This player went on to be a friend of Jordan’s

MICHAEL Jordan had a predictable reaction to not receiving an honor during his high school days.

Ever since his basketball journey began, the Chicago Bulls icon has been known for his dominant winning abilities as well as his intense competitiveness.

Michael Jordan, #23, playing for North Carolina in the 1982 NCAA Final Four.
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Michael Jordan played college basketball at the University of North Carolina from 1981 to 1984, winning an NCAA title during that span before his illustrious NBA careerCredit: Getty

Buzz Peterson, head coach of the UNC Wilmington Seahawks, coaching during a basketball game.
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Jordan was a college teammate of Buzz Peterson, who went on to be a college basketball coach for 27 seasons and is now the current assistant general manager of the Charlotte HornetsCredit: Getty
During his college basketball days at the University of North Carolina, the young Jordan was teammates with a player named Buzz Peterson.

The pair were North Carolina natives, but only one of them was awarded for being North Carolina’s Player of the Year in High School, and that was Peterson.

During his NBA Hall of Fame speech in 2009, Jordan admitted that he had a mission in college of showing how much better he was than Peterson.

But MJ then found out that he was dealing with a nice person off the court.

“Now when I first met Buzz – all I heard about was this kid from Asheville, North Carolina, who’s Player of the Year. I’m thinking, ‘Well, he ain’t never played against me yet, so how did he become Player of the Year?’ Is that some type of media exposure?” Jordan recalled.

“You know I came from Wilmington; you know we had two channels, channel ABC and channel NBC, that was it,” he said.

“I never saw NBA sports at all when I grew up; we didn’t have CBS affiliation in North Carolina in Wilmington, so Buzz Peterson became a dot on my board.

“And when I got the chance to meet Buzz Peterson on the basketball cour or in person, Buzz was a great person, it wasn’t a fault of his.

“It was just that my competitive nature.”

It wasn’t just Peterson. Jordan always thought he could outplay anybody at UNC.
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Jordan’s confidence would be displayed as a Tar Heel, especially after his game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Title game against Georgetown.

He would be a one-time ACC Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-ACC 1st-teamer, among numerous other accolades, while Peterson was simply a journeyman at North Carolina.

But Jordan and Peterson would be friends as roommates at Chapel Hill.

“I didn’t think that he could beat me, or he was better than me as a basketball player,” Jordan said about Peterson.


“And he became my roommate.”

Jordan was drafted by the Bulls with the No. 3 overall pick in 1984.

The following year, Peterson was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers but chose to play overseas.

Jordan went on to have a one-in-a-generation career, winning six NBA Finals MVPs.

Fast forward to 2025, and MJ is worth over $3 billion.

And Peterson is still one of the few people in Jordan’s inner circle.

Michael Jordan smiling at a press conference.
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Jordan smiling during a press conference in 2020Credit: Getty
He is the assistant general manager of the Charlotte Hornets, the franchise that Jordan owned from 2010 to 2023.