Are Michael B. Jordan and Michael Jordan related?
Short answer – Despite sharing a common name, there is no familial relationship between Michael B. Jordan, the acclaimed actor, and Michael Jordan, the legendary basketball player.
Introduction
In the world of celebrity culture, it is common to hear the idea that two people are related to one another.
Cynics will point out that many celebrities have helped family members get a start in industries that create stars.
Others will note that talent gets you far in the world of fame.
It does not matter if your cousin is a superstar or not, or your sister is; if you have the skills, you can make it.
While having that famous family member might help you to meet the right person to get your talent noticed, you won’t become a superstar just because you are the cousin of a certain musician, actor, athlete, etc.
With that in mind, we want to address a common online rumor: Michael B. Jordan, the actor, is related to Michael Jordan, the basketball legend.
Is this true? Is Michael B Jordan related to Michael Jordan?
Let’s look at all the available information on this potential celebrity family connection.
Who is Michael B. Jordan?
Now, unless you live under a rock, you likely know who Michael Jordan is! For a quick recap, though, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever.
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He was the legend of the Chicago Bulls franchise in the 1980s and 1990s and led the Bulls to their only NBA Championships: six in total, both done in bouts of ‘threepeat’ titles (winning three titles in a row).
Jordan won every accolade you can win in the NBA and is regarded as the most complete player ever.
He was a playmaking shotmaker who could defend almost any position. Nobody could match his indomitable will to win and his desire to self-improve.
He helped to bring the Nike brand up, too, thanks to his soaring popularity and the launch of his brand within Nike, the Jordan brand. Today, he is one of the most successful American athletes of all time and is comfortably among the wealthiest as well.
So, who is Michael B. Jordan? He is an actor, born on the 9th February 1987.
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He has been involved in the acting scene since his breakout in 2013 when he played Oscar Grant in Fruitvale Station. That was his big break, and since then, he has been involved in many highly successful films.
Early Life & Career
In his early life, Michael B. Jordan grew up in Santa Ana, California, with his mother and father – his father, interestingly, is called Michael A. Jordan.
He grew up alongside two siblings: a younger brother and a sister. However, his family left California to move to Newark, New Jersey, where Michael B Jordan would spend his formative years.
Growing up, he would regularly play basketball and, by all accounts, was very good. However, his real skills came in acting – he was a child model growing up, working for groups like Toys “R” Us.
Michael B. Jordan attends the Hollywood Walk Of Fame Star Ceremony – @Getty
His acting career began in 1999 when he was in singular episodes of TV shows like The Sopranos and Cosby.
His debut in the film industry came in 2001 when he was part of Hardball.
He also was involved in The Wire, playing the character Wallace, which helped to bring him to a wider audience.
Interestingly, he replaced the late Chadwick Boseman – who he would go on to star alongside in the Black Panther movie – when he took on the role of Reggie Montgomery on All My Children in 2003.
He left the show in 2006, and after that, he started participating in various career opportunities. Until 2013, though, Michael B Jordan would remain a relatively unknown name within the celebrity world.
Upon his breakthrough into the mainstream, though, Michael B. Jordan has become one of the most popular actors of his generation.
Indeed, Time Magazine has rated him as one of the world’s top 100 influencers in 2020 and 2023. He has also been ranked as one of the greatest actors of the 21st Century by The New York Times. Not bad, right?
Creed & Killmonger
Michael B. Jordan attends Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever” Premiere at Dolby Theatre – @Getty
Two films that really exploded his acting career came from Creed in 2015 when he played the son of Apollo Creed in the Rocky movie franchise.
He was also the villain, Erik Killmonger, in the Black Panther movie released in 2018. He has regularly worked with the director Ryan Coogler and has since established himself as one of the most popular actors of his generation.
Arguably, his most popular role is his role as Adonis Creed in the Creed trilogy of movies.
The first came out in 2015 to critical acclaim, helping to restore the reputation of the Rocky franchise after many movies that felt almost like a parody of the genre.
The second Creed movie, Creed II, was released in 2018 with more success, and the third film, Creed III, was released in 2023. The third movie in the trilogy also helped set him up as a director, as he made his directorial debut.
Away from movies
Michael B. Jordan attends the Dior Men Spring 23 Capsule Show – @Getty
While Michael B. Jordan is extremely well-known now for his work within the movie industry, other things are worth noting in his life. Like many big-name acting stars, he has lived in Los Angeles for a long time – since around 2006.
Interestingly, as of 2018, he still lived with his parents in a home he owned in Sherman Oaks.
One thing that we might see Michael B. Jordan take part in later on down the line is anime; he is known to be a huge anime fan, with a love for the Dragon Ball franchise of anime in particular.
He is a huge sports fan, too; he is known to be a big New York Giants fan.
