Many people probably watched Michael Jordan and thought of him as just a basketball player. Maybe they thought of him as the greatest basketball player of all-time, but they might not have ever wondered about who Jordan was as a person. Well, Jordan, just like all of us, has a family and is more than just a basketball player. Not only did he have to worry about leading the Chicago Bulls to championships, but he had to raise his kids while being in the limelight all of the time. Actually, Jordan’s son Marcus Jordan recently dished out the good and the bad of growing up as the son of a huge superstar. 

Michael Jordan was a massive superstar during his playing days

People who don’t even watch sports know who Michael Jordan is. He is the greatest basketball player of all-time. From the time Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984, he was one of the best players and biggest stars on the planet.

Jordan earned an All-Star selection in pretty much every season he played in. The only season he did not earn one (1994-95) was the year that he did not play until toward the end because he took a break to try baseball. By the time Jordan was in his third season, though, he was not just an All-Star. He was the best basketball player on the planet. From 1986-87 through 1992-93, Jordan led the league in points per game each season. In 1986-87 he averaged 37.1 points per game, which was his career-high.

From 1990-91 through 1992-93, Jordan helped the Bulls win three straight NBA championships. He then took an entire season off in 1993-94 and the majority of another in 1994-95 as he tried to play baseball. However, in 1995-96 Jordan was the best basketball player in the world again. He led the league in scoring again from 1995-96 through 1997-98, and the Chicago Bulls won three straight championships again. 

Jordan played in two more seasons with the Washington Wizards in 2001-02 and 2002-03. He is currently the NBA’s leader in career points-per-game average with a 30.1 average. 

Still being a massive star

Obviously, Jordan’s stellar play made him a superstar. He still is a massive star today, though, despite not playing for nearly 20 years.

He earned an estimated $145 million in 2019, according to Sporting News. His shoes also bring in an estimated $130 million annually, according to Sporting News. People still love to wear his shoes despite him being retired for so long. 

With Jordan being so popular for most of his life, what is it like to be his son?

The good of being Jordan’s son

Michael Jordan’s son, Marcus Jordan, recently spoke to TMZ about what it is like to be the son of Michael Jordan.

The positive aspects of being his son seem pretty nice. 

“The best thing, honestly, there’s just a lot of perks,” Marcus said, according to Complex. “We were raised relatively normal. I say ‘relative’ because I didn’t take my first commercial flight until I was a junior in high school. I grew up playing Playstation on a private jet.”

Marcus Jordan

Can you imagine just growing up on private jets? So, what are the bad parts about being Jordan’s kid?

The bad of being a superstar’s son

So, while there does not seem to be a ton of bad aspects about being the son of Michael Jordan, what Marcus mentioned as being a negative definitely makes sense.

“The negative, or the worst thing, would just be having to operate under the assumption that people are always wanting something from you,” Marcus said, according to Complex. “Whether it was a Jordan shoe, or a connection of some sort. You have to operate under the assumption that people are coming around with their hands out. That’s probably the only downfall.”

Marcus Jordan

When looking at it, being the son of Michael Jordan is probably pretty awesome. The limelight always being on you and the high expectations can probably be pretty challenging to deal with, though, but the good seems to outweigh the bad.

All stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference