Michael Jordan’s brother reveals the moment he realised the 12-year-old was destined for greatness
Michael Jordan’s first love was baseball. The NBA great first exercised his competitive streak with his brother Larry – 11 months his senior. AFP - GettyMJ had a high school growth spurt and never looked back[/caption] “We had this barbecue pit that we’d use as the backstop, and we’d play baseball with a tennis ball, and we had numerous battles,” Larry told ESPN. “If I lost, I had to keep playing until I won. That’s why, more often than not, it would end in a fight.” In basketball, Larry was the dominant brother but baseball was far more competitive. The elder of the two still often came out on top, but admitted that Michael had star quality from a very early age. As a 12-year-old, MJ was MVP as his team made the state championships, earning a trip to the famed Mickey Owens Baseball Camp in Missouri and being named North Carolina’s “Mr. Baseball” by the Dixie Youth Association. “I was the guy who would go for base hits, and Michael would go for home runs,” Larry added. “He always had that little glamour about him. “For his prize, he got to go to Mickey Owens baseball camp. Then, when I was 13 and Michael was 12, our Little League baseball coach got us involved on our first organized basketball team.” Larry was the best athlete in the house until Michael shot up from a 5ft 10in sophomore to a 6ft 3in junior. The competition was over. “I won most of them until he started to outgrow me,” he said. “And then that was the end of that. “We played one year of varsity basketball together when I was a senior and Michael was a junior, and that’s when his play just went to another level. Larry used to dominate his ‘little’ brother Jordan says his sibling pushed him to be great “Even though there were five guys on the floor, he pretty much played all five positions. His level of play was just so much higher than the rest of us. “People ask me all the time if it bothered me, but I can honestly say no, because I had the opportunity to see him grow. I knew how hard he worked.” MJ ended up at the University of North Carolina before entering the NBA as the No.3 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. Larry, who stands at 5ft 9in, became an executive with the Charlotte Hornets. And he has enjoyed the perks of being related to one of the most famous athletes ever. “I’m always known as Michael Jordan‘s brother instead of Larry Jordan,” he told the Chicago Tribune “But there are advantages, too. View Tweet: https://t.co/t1s0VXidaw “I was given a speeding ticket in North Carolina recently. I drive a red 1985 Corvette. “I would’ve lost my license, except the district attorney was a big North Carolina and Michael Jordan fan.” Michael always gives his older sibling props for helping set him on the path to greatness. “Man, my older brother Larry used to kill me!” he told SLAM Magazine. “He was older and bigger than me. He would beat me, talk to me, and not let me forget about it. “What that did for me was make me work that much harder to beat him. He had no idea that I was going to end up taller than him. “I look at my games with him as a great experience when I was young because I developed my love for the game, and it made me work harder to get better.”
Michael Jordan’s first love was baseball.
The NBA great first exercised his competitive streak with his brother Larry – 11 months his senior.
“We had this barbecue pit that we’d use as the backstop, and we’d play baseball with a tennis ball, and we had numerous battles,” Larry told ESPN.
“If I lost, I had to keep playing until I won. That’s why, more often than not, it would end in a fight.”
In basketball, Larry was the dominant brother but baseball was far more competitive.
The elder of the two still often came out on top, but admitted that Michael had star quality from a very early age.
As a 12-year-old, MJ was MVP as his team made the state championships, earning a trip to the famed Mickey Owens Baseball Camp in Missouri and being named North Carolina’s “Mr. Baseball” by the Dixie Youth Association.
“I was the guy who would go for base hits, and Michael would go for home runs,” Larry added. “He always had that little glamour about him.
“For his prize, he got to go to Mickey Owens baseball camp. Then, when I was 13 and Michael was 12, our Little League baseball coach got us involved on our first organized basketball team.”
Larry was the best athlete in the house until Michael shot up from a 5ft 10in sophomore to a 6ft 3in junior. The competition was over.
“I won most of them until he started to outgrow me,” he said. “And then that was the end of that.
“We played one year of varsity basketball together when I was a senior and Michael was a junior, and that’s when his play just went to another level.
“Even though there were five guys on the floor, he pretty much played all five positions. His level of play was just so much higher than the rest of us.
“People ask me all the time if it bothered me, but I can honestly say no, because I had the opportunity to see him grow. I knew how hard he worked.”
MJ ended up at the University of North Carolina before entering the NBA as the No.3 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft.
Larry, who stands at 5ft 9in, became an executive with the Charlotte Hornets.
And he has enjoyed the perks of being related to one of the most famous athletes ever.
“I’m always known as Michael Jordan‘s brother instead of Larry Jordan,” he told the Chicago Tribune “But there are advantages, too.
“I was given a speeding ticket in North Carolina recently. I drive a red 1985 Corvette.
“I would’ve lost my license, except the district attorney was a big North Carolina and Michael Jordan fan.”
Michael always gives his older sibling props for helping set him on the path to greatness.
“Man, my older brother Larry used to kill me!” he told SLAM Magazine. “He was older and bigger than me. He would beat me, talk to me, and not let me forget about it.
“What that did for me was make me work that much harder to beat him. He had no idea that I was going to end up taller than him.
“I look at my games with him as a great experience when I was young because I developed my love for the game, and it made me work harder to get better.”
