In the realm of basketball, Michael Jordan is a name that resonates with fans worldwide. Even with the recent achievements of LeBron James, there remains a steadfast group of critics who assert that Jordan is the unrivaled Greatest of All Time (GOAT) in comparison to King James. Surpassing expectations, Jordan, who was notably shorter and lighter than LeBron, triumphed with an astounding 6 championships, while James has achieved 4 thus far. The debate surrounding these two legendary athletes continues to ignite passion among basketball enthusiasts.

Speaking of height, it turns out that the Chicago Bulls legend had a late growth spurt, just in the nick of time. In fact, he was considered too small to play in high school. That should certainly have fans wondering how tall MJ was during his high school days and how things turned around for him. Therefore, let us take a better look and find out more.

Michael Jordan was only listed at 5’10 in high school

Jordan admitted in a segment of his “docuseries” called The Last Dance that the early failures in his life paved the way for the success that followed much later. While many fans would assume that MJ was referring to his time in the league, that wasn’t the complete truth. He admitted that being cut from his high school high school’s basketball varsity team was one of the hardest things for him to accept.

In retrospect, kicking Michael Jordan out of a basketball team might not have been a smart move. Since he wasn’t very tall or even talented enough to compete with the larger players at the time, his coach named Pop Herring chose to send him back home.

Although this devastated Jordan at the time, as it would for any child, he bounced back and decided to work on his game. His mother revealed what that process was like in The Last Dance, “We both cried, ’cause I knew he wanted to really compete with the other guys. My words to him was, ‘If you really want it, you work hard over the summer,’ And he did that summer! That summer, he focused. He would practice all day. That basketball never left his hand.”

There is no denying that MJ’s hard work and dedication during those years ensured the success he found later in his life. After all, most children would have given up or pursued something else after being told that they weren’t good enough at something. Nonetheless, a young Jordan found the will and determination to keep moving forward and has been rewarded greatly for doing so.