There is no doubt that Michael Jordan is well known for his time with the Chicago Bulls. He won six championships with the franchise and showed that he is the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball during his tenure.
However, in a 2005 interview with Marvin R. Shanken of Cigar Aficionado, Michael Jordan revealed that playing for his college team, the North Carolina Tar Heels brought him more pleasure than playing for the Chicago Bulls. He claimed that his time in college gave him “an opportunity” to prove himself, adding that he had “an appetite to prove to everybody” that he was a good basketball player.
Marvin R. Shanken: What brought you more pleasure, playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels or the Chicago Bulls?
Michael Jordan: That’s a good question. I would say it was for the Tar Heels. No one knew me until then. That’s when the notoriety and everything began with Michael Jordan. By the time I got to Chicago, I was drafted three, so everybody knew I was at least decent.
But at North Carolina, when they recruited me and asked me to attend the university, it was an opportunity to prove myself. Up to that point, everybody had heard that this kid is pretty good, but we don’t know how good. He came from a small town. He wasn’t preseason All-American. He wasn’t in the Top 100 High School kids. He didn’t attend AAU games, and he was not a ranked player in the nation.
The University of North Carolina really gave me the foundation that it took to become a basketball player. Up to then, I hadn’t been spoiled by the media spotlight. I was still raw. As a result, I had an appetite to prove to everybody that I was a decent basketball player, or a good enough basketball player to be at North Carolina. That was by far the purest experience for me, and the most satisfying.
There is no doubt that this reasoning from Michael Jordan makes sense. He had more pleasure playing for his college team because it was more of a challenge in the sense of proving himself. Though he found more pleasure when playing for the Tar Heels, it is important to note that this does not mean that he had a bad time playing for the Chicago Bulls.
Michael Jordan Was Elite Even In College
Michael Jordan showed signs of greatness even during his time at UNC. Former Lakers star James Worthy played with Jordan in college, and he noted that he knew Michael Jordan would be an All-Star-level player even then.
“He hated to lose and he hated to be taunted. You couldn’t challenge him. And so he was just an amazing guy. And you know, when he left Carolina, Coach Smith was the right coach for him because he needed a little bit of discipline in his game, he needed to understand how to take his talent and apply it to the team, and Coach Smith gave him that, and from that, he just took off. And I knew he would be an All-Star, but I had no idea that he would be arguably one of the top three players in the game.”
Though a lot of players today are generally excited to leave college to join the NBA, it is clear that Michael Jordan valued his experience. Jordan is also an example of the fact that some players benefit from the college experience, and can become elite players despite spending multiple years there.
There is no doubt that every player’s pathway to the league is different. There is no question that Michael Jordan was happy playing in college, and though he wasn’t a “one-and-done” player, he clearly managed to do pretty well for himself in the NBA.
