Jeffrey Jordan, Michael Jordan’s eldest son with Juanita Vanoy, was the first to chase the family’s basketball legacy. He played college ball at Illinois and later UCF, averaging just 2.7 points per game at his peak. No, he didn’t make it to the NBA, but that’s not the full story. Growing up in MJ’s world meant access to the most exclusive NBA talks, locker rooms, and games most fans can only dream of. Even if he wasn’t on the court, Jeffrey was right there—living the moments we all wish we could’ve witnessed.
So when Horace Grant Jr. hosted a chat and Jeffrey opened up about his favorite hoops memory, it wasn’t about a personal game-winning shot or college highlight. “My favorite basketball moment was going to my dad’s camp when I was younger… and more specifically, I think as we got older, we didn’t outgrow the camp, but we were at an age where we could play with the older college guys and some of the pros that would show up. Those were the best games, the best experiences I probably had,” Jeffrey shared.
Sure, the camp was always fun—meeting new kids, getting out there—but the real thrill? “Being able to play with LeBron, O.J. Mayos, Kevin Durant… and being able to see them, not necessarily on the NBA floor but on the practice floor or the camp floor, was a unique experience for sure.”
Back in the early 2000s, if you were a young hooper with big dreams, there was nothing bigger than the Michael Jordan Flight School. Held annually at UCSB in Santa Barbara, this camp brought in boys aged 8–18—and yes, MJ himself often showed up unannounced, sometimes even dunking on kids to prove a point. There was also a luxury version in Vegas called the Senior Flight School, where adults paid up to $15,000 for a shot at learning from the GOAT. Whether you were 12 or 42, if you were in that gym, you were part of something unforgettable.
Those camp days weren’t the only times Jeffrey got front-row access to basketball greatness. He still lights up when talking about the pickup runs that happened at their house. “Especially at the house; I remember Derrick Rose, some of the younger high school guys coming to play against Jamal Crawford… Dad… Oakley used to play every once in a while,” Jeffrey shared. “It was like a mashup of generational basketball — it was amazing. And it’s hard to recreate, I think, those situations. One, because my dad’s not playing anymore. But two, it’s rare… Even now, you have so many great players across generations, to get everybody on the same court, at the same place, at the same time… I mean, those were definitely my favorite memories.”
But honestly, this isn’t surprising if you know MJ. Even after retiring in 1993 for that baseball detour, hooping never really left his system. During the ’94 stretch, he wasn’t scrimmaging NBA guys—nope, he’d just pop into local gyms and wreck regular hoopers, leaving them absolutely floored. And if you ever wondered who he’d pick for his ultimate pickup squad? “Scottie Pippen, for sure,” he said. “Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Hakeem Olajuwon. I got no chance of losing. None at all.”
Classic MJ—winning on screen, on court, and always talking that talk.
Michael Jordan let his son Jeffrey choose his own path
Being Michael Jordan’s son sounds like a one-way ticket to a lifetime of basketball pressure — but MJ made sure that wasn’t the case for his oldest, Jeffrey Jordan. When Jeff was about to start his college hoops journey at Illinois, MJ sat down with Today‘s Matt Lauer in 2007 and made it clear: his support wasn’t about basketball.
“I want him to be his own person, you know? If you play basketball, you’re a doctor, you’re a lawyer, whatever, I’m gonna support you with the love and every effort, every inch of my body,” MJ said. The goal? For Jeff to chase his dreams, not live under someone else’s shadow. And Jeff got the message loud and clear. Even as a teen, when he hit the Nike All-America Camp in 2005, Jeffrey wasn’t looking to ride on the Jordan name.
“I want to show that I belong here… that I can play here and that I’m not just a name,” he told The Washington Post. Truth is, the basketball world always had eyes on him — but the pressure wasn’t coming from home. MJ actually didn’t want Jeff thrown into the basketball spotlight too young, though that didn’t stop them from going head-to-head on the court now and then.
Oh, and those one-on-one games? Let’s just say MJ didn’t exactly take it easy on his kid. “Sometimes, he let me beat him; other times, he would just try to block my shot,” Jeffrey shared. And yep — Jeff did sneak in a win once. “I beat him once, but he’s getting older now, so maybe I could beat him,” he joked.
A father teaching his son the game, giving him tough love on the court, and a whole lot of freedom off it — that’s how MJ rolled.
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