Michael Jordan opens up about his older brother Larry not making the NBA: "He has always been a good player, but he just didn't grow enough"
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Michael Jordan once said that only Kobe Bryant could beat him in a one-on-one basketball game because the Lakers legend stole all his moves. But long before Mike met Kobe, someone was easily beating him in one-on-one basketball games—his older brother Larry.
He possessed the same athleticism as Mike. His 44-inch vertical leap enabled him to dunk the ball easily.
"When you say Air Jordan, I'm No.2, he's 1," MJ once said in a rare video of him and Larry.
However, while Mike became the greatest basketball player of all time, Larry never made it to the NBA.
"He has always been a good player, but he just didn't grow enough," he added.
Larry didn't have the growth spurt that Mike had
Mike was 5'10" when he was a sophomore at Emsley A. Laney High School. But his growth spurt saw him grow to 6'4" by his senior year. Larry was on the 1978 varsity team that Mike didn't make. But he did not have the growth spurt that his little brother had and remained below six feet.
The late Clifton 'Pop' Herring, the coach who infamously 'cut' MJ from the varsity team, once swore that Larry was so driven and competitive that if he were 6'2" instead of 5'7", Michael would have ended up becoming Larry's brother instead of Larry becoming Mike's brother. But he was shortchanged by Mother Nature, and the rest is history.
Still, Larry ended up playing college basketball at UNC-Wilmington. However, that was as far as his height would take him in his basketball career. That was until 1987, when a basketball organization called the World Basketball League was created for players 6'4" or shorter.
The most popular player on the team
During the WBL's inaugural draft, the Chicago Express selected Larry in the third round. Right from the start, Larry was the most popular player on the team because of Michael. But he was determined to be more than just Mike's brother.
"I want to become my own man," Larry said."I don't want you to measure me by the success Michael is having on the court. I'm a good ballhandler and an average shooter, and quickness is my greatest asset. I'm used to getting my shot off against bigger guys."
Larry was overshadowed by former NBA first-round pick Alfredrick Hughes, who became the team's star. Another former NBA player, Jim Les, took many of Larry's minutes at point guard. The Express went on to reach the WBL Finals but lost to the Las Vegas Silver Streaks. That turned out to be Larry's only season in the WBL, which eventually folded in 1992.