Game Changer: Larry Jordan’s moment of glory transcends Michael’s dominance

While we generally think of Michael Jordan as one of the greatest basketball players, there were times when he admitted defeat, especially when he was younger. His older brother, Larry Jordan, holds the title of the top player in the family.

As hard as it may be to imagine, Michael Jordan didn’t always hold the throne as the best basketball player, even within his own family.

The infamous story of Jordan not making the high school varsity team as a sophomore is well known.

In case you didn’t know, his older brother, Larry Jordan, was crowned the team’s most skilled player.

Despite being only 5-foot-8 with a 44-inch vertical, Larry outshone his younger siblings as a junior. Their father, James Jordan, echoed those sentiments.

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Michael always thought his brother was a better player

As a young man, Larry always beat Michael in one-on-one basketball games. Inspired by his older brother, Michael worked hard to copy Larry’s playing style, shots and court moves.

Larry’s slight age advantage further emphasizes his superiority over Michael. However, things quickly changed.

During the summer between his sophomore and junior years, Michael’s height ballooned from 5’9″ to 6’4″.

Thanks to this unexpected burst of growth, he gained an advantage over Larry for the first time. The change allowed the brothers to play together on the Laney High School basketball team, which Michael also joined.

Larry had to admit that Michael not only copied his skills, but took his game to a whole new level.

In less than two years, Michael went from junior varsity player to All-American, averaging 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists per game.

His career path thereafter is well known. However, Michael still considers his brother Larry to be the best player to this day.

Also read: ‘MJ threw that check and said fuck off’: When Michael Jordan turned down $10,000,000 because he felt disrespected