A case can be made that Michael Jordan is the most competitive athlete in sports history. From going after Clyde Drexler in the ’92 Finals after pundits compared the Portland Trail Blazers star to him to embarrassing LaBradford Smith by scoring 36 points against the Washington Bullets guard and finishing with 47 after Smith dropped 37 on him the night before, there wasn’t anything Jordan wouldn’t do to get himself to the place where he could beat his opponent.

The Chicago Bulls legend wasn’t just competitive in NBA games, though. In fact, Jordan once destroyed one of his sons in a one-on-one game so badly that the kid called his mom and ratted out his dad.

Michael Jordan’s two sons played college basketball

Jordan had three kids from his first marriage, two sons and one daughter. Jeff and Marcus Jordan starred in high school and played college basketball.

Jeff played 107 games at Illinois and UCF. He only averaged 1.6 points. Meanwhile, Marcus appeared in 94 games at UCF. He was much more productive than his brother, as he averaged 12.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.

Being the son of Jordan comes with a lot of pressure. Trying to live up to his legacy is nearly impossible since he established himself as arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.

Jordan, though, did a good job of not pressuring his sons to stay with basketball after their college careers ended. However, while Jeff and Marcus grew up, they played several one-on-one games with their father, who didn’t take it easy on his sons.

Michael Jordan made Marcus call Juanita Vanoy

Jordan’s first wife was named Juanita Vanoy. They got married in 1989 but divorced in 2006. The two remain in contact, though, since they had three kids together.

When Marcus was in high school, he and his brother played their dad in countless one-on-one games. The Jordan games once got so competitive that Marcus called his mom and said his dad was picking on him.

“He would treat us exactly the same way as any other basketball player he was playing,” Marcus told TODAY’s Craig Melvin in 2020. “There’s actually a story that I have from when Jeff and I were younger. We were playing one-on-one-on-one against my dad and whoever scores gets to keep it. Well, the game got so competitive to the point of like I literally had to go call my mom because I was like, ‘Dad’s picking on me.’ It just goes to show you that we’re all so competitive. We all wanna win.”

Jordan didn’t care who was in front of him on the basketball court. Whether it was an NBA superstar or his kids, he was always in attack mode.

MJ’s desire to be the best helped him become the GOAT

Jordan led the Bulls to six championships in the ’90s. He not only had the best basketball skills, but his mental sharpness and desire to be great helped him gain advantages over his opponents.

Because of Jordan, guys like Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Shawn Kemp never won championships. The Bulls icon, whether he admits it or not, takes pride in preventing all-time greats from winning titles under his watch.