Who were Michael Jordan's father's killers? Taking a closer look at the horrific incident

Larry Demery and Daniel Green are serving life imprisonment for the killing of James Jordan, Michael Jordan’s father. They were sentenced to first-degree murder in 1996 and have been incarcerated since.

Jordan’s father came home from a party on July 23, 1993. He slept inside a catchy red Lexus SC400 along a highway in Lumberton, North Carolina. During the trial, Demery testified that both he and Green intended to hit a motel but were attracted to the Lexus on the road.

Larry Demery told the court that it was Daniel Green who shot Michael Jordan’s father in the chest. It was only when they went through the things in the car that they knew the victim’s identity. The car also carried the license plate “UNC023.”

The perpetrators drove the car to Fayetteville, North Carolina after disposing of James Jordan’s body into a creek in McColl, South Carolina. Demery was about to turn 17 while Green was already 18 when the robbery-murder took place.

Michael Jordan was on top of the basketball world when his father was murdered. He was already a three-time champion after leading the Chicago Bulls to a three-peat. “His Airness” had the NBA in the palm of his hands.

James Jordan’s death shocked not just the sporting world. Immediately after the news spread, some people were quickly pointing out the basketball’s reported gambling debts as the reason for the murder.

Over the past several years, Daniel Green has denied the allegations of Larry Demery. He is standing by his words that he was not present during the murder and did not shoot Michael Jordan’s father. Green, however, admitted that he was one of those who disposed of the body in the creek.

Green was supposed to be paroled on August 6, 2023. It was canceled with no reason provided. The parole will be reviewed in 2024.

Demery was denied parole two times before being granted one in 2020. Like in Green’s case, it was also canceled without reason.

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Could Michael Jordan have won six straight championships if he had not retired after James Jordan’s murder?

Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls beat the LA Lakers in 1991, the Portland Trail Blazers in 1992 and the Phoenix Suns in 1993. In Jordan’s nearly two-year absence, the Houston Rockets ruled the NBA. Led by Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rockets beat Patrick Ewing’s New York Knicks in 1994 and swept Shaquille O’Neal’s upstart Orlando Magic in 1995.

To this day, most basketball fans believe Jordan would have won six consecutive championships if he hadn’t briefly retired.

Kenny Smith, one of Jordan’s teammates in North Carolina and a back-to-back champion with the Rockets thinks otherwise. Here's what he had to say about the topic on the Stephen A. Smith Show:

(53:09 mark)

“Yes, we would’ve beat the Chicago Bulls, I feel. I’m glad we didn’t beat them because it would’ve hurt Michael’s legacy in the debate with LeBron.”

“The reason I thought we would’ve beat them is because they were too small for us. There was no Horace Grant. Dennis Rodman wasn’t there yet. So who’s going to guard Dream? No. Impossible. ...We would’ve beaten the Michael Jordan Bulls because they were too little. We would’ve smacked them.”

Houston’s frontline was made up of Olajuwon, Otis Thorpe and Robert Horry. Smith was wrong about Horace Grant, though. The power forward was with the Chicago Bulls in 1994 together with 7-2 Luc Longley, Bill Cartwright, Bill Wennington and Stacey King. Chicago had a ton of big men to throw at Olajuwon.

The 1995 team, however, was significantly smaller. The Bulls lost Grant, Cartwright and King. They had Longley, Kukoc, Wennington, Will Perdue and Dickey Simpkins.

The Chicago Bulls, in both years, still had Scottie Pippen. Adding Michael Jordan into that mix does not guarantee a clear victory for the Rockets.

The Bulls-Rockets was the NBA Finals match that never happened but fans continue to wonder who would have won.

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