Even if you’re not a basketball enthusiast, chances are, if you had to think up the biggest name in the sport’s history, Michael Jordan would most likely be the name that first came to mind.
Considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan has, through all his years in the center of the spotlight, kept his family life relatively private. Hence, you may be well aware of Jordan’s cultural icon status, but you may not know much about his five children, ages 9 to 34.
Marcus Jordan, his second oldest child with ex-wife Juanita Vanoy, has somewhat recently reignited the media interest in himself. And it’s not for something directly related to the sport that made his father a global star.
Here’s what we know about Marcus’ background and what he’s been up to.
Following in his father’s footsteps until his path diverged
Born in 1990 on Christmas Eve, Marcus and his older brother, Jeffrey, both played basketball in high school and college and they both quit a few months apart in 2012, with Marcus following after his brother’s departure. His UCF profile features an in-game track record which shows just how promising of a player Marcus was. His final season results at UCF averaged 13.7 points.
About a month prior to his quitting, Marcus was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest due to an alcohol-fueled altercation that took place in a hotel driveway in Omaha, Nebraska, in the early hours of the morning. He was ordered to pay $250 and court costs (per CBS).
In 2016, Marcus announced the opening of his sneaker store Trophy Room, at Disney World in Orlando.
In 2021, as reported by Complex, the store was at the center of online and public controversy due to the limited-edition Trophy Room x Air Jordan 1. The sneakers, styled after the first signature pair of shoes the former NBA star player wore on the court, were leaked before officially hitting the shelves, which led to the brand being accused of backdooring – underhandedly selling the shoes at a higher price than their supposed retail price, behind the back of oblivious consumers. However, Marcus disputed the claims, saying that the source of the blame stemmed from Nike’s distribution center in Memphis, which has, for years, been suspected of leaking new pairs before regular buyers have the chance to get their hands on them.
Latest romantic and personal life updates
In 2022, Michael Jordan’s second eldest child found himself of interest to the public eye once more, but this time it had to do with his romantic life. That year, it was reported that Marcus had begun dating Larsa Pippen (born Younan), the ex-wife of Scottie Pippen, who played in the Chicago Bulls at the same time as Jordan. Pippen and Jordan had a falling out, with the former taking some jabs at the latter in his memoir Unguarded, which is, without doubt, one of the reasons why this unexpected item became so attractive to netizens and tabloids. In addition, Larsa’s status as a reality TV star, having appeared in The Real Housewives of Miami since its first season aired over a decade ago and coming back to the show the same year she divorced her ex-husband, has certainly contributed to intense attention and scrutiny that has followed them.
Another reason that drew the focus of the public towards the couple, and gave rise to some online criticism, is the 17-year age gap between them and the fact that it’s Larsa, the woman in the relationship, who’s older. Larsa and Marcus addressed the perceived issue in the second episode of the podcast they launched in 2023, “Separation Anxiety”, which they have used to also “clear the air” about their much-talked-about romantic ties. They both said that the age difference does not bother them, with Marcus even adding that the relationship works especially because he’s an “old soul” while she is a “young” one.
Around the late summer and early fall of 2023, talks of a probable future marriage started circulating. In August, Marcus was filmed on a date night with Larsa, and while going back into the car he revealed that they were “looking for a location” for the ceremony and that a concrete date was “in the works” (per TMZ). However, earlier in the year, rumors began going around that Marcus’ father did not approve of the relationship, and it all started because Michael shook his head ‘no’ when asked about it in front of a camera for the first time. The couple also addressed this on their podcast, in the episode titled “Father Knows Best?!?!??!.” It appears the ‘no’ may have been blown out of proportion, as Marcus has in the meantime openly stated that he’d like for his father to be his best man at his wedding.
The clip below contains a portion of the discussion the couple had about Michael’s viral negative reaction:
In September 2023, it was first announced by People that the couple had signed a contract to participate in two seasons of Peacock’s The Traitor, in which the point is, similar to Among Us or the Cops and Robbers card game, for the contestants to weed out the traitors amongst them. Marcus and Larsa are the first couple going into the game with a relationship that is publicly known and won’t be a secret to the other cast members.