“UCLA was my first choice, not North Carolina”: Michael Jordan admitted to not wanting to be a UNC Tar Heel as a first option with the Bruins being his dream school

Michael Jordan let it be known in an interview that UNC was not his first choice as his dream school was UCLA. 

When thinking about iconic collegiate basketball moments, the shot that turned Mike Jordan into Michael Jordan in 1982 is up there with the best of the best. A mid-range shot off the left baseline to ice the game for the UNC Tar Heels is a defining moment in Jordan’s career across high school, college, and the NBA. 

Not only was it a defining moment for MJ, but it was a defining moment for the University of North Carolina. Despite being a prestigious school, UNC hadn’t claimed an NCAA championship since 1957. Michael Jordan ended that drought in 1982 as a freshman.

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Under Dean Smith, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year, amongst several other accolades. Being a Tar Heel got Jordan both the exposure and the ability to stay close to home as his family had been living in North Carolina since 1968. 

However, none of this could’ve happened if Jordan had followed through on his original dream of becoming a UCLA Bruin. 

Michael Jordan wanted to be a UCLA Bruin. 

During a 1992 interview with Playboy, Michael Jordan revealed that becoming a UNC Tar Heel wasn’t his first option. He had been getting recruiting by Dean Smith and company since he was in the 11th grade, with his HS coach even writing them a letter, but being a Tar Heel wasn’t his first option. 

“I always wanted to go to UCLA. That was my dream school. Because when I was growing up, they were a great team. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, John Wooden; but I never got recruited by UCLA. By the time they wanted to recruit me, they had heard that I was going to stay close to home, which wasn’t necessarily true.” 

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UCLA would eventually end up with freshman like Stuart Gray, Nigel Miguel, and Brad Wright, none of whom would become stars in the NBA.  

Safe to say that becoming a part of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill was beneficial for both Michael Jordan and the school itself.