“He Ain’t Play Against Michael Jordan Yet”: When Bulls Legend Was Offended By ‘Player of the Year’ Snub

Michael Jordan is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest players of all time. With a storied career behind him, His Airness has done it all and has the resume to show for it. Winning six NBA Championships, six Finals MVPs, five regular season MVPs, and a Defensive Player of the Year award was no easy feat.

However, there was a time when MJ wasn’t as recognized as he was during his playing days. Back when he was in high school, while talented, Jordan was outshone by Buzz Peterson, the then 1981 High School Player of the Year. Well, safe to say Michael wasn’t happy.

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Michael Jordan was not happy about losing the High School Player of the Year award back in 1981

To many people, Michael Jordan is the GOAT of basketball. But, back in his high school days, close to no one thought that a kid from Wilmington, North Carolina would amount to anything.

As a result, in his senior year of high school, as he was preparing to enter the University of North Carolina, MJ lost out on an award. He lost out on the High School Player of the Year to his future roommate, Buzz Peterson. Safe to say, His Airness was not pleased.

Additionally, Jordan was not named as a starter in his freshman year of college. This further angered him. And, to fuel his motivation, Michael focused on surpassing his new roommate.

“I heard about this kid from Asheville, North Carolina who’s the Player of the Year. I’m thinking, “Well, he ain’t never played against me yet! So how did he become Player of the Year? Is that some type of media exposure?”. You know I came from Wilmington…you know…we had two channels, Channel ABC and Channel 7. And, when I got the chance to meet Buzz Peterson…on the basketball court. It was just my competitive nature…I didn’t think he could beat me or he was better than me as a basketball player and he became my roommate. He became a focal point…not knowingly..he didn’t know it!”

Safe to say, meeting Buzz proved to be a blessing in disguise for Jordan. He went on to have a Hall of Fame career thereafter. Although, Peterson did do well for himself as well.

MJ’s motivation, Buzz Peterson, is now the assistant general manager of the Charlotte Hornets

He may not have had a professional basketball career like Michael Jordan, but Buzz Peterson has had quite the career himself. After his days as Jordan’s roommate in North Carolina, Buzz went on to become a coach, with a career spanning from 1987 to 2014. Now, he serves as the assistant general manager of the Charlotte Hornets, where his former roommate is his boss.

Given his personality, it’s hard to say whether MJ hired him as a friend or just to stick it to him. But, it’s safe to say Peterson isn’t complaining.

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