his elder brother pushing him hard to get better, a young MJ was driven by his family.

So when the 18-year-old moved to North Carolina to play college ball, he understandably missed his family. In an appearance on the Netflix docu-series ‘the Last Dance‘, Deloris Jordan revealed one of MJ’s letters.

She read out a letter from MJ which said, “Dear Mom, How has life been treating you? Fine, I hope. I am doing just fine. I am sending you my account number so that you can deposit some money in my account, I have only $20 left. Tell everyone I said hello and smile. God and I love you. Love, Michael. P.S. Sorry about the phone bill. Please also send me some stamps.”

MJ had a good laugh when he was reminded about this letter. 40 years later, Jordan is now hailed as one of the best ever to play the game of basketball and has become one of the wealthiest players the league has ever seen.

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