6’6” Michael Jordan’s mother Deloris Jordan hilariously asked him to put ‘salt in his shoes’ to grow taller

6’6” Michael Jordan’s mother Deloris Jordan hilariously asked him to put ‘salt in his shoes’ to grow taller

Michael Jordan grew to a ridiculous 6’6″, but before he reached that height, he used to complain to his mother about not being tall enough.

The Bulls legend has accomplished what NBA players dream of doing in his career. Six championships, six Finals MVP’s, five NBA MVP’s, an obvious Hall of Fame induction, and much more has cemented Jordan’s legacy as the greatest NBA player of all time.

So, why was his career so confusing? Well, he retired thrice in his career, to give you some context. If that sounds weird to you, that’s because it is. His first retirement was by far the most surprising as it came only nine years into his career, and he had just started to win at the highest level, coming off of his first threepeat.

Also Read: Michael Jordan, who has $2.2 billion fortune, responded furiously to accusations of not giving back to society

Michael Jordan got some wise advice from his mother on how to grow up

Being tall is very important in the NBA, more than other sports. Of course, there have been great players in history who haven’t been the tallest of the tall, but an average height of 6’6″ tells you everything you need to.

In high school, Jordan wasn’t all that tall. When he was 15, Jordan measured in at 5’10” while his best friend LeRoy  had shot all the way up to 6’4″. LeRoy made the varsity squad while Jordan didn’t

Jordan desperately wanted to be taller. He went up to his mother and complained, “Mom, I really want to be tall.” His mom had some hilarious advice for him.

“Go put salt in your shoes and pray,” she’d say. “He would tell me I was being silly, but I had to pacify him so I could finish dinner. Then his dad would walk in and he’d tell him he wanted to be tall. We’d say, ‘You have it in your heart. The tallness is within you. You can be as tall as you want to be in your thinking.'”

Perhaps because of salt, Jordan would grow five inches between his sophomore and junior years. Several NBA players have had massive growth spurts, and Jordan was one of them.

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Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
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About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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