Charlotte Hornets owner and former North Carolina great Michael Jordan, center, watches North Carolina play Virginia during an NCAA college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Monday, Feb. 11, 2019. At right is former North Carolina player Buzz Peterson, assistant general manager of the Hornets, and at left is former North Carolina player Mitch Kupchak, general manager of the Hornets. Peterson knew Jordan as well as anyone when they were in college. Roommates and teammates at North Carolina, they spent countless days competing on the basketball court in practice and endless hours talking hoops. But Peterson never saw this coming: His roommate becoming an NBA owner and hosting the league’s All-Star game in his home state of North Carolina. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Buzz Peterson knew Michael Jordan as well as anyone when they were in college.
Roommates and teammates at North Carolina, they spent countless days competing on the basketball court in practice and endless hours talking hoops. Their nights often included shooting pool and tossing cards in their Granville Towers South dorm room. There often were arcade games — before the home video game craze hit — at the Pump House on Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill.
But Peterson never saw this coming: His roommate becoming an NBA owner and hosting the league’s All-Star game in his home state of North Carolina.
“You know, staring across the dorm room at him back then, no, I never would have thought this would happen,” Peterson told The Associated Press.
That’s understandable; they were young kids who didn’t know any better.
Looking back now, Peterson said he should have known what Jordan’s parents instilled in him: He could achieve anything and he was destined for something extraordinary.
“Michael has always been very sharp, very smart,” said Peterson, who now works as an assistant general manager for Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets. “He’s a very good listener. He gathers information and opinions and then makes decisions. And once he makes the decision to go after something, he goes all out. He is absolutely driven to be successful in whatever he chooses.”
It’s well-known that Jordan uses failure to motivate him.
The only thing seemingly that has eluded Jordan, who turns 56 on Sunday — the day of the All-Star game — is ultimate success as an executive and team owner.
His Hornets have yet to win a playoff series since he took over as majority owner nine years ago and they remain mired in NBA mediocrity while struggling to compete in a small market.
But Jordan wants to keep his team — and the city — relevant. It’s one reason he aggressively pursued the All-Star game with such vigor.
“I think getting the All-Star game here is an accomplishment that will go on his list, and it will stand out for him because it’s really not about him,” said James Jordan Jr., Michael’s older brother. “This is an event that’s bigger than him. It’s really about the world — and he’s going to be the host of it.”
On the court, after not being able to make his school varsity as a sophomore, he went on to become a two-time All-American, NCAA champion and the national college player of the year in 1984. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and won three straight NBA titles — and after a stint in minor league baseball — returned to the league and won three more.
Off the court, Jordan marketed his on-court success into a fortune.
“He has always had incredible determination — always,” said Fred Lynch, Jordan’s former junior varsity basketball coach at Wilmington’s Laney High School.
James Jordan Jr. said it comes from their parents.
He describes Michael as a “country boy” who never lost sight of his work ethic. He was the youngest of the three boys who relished a challenge, and James Jr. said their parents, James Sr. and Deloris Jordan, always taught the boys to go after their dreams.
“Our parents taught us that you can achieve anything you want, but you have to have drive, that motivation — and you have to work hard at it,” said James Jordan Jr., who now works as an executive for the Hornets after spending 31 years in the military.
Jordan changed the shoe game when Nike created Air Jordan, which he later spun off into the Jordan Brand.
Now, when fans see the Jumpman logo, they think of Jordan.
“I think it was easy to envision Michael doing anything at that point,” said former Chicago Bulls teammate Steve Kerr. “He was conquering the NBA world as a player and as a shoe salesman and endorser, so I think we all just felt like the sky was the limit. So this (hosting an All-Star game) is not that surprising to me at all.”
Forbes Magazine estimated Jordan’s net worth in 2018 at $1.6 billion.
“Remarkable,” Peterson said, “you almost have to pinch yourself.”
Dell Curry says Jordan wants nothing but the best in anything he does — including this weekend’s All-Star game.
“He’s excited for the NBA to come to his home state and play in the building of the team he owns,” said Curry, the Hornets color commentator and former NBA player. “So he is going to roll out the red carpet. He only knows one way to do it, and that is big time.”
Added James Jordan: “I think when it’s all over, he will sit back and relax and maybe smoke a cigar and say ‘that was a great event,’ and just be really proud of himself that he made it happen.”