If there’s one thing that Michael Jordan is known for when it comes to his personality, it’s his unrelenting drive to win at all costs. His competitiveness wasn’t restricted to the confines of NBA hardwood however as every aspect of his life saw this willingness to strive for better trinkle down into it.
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Whether he was playing a Game 7 in the Conference Finals in front of 20,000+ fans from the opposing crowd or a friendly game of ping-pong against Christian Laettner, MJ wanted all the glory, so, to say that someone was more driven than him is most certainly not an understatement.
Well, Jordan himself once conceded in this department to none other than his own son. Safe to say that he had all the confidence in the world in Jeffrey Jordan.
Michael Jordan once claimed Jeffrey Jordan was more driven than he was
Jeffrey Jordan is the eldest of 3 children Michael Jordan had with his first wife, Juanita Vanoy. Marcus Jordan is the second oldest who was followed by Michael’s first daughter, Jasmine. Jeffrey paved the way for his younger brother in many ways, with basketball being the foremost in their youth.
Having showcased promising levels of talent at the high school level, Jeffrey was granted scholarships from the likes of Valparaiso and Loyola University Chicago. He was also recruited by Penn State and Northwestern but would ultimately decide to attend the University of Illinois.
During an interview with his father, Jeffrey was asked about his drive and competitiveness. In response, Jeff said, “I didn’t want to play at a smaller school. I didn’t want to play at a lower division. Yeah [I am as driven as Michael Jordan was] but I don’t show it.” MJ would then but in and say with a smile, “Probably more.”
Jeffrey Jordan nor his brother made it past the collegiate level
Jeffrey Jordan never averaged more than 3 points per game during his 4-year stint at the collegiate level. He would transfer from the University of Illinois to UCF in his senior year and average 2.7 points per game in 21 minutes of play, the highest of his career.
Marcus Jordan was statistically the better player between the two as he would have his best season be his sophomore year where he averaged 15.2 points on 40% shooting from the field at UCF. Unfortunately, neither of the Jordan could make it to the NBA.
