Being the son/daughter of an icon like Michael Jordan has its perks, but there is also a lot of pressure that comes with it. Expectations are sky-high if the great Jordan is your father, but he shared his clear message to his children on this subject during an appearance on CBS Mornings.
“My kids, it’s expectations, right?” Jordan said. “Because they grew up in a household where success is rapidly walking around the house all day long. The thing is that there’s expectations. And the only expectations I ever ask of any one of my kids is their own expectations. You can never live up to everyone else’s expectations. It’s virtually impossible.
“So you have to set your own expectations and live up to those,” Jordan continued. “And if you achieve those, you should be smiling. You should be happy. But you’re never going to live up to everyone else’s expectations.”
Michael was on the money there. There was no way any of his children were going to live up to the expectations placed on them by those on the outside. They had to set their own goals for their lives, and if they accomplished those, then he was happy.
Michael today has five children with two women. He had his first three children, Jeffrey (1988), Marcus (1990), and Jasmine (1992), with his first wife, Juanita Vanoy. Michael and Juanita had gotten married in 1989 and then split in 2006.
Five years later, in 2011, Michael proposed to Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto. They tied the knot in April 2013 and welcomed twin daughters, Victoria and Ysabel, in February 2014. We don’t know much about the twins, but that’s not the case when it comes to their stepsiblings.
Jeffrey and Marcus initially followed in their father’s footsteps as they played basketball at the high school and college levels. They even played together at Loyola Academy and then later at the University of Central Florida. Jeffrey and Marcus weren’t anywhere near as talented as Michael, who won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles in the NBA, though.
The two decided against going pro and pursued their own interests. Jeffrey entered Nike’s management training program after college. Over the years, he’d take on multiple roles at Nike, which included digital marketing and sports marketing. He now leads digital innovation for the Jordan Brand.
In 2020, Jeffrey also co-founded the Jordan Avakian Group, a Chicago-based consulting group. He sure has kept himself busy.
As for Marcus, he opened Trophy Room, a high-end sneaker boutique in Walt Disney World’s Disney Springs shopping district, in 2016. Then in 2019, it transitioned to an online-only business.
Marcus was also, of course, involved in a high-profile relationship with Larsa Pippen, ex-wife of Michael’s former teammate Scottie Pippen. They confirmed their relationship in 2023, but then split for good in 2024.
Lastly, we get to Jasmine, who did not pursue a basketball career like her brothers at any point. She instead studied Sports Management at Syracuse. Jasmine would go on to work as a basketball operations coordinator for the Charlotte Hornets, the team her father was once the majority owner of. She is now a field representative at the Jordan Brand and is shining in her own right.
