In an interview with Marvin R. Shanken of Cigar Aficionado in 2005, Chicago Bulls and NBA legend Michael Jordan compared his playing days in college with that of his illustrious career in the league.
Jordan, one of the greatest UNC graduates of all time, was never a highly-rated national-level prospect. He was selected third overall in the 1984 Draft, with next to no notoriety, he said.
Michael Jordan compares his time with the UNC and the Chicago Bulls
In the interview, Jordan was asked whether he enjoyed playing for the Tar Heels more than the Bulls. To this, he said:
“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.”
From the very beginning, Jordan had established himself as the showman of the team. More than his offensive domination, he was known for his inhuman highlight reels. When he said people didn’t know him coming out of college, he knew he had to prove a point and get on everyone’s radar.
At North Carolina, when they recruited me and asked me to attend the university, it was an opportunity to prove myself”, he added.
He explained how his high school career hadn’t exactly put him in the limelight to be a top recruit into the University. He also said that being from a small town and not being one of the top 100 high school players, UNC gave him the foundation to establish himself as a “decent basketball player, or a good enough basketball player.”
Having not been spoiled by the media attention and the hype until then, Michael Jordan said that the three years he spent with the Tar Heels were “the most satisfying.”
He also talked about the impact of former coach Dean Smith in his early jump to the NBA. The now 60-year-old said that he was not very knowledgeable about the league and thus Smith decided to train him. Although Jordan wasn’t one of the best college players of all time, he sure caught the eye of two-time ABA champion, coach Kevin Loughery in 1984.
He further explained the draft projection situation that year, where he was a prospective pick for three NBA sides. He said that he was supposed to be picked by the Philadelphia 76ers with the third pick, but because the Bulls started losing a lot of games, they moved up to the third slot and Philly fell to five. Jordan had also gotten an assurance from the Houston Rockets that if they lost the coin toss to Portland and got the second overall pick, they would pick him.
But as fate would have it, he went third in the draft. The Blazers took Sam Bowie, the Rockets picked Hakeem Olajuwon, and Michael Jordan ended up being the greatest basketball player of all time.