Michael Jordan famously considers himself the greatest to ever play. The fans and the league support this claim. However, there is just one name that humbles the legend.

Jordan entered the league with a legendary competitive drive that defined his career. It all began for Jordan in his household. While MJ was entering his prime in the 1987-88 season, he revealed one person he thought was better than him. It was his older brother, Larry Jordan. 

"When you say Air Jordan, I'm No. 2, he's 1,” MJ said in a rare interview in the July 1996 issue of SLAM Magazine.

Larry had an insane vertical of 44 inches, per Sports Bible. Despite being under six feet, Jordan’s brother was able to throw down big dunks. Larry and Michael attended Emsley A. Laney High School, and one of them made the varsity team in 1978. It wasn’t MJ.

Unfortunately, Larry’s height didn’t increase beyond 5-foot-8-inch. 

"He has always been a good player, but he just didn't grow enough," Jordan said about his sibling.

According to Clifton 'Pop' Herring, a coach who knew both MJ and his brother, had Larry grown up to at least 6-foot-2-inch, the name 'Jordan' would have had a different identity among fans.

Larry played college basketball at UNC-Wilmington. Three years after the Chicago Bulls selected Jordan at No. 3 overall, the World Basketball League, now defunct, drafted Larry. He played for the Chicago Express.

Michael Jordan Reveals How His Brother Made Him a Better Basketball Player

Larry is just months older than Michael. He was taller than the Bulls legend as a child, and two brothers played highly competitive games while they grew up.

In 1996, in an interview with SLAM, Jordan revealed that playing against his brother had done wonders for him in his NBA career.

"Man, my older brother Larry used to kill me!” he told Scoop Jackson.

“He was older and bigger than me. He would beat me, talk to me, and not let me forget about it. What that did for me was make me work that much harder to beat him."

Jordan credited his competitive household and disciplined upbringing for his eventual NBA dominance. And Larry Jordan played a huge part in this development.

"I look at my games with him as a great experience when I was young because I developed my love for the game, and it made me work harder to get better," the six-time NBA champion added.

The brotherly love has remained between them. In 2011, after Jordan bought the Charlotte Hornets, he hired his brother and later promoted him to team director of player personnel and vice president of player personnel.

Do you believe Larry would have been the NBA GOAT if he were over six feet? Let us know in the comments.

Read more at the Air Jordan Chronicles!

Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Surjo Ray