Michael Jordan’s Sister Fueled His Competitive Fire With an Important Early Victory

Michael Jordan may be the NBA GOAT, but he may also be the most competitive athlete in all of sports. Jordan’s competitive nature even goes beyond the basketball court. It’s followed him on the golf course, in the pool hall, and in the business world. Jordan’s competitive fire began at home with his siblings. His sister Roslyn showed she could keep up with him in the competitive department with an early victory.

Michael Jordan’s competitive nature is well documented

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Michael Jordan doesn’t like to lose – at anything. The former Chicago Bulls star sometimes came across as being too hard on his teammates. That’s because he wanted them to work as hard as he did. His work ethic was a result of that desire to compete and it resulted in six NBA championships and five MVPs.

But it didn’t stop there. Jordan had that fire from the beginning. Matt Doherty, a former teammate of Jordan’s at the University of North Carolina, saw it in college. He saw it on the court and he saw it outside the basketball gymnasium.

“Whether it was a shooting drill, everything was competitive,” Doherty said during a recent episode of the Endless Hustle podcast. “He talked a lot of junk. I remember two instances in particular. One, we’re shooting pool on a road trip at UVA. I’m playing pool against him and I win. He looks at the table, takes his pool cue, throws it on the table, and says, ‘this table’s not even regulation.’ And he walked out. Another time we were playing pickup (basketball) and he calls a foul. I’m like, ‘dude, that’s not a foul. That’s soft. That’s not a foul.’ We didn’t finish the game. We walked off the court.”

Michael Jordan’s sister claimed an early victory against her brother

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Michael Jordan’s competitive fire all began back home. He was always competitive with his brothers and sisters. During his Hall-of-Fame induction speech, Jordan acknowledged his brothers, Larry and James. “They’re 5-4 and 5-5 in height,” he said as the crowd roared in laughter. “They gave me all I could ask for in terms of competition.”

Then he spoke about his younger sister, Roslyn. Roslyn, too, was a competitor. She was one year younger than Jordan but clearly just as determined.

“The competition didn’t stop there,” Jordan continued. “My sister, who is one year younger than me, Roz, never wanted to be home by herself. She took classes, extra classes to graduate high school with me, to go to the University of North Carolina with me, and to graduate prior to me. And you guys ask me where my competitive nature came from?”

Jordan’s competitiveness got him to where he is today

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While Michael Jordan’s sister, Roslyn, beat him to the diploma, she was just one of many in the Jordan household to push him. “(The competitive nature) also came from my older sister, who’s not here today,” Jordan said early in his Hall-of-Fame speech. “My father, who’s not here today. Obviously, he’s with us, in all of us.

“My competitive nature has gone a long way from the first time I picked up any sport. Baseball, football, ran track, basketball. They started the fire in me. That fire started with my parents. As I moved on in my career, people added wood to that fire.”

That fire helped bring Jordan six NBA titles. It has also given him five MVP trophies. It’s helped him become an owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and build a net worth of $1.6 billion, according to The Richest. Jordan has always had that fire, and his younger sister may have had a lot to do with it.