Michael Jordan Once Explained Why Playing For Tar Heels Was More Pleasurable Than Suiting Up For Bulls

Michael Jordan’s basketball legacy will forever be linked to one NBA team, the Chicago Bulls. MJ joined the Chi-Town squad in 1984 and immediately made a massive impact on the team. Six years later, he led the Bulls to their first championship, and followed that up by winning two more in the following two seasons. Jordan did retire briefly to pursue baseball, but his grand return in 1995 kick-started the Bulls’ second three-peat.

By 1998, MJ had brought six championships to the Windy City. He was named the league’s MVP five times and earned 14 All-Star appearances. Not only did he achieve everything there was to in the NBA, but he also helped the game grow internationally due to his star power. His presence on the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team” kickstarted a whole new era of basketball worship. Jordan is the NBA’s biggest draw of all time — and it all traces back to his time as a Bull.

Funnily enough, there was one team Jordan himself said he enjoyed playing for more than Chicago: The Tar Heels. The NBA legend made his bones in the basketball world playing at North Carolina, and he remembers those days vividly. Back in 2005, he told  Marvin R. Shanken during an interview with Cigar Aficionado that he got more pleasure playing in college than in the NBA.

“I would say it was for the Tar Heels,” admitted His Airness. “No one knew me until then. That’s when the notoriety and everything began with Michael Jordan. By the time I got to Chicago, I was drafted three, so everybody knew I was at least decent.” While Jordan’s NBA resume is an all-timer, his college accomplishments cannot be overlooked.

Jordan led the Tar Heels to the National Championship game in 1982, where he famously made the game-winning basket against Georgetown, led by eventual Knicks legend Patrick Ewing. In his final season at North Carolina (1984), he was named Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year. One year later, he would join the Bulls, and the legend would be cemented forever.

For 15 seasons in the NBA, Jordan earned his GOAT status. But North Carolina was his breakout as a baller. There’s a reason that he wore his UNC shorts under his uniform in Space Jam. 

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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