When Michael Jordan laid out one condition to Sheryl Swoopes on naming her child after him

After Sheryl Swoopes led Texas Tech to an NCAA title in 1993, she was invited to Michael Jordan's camp, where she impressed the NBA legend. Years later, when Jordan and the Bulls were amid their second three-peat, Swoopes, preparing for her rookie season with the Houston Comets, asked MJ if she could name her son after him.

In response, the Chicago Bulls legend told Swoopes that she could name her son after him under one condition: if he had a good jump shot. The moment was captured on camera, with the WNBA legend reflecting on it in a video released in January 2023.

"In this picture I remember I was pregnant, and I asked him if I could name my son after him, and he actually put his hand on my stomach and said, 'The only way you can name him after [me] is if he has a good jump shot.

"And I remember saying to him, I think I might be saying that right here, but I remember saying to him, 'He's gonna have a better jump shot than you ever had."

Revisiting the time Sheryl Swoopes earned Michael Jordan's respect and a one-on-one game between the two

In her final year of collegiate basketball, Sheryl Swoopes led Texas Tech to an NCAA title in 1993. She averaged a whopping 28.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game and earned the Most Outstanding Player award.

After winning the title, Swoopes was invited to Michael Jordan's camp in Chicago. On the first day, Jordan called Swoopes out in front of the whole camp, saying that he had watched her play and was impressed.

In an article for The Players Tribune, written by players like Swoopes and a number of Jordan's NBA rivals, the WNBA legend wrote:

"He walks in, and he stands in the middle of the court, "Where is Sheryl Swoopes?" My initial thought was, why? Why is he asking about me? And then my second thought was, but he knows my name," Swoopes said. ""Right here." He calls me out on the court."

"Now I am suddenly standing right next to my idol — because he was, and he still is, my idol," she added. "I'm just standing there like, what do I say? What do I do? "Watched you play in the final four." And I was like, "Thank you." Like one answer, right, thank you. He said, "You're pretty good." I was like, "Thank you."

Michael Jordan then offered Swoopes a chance to play one-on-one. Although Swoopes lost, Jordan gave her the T-shirt he wore during the game. The T-shirt was covered in makeup from Swoopes' gritty defense.