When Michael Jordan crushed his oldest son's basketball dream in a 2005 interview: "Hey kid, just have a good time; There's only one Michael Jordan"

Michael Jordan with his family back in 1996 (Photo: People Magazine)
Michael Jordan with his family in 1996 (Photo: People Magazine)

Michael Jordan is considered by many as the greatest basketball player ever. For his oldest son, Jeffrey, it was a tough task to follow in his father's footsteps, but even before he reached high school, the Chicago Bulls legend crushed his son's basketball dream.

In an interview with CBS News back in 2005, Jordan was back in the public eye for the first time since permanently retiring three years earlier. One of the things that kept Jordan busy was his Senior Flight School over the summer.

Jordan was a hero and a role model for many, but the six-time champion doesn't want parents to keep their children's hopes up. "His Airness" said that he had to be very blunt with his oldest child who wanted to be the next Michael Jordan.

"As a parent, you have to simplify it as much as possible to show them that, either way, I still love you if you miss that shot," Jordan said. "It's tougher for me than you because my oldest thinks he should be the next Michael Jordan, just by birthright. And to try to talk him out of it, my wife and I are driving ourselves nuts to say, 'Hey kid, just have a good time.' There's only one Michael Jordan."
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Michael Jordan's two sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, played college basketball for the University of Central Florida. However, both were unable to make it to the NBA despite being the sons of the GOAT.

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Michael Jordan dashed kids' hopes of getting free shoes during camp

"His Airness" at the F1 Grand Prix of Miami
"His Airness" at the F1 Grand Prix of Miami

In 2016, Chris Paul made a bet with Michael Jordan during his Around the World camp. If Jordan missed three shots, all the kids were going to get free shoes. What did Jordan do? He swished all of his shots despite Paul trying to cover his eyes in one of his attempts.

Jordan either loved the challenge from Paul, or he just didn't want to give the kids free shoes. He's a businessman after all and didn't become a billionaire by giving away stuff for free.

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In an interview with Sage Steele on uploaded on Jumpman's Instagram page, Paul discussed the viral moment with Jordan and the kids. "CP3" thought it was wrong for Jordan to dash all the kids' hopes but noted that it was his fault for challenging him in the first place.

"We were in Santa Barbara and he damn made them shots," Paul said. "And they just said to hell with the kids, man. So forget him man. He wrong for that."

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