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“You’re Pretty Fresh,”: Michael Jordan’s Parents Deloris and James Jordan Had a Storybook Meet Cute

Jeet Pukhrambam
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"You're Pretty Fresh,": Michael Jordan's Parents Deloris and James Jordan Had a Storybook Meet Cute

It is not often that you hear about meet cutes, not in real-life at least. And not in the least about a superstar’s parents. Michael Jordan‘s parents met in the most fairytale manner you could think of. We’re not kidding. 

So, here is the story of Michael Jordan’s parents meeting for the first time and quite literally, flirting without a care in the world. Wholesome.

Back in the 1950s James Jordan, a young basketball player had just finished his high-school game in Wallace, North Carolina. An unassuming James had a very pretty passenger in the backseat of his car, something that he didn’t realize. 

A young Deloris Peoples, had gone to the same basketball game with her cousin and hitched a ride back to her house in James’ car. James drove past her house and hadn’t even realized it. 

Oh, I didn’t realize I had somebody else in here, You’re pretty cute.”, James told her.

“You’re pretty fresh”: Deloris Jordan’s reply to James Jordan practically Kickstarted their love life. 

What a wholesome way to meet. Young Deloris, almost likely smitten by James and his athletic prowess replied, “You’re pretty fresh,”.

James too was quite taken by her. He simply said, “Could be. But someday I’ll marry you,”. Not holding back on his words. Jordan knew he would marry her, from day 1. That is spectacularly bold.

And this happened when Deloris was only 15. Barely even a teenager but she was already betrothed to James. In his mind that is. Well, what do you know, they would later get married and have a set of children.

Michael Jordan would be one of them. One of the NBA’s greatest and one of the best athletes ever.

The influence Michael Jordan’s parents had on him

James and Deloris instilled in Michael the values of hard work, perseverance, and determination. Michael was close to his father, who often pushed him to become a better athlete.

Tragically, James Jordan was murdered in 1993, which was a devastating loss for Michael. However, his mother remains a constant source of support in his life and Michael has often credited her with being his biggest fan. This story was taken from Sports Illustrated.

About the author

Jeet Pukhrambam

Jeet Pukhrambam

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Jeet Pukhrambam is The SportsRush's Lead Editor for Basketball. After freelancing for five years as an independent writer, Jeet created thousands of blog posts and articles. He now covers intriguing news reports and throwback stories on all things NBA. His interest in NBA started with the ascendancy of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2016-17 season. Since then, Jeet has managed to coalesce his knowledge of the game and his writing to create pieces that are reflective of the current state of the league. Now, he ensures that The SportsRush produces the highest quality of writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, cooking, traveling, and dancing to techno. Jeet takes pride in his critical thinking, music playlists, and his love for spaghetti.

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