Jeffrey Michael Jordan, the oldest of Michael Jordan's three children (opens in new tab) with ex-wife Juanita Vannoy (opens in new tab), was interviewed for the 10-part ESPN series "The Last Dance" about his father and his He spoke about his life. As the eldest son of a basketball legend, Jeffrey has lived up to high expectations: in Episode 1, we see him casually playing basketball with his father. When Michael tells Jeffrey not to screw up, Jeffrey explains that it is quite normal for his father to ask a lot of him. The former college basketball player never went pro like his father, but he remains a big part of the family legacy. Here is what he has to say.

When Vanoy first became pregnant with Jeffrey, she consulted a lawyer in July 1988, saying that Jordan had not acknowledged paternity. Her Michael Minton told the Washington Post (opens in new tab) that "she was unmarried and pregnant, and that the father of the child was Michael Jordan." She felt that without legal representation, she would not get Michael's interest, cooperation, or response." Jordan admitted paternity a few months later, and Jeffrey attended Michael and Vannoy's wedding.

The Jordans apparently competed so often that Vanoy had to prevent the two from actually playing basketball one-on-one. One time, while Jeffrey, Marcus, and his father were fooling around, Michael tackled Jeffrey onto a table, and Jeffrey received 30 stitches (!) He had to get stitches:

Despite this, Jeffrey says that the competition at home was "more of a fun one." In his 2009 speech at his Hall of Fame induction, Jordan told his children, "I'm not going to let you down. I don't want to be you guys because of the expectations." Jeffrey's said he is glad that his father said it and recognized it, as it has become a part of his children's lives.

Jeffrey played Division 1 at the University of Illinois and UCF with his brother Marcus. His father would sometimes watch over him in the stands and give Jeffrey advice (open in new tab) on where to apply and play. Later, he followed in his father's footsteps in a different (in some ways literal) way: he started as an intern at Nike in 2009 and now leads brand digital innovation for the Jordan brand. He started as an intern at Nike in 2009 and now leads Brand Digital Innovation for the Jordan brand. My job is basically to answer the question, "How can we leverage cool, new and exciting digital trends to tell our brand story?"

Jeffrey also co-founded a joint venture with Marcus and his sister Jasmine called Hear Jordan, which focuses on investment and philanthropy, and co-founded the Jordan Avakian Group (JAG), which mentors and invests in sports/entertainment start-ups The company was founded. He also just married Ladina Aneva in 2019.

As seen here, Jeffrey and Marcus contributed an interview to The Last Dance:

In an interview with the two brothers (opens in new tab), Jeffrey said, "Not only is it great for young kids who never got to see their father play but also good for those who followed along but didn't really understand what was going on behind the scenes," he explained.

All three of Juanita's children gave a shout out to their mother, who is not in the series." Jeffrey explained, "There is a lot of spotlight and publicity, so she made sure we saw the family and went to the South Side and became successful individuals, not just Michael Jordan's successful children.

None of them have seen the finale of The Last Dance, so they will see it with us on May 17.

Watch "Last Dance" on ESPN+ (opens in new tab)

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