“Everybody Expected Me To Work At A Gas Station”: Michael Jordan Once Opened Up About His Hometown’s Egregiously Low Expectations

Michael Jordan revealed how his hometown folk in North Carolina expected him to ride the bench and work at a gas station after college 

The empire and legacy that Michael Jordan has built in the past 40+ years through basketball is by far one of the greatest the sporting world has ever seen. Worth anywhere between $1.7 billion and $2.2 billion, ‘His Airness’ earned his way into the uppermost echelon of NBA legends, an echelon that only he resides in. 

Taking back to his days in Laney High School in North Carolina, Jordan wasn’t exactly a highly touted recruit. Due to him being below 6 feet tall and the team needing height, MJ didn’t make Varisty his sophomore. 

However, after proving himself in JV, he would eventually make the team and be their leading scorer in his senior season. Soon enough, colleges like Duke and UNC came knocking at the door to try to recruit him. Despite this, a few of his hometown folk didn’t believe in him.

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Michael Jordan on how people in Wilmington believed he would fail at being a professional basketball player and would end up at a gas station 

Growing up in Wilmington, Michael Jordan expected people in the town to have his back no matter what. After being recruited by Dean Smith and Roy Williams to UNC at Chapel Hill, things were looking bright for the 6’6 guard. 

However, according to Jordan during an interview with GQ, residents of the Wilmington area didn’t believe in him. “Everybody in Wilmington expected me to go to North Carolina, sit on the bench for 4 years, then go back to Wilmington and work at the local gas station,” said MJ. 

Jordan most certainly did not ride the bench when he was at the University of North Carolina, proving his doubters wrong in his freshman year alone. One of the greatest moments in NCAA history was when he hit a baseline jumper in the waning seconds of the Championship game against Georgetown in 1982. 

Instead of ‘working at the local station’, Jordan would be drafted 3rd overall to the Chicago Bulls in 1984. 

What were Jordan’s stats in college? 

Michael Jordan had his best year in college in his sophomore season when he averaged 20 points and 2.2 steals a game, leading the way for the Tar Heels. 

He would put up a solid 19.6 points per game in his senior season on 55.1% field goal percentage, a great step up from his freshman stats of 13.5 points on 53.4% shooting from the field.

Also read: “Michael Jordan Would Get Punched If he Was Disrespectful”: When 43-year-old Robert Parish Thought of Setting the Bulls Legend Straight