Michael B. Jordan also owns shares in the English soccer club AFC Bournemouth alongside a consortium of other celebrities and investors, including William Foley.
He is also a prominent and well-known name within the video gaming world.
Michael B. Jordan has often spoken about his lifelong love of video gaming.
He has invested in eSports, too, backing a Call of Duty eSports team. Arguably, his most beloved game is Marvel VS Capcom 2, the popular fighting game that became an arcade hit around 20 years ago.
His love for video gaming is one of the other things in his life that marks him out as an intriguing individual; despite the stardom, he has made it clear that he loves the simple things in life, like firing up his PS5 and just having a gaming session.
Is Michael B. Jordan dating?
Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey attend the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center – @Getty
Not at the time of writing. His most public and prominent relationship came in 2020 when he was dating the model Lori Harvey. However, this came to an end in the summer of 2022 when the couple announced that they were bringing their union to an end.
Beyond this, there is no real information on whether or not Michael B Jordan is dating anyone at this moment in time.
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So, is Michael B. Jordan related to Michael Jordan?
So, you came here looking for a straight answer on whether or not Michael B Jordan is related to Michael Jordan. The simplest answer, though, is no! While they share the same name, Michael B Jordan is not related to the Chicago Bulls and NBA legend in any way, shape, or form. The only thing that connects them is the same name.
And given that his father, Michael A Jordan, was born before the NBA star even came on the scene, he is not even named after the basketball legend.
This is an assumption many people make; if Michael B. Jordan is not related to Michael Jordan, then surely his name is inspired by him, right?
Not so. The only thing that brings the two together is their shared love of sports.
Michael B. Jordan is known to be a huge sports fan, and his turn as the famous Adonis Creed has helped further solidify his love of the world of sports.
Chicago Bulls’ star Michael Jordan shooting a freethrow during NBA championship basketball game between the Bulls & the L.A. Lakers at Chicago Stadium – @Getty
Why do people think Michael B. Jordan is related to Michael Jordan?
Once, Michael B. Jordan had a funny quote about this – he said that his father, Michael A Jordan, means that he is “related to Michael Jordan, but not the one people are talking about.”
Put simply, the names are too similar for people not to make the immediate assumption.
Indeed, in the past, Michael B. Jordan has spoken about the fact that growing up, he was often teased about the great MJ being his uncle.
In an interview on Good Morning America in the past, he had noted that he had often grown up being teased by friends about his familial connection to Jordan – despite the fact none existed.
However, being insulted and teased for not being ‘the real Michael Jordan’ gave him that extra fire in his belly.
To compete, to show the world that he is his person and not just the namesake of a celebrity.
It made him aware that he would have to work extremely hard to escape this namesake connection and to make the world realize that Michael B Jordan is not where he is simply because of a famous father or uncle.
Has Michael B. Jordan ever met Michael Jordan?
Michael B. Jordan at the “Just Mercy” Press Conference at the Fairmont Royal York – @Getty
At the same time, though, Michael B. Jordan clearly has a real affinity for the famous basketball star.
As a sports lover, he always wanted to meet Michael Jordan in person. So, has that ever happened?
He said he once met Michael Jordan “in passing” when out and about. However, at the time, Michael B. Jordan had not yet achieved any kind of major stardom.
As such, he was not exactly someone who stood out to his legendary namesake.
If the two were to meet now, though, we are fairly certain that ‘game would recognize game’ – Michael B. Jordan might not be an NBA legend, but he is comfortably one of the most respected actors of his generation. We would be certain that Michael Jordan would know who he is today!
What does the B stand for in Michael B. Jordan?
Actor Michael B. Jordan attends the photocall for the “Farenheit 451” during the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals – @Getty
So, now that we have clarified that Michael B Jordan is NOT related to Michael Jordan let us look at his name for a moment. Why is he called Michael B Jordan?
Well, as mentioned above, his father is Michael A Jordan.
Michael B. Jordan was named after the middle name Bakari, which means “one with great promise” in Swahili.
So, it would be fair to say that the Creed star has lived up to that billing pretty well.
He is well on his way to becoming a superstar in his own right and looks very much like one of the next great actors for years to come.
Given that Michael B. Jordan is only in his mid-30s, he has many years of acting and directorship to come.
Now that he has dipped his toes into sports ownership, too, the sky is the limit for Michael B Jordan.
And with Michael Jordan having been a previous sports club owner (he was the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, his home state basketball team), the two at least share a common bond over sports ownership.
In the past, there have been jokes that if Michael B. Jordan has a kid, he has to call him “Michael C Jordan” – though the actor denied he would go down that route if he had a son, it was a pretty comical thought.
One wonders, though, that as Michael Jordan becomes increasingly out of the picture for the next generation of sports fans, and as Michael B. Jordan continues to become more famous, will there come a time when future Michael Jordan around the world will be compared to the actor, not the NBA star?
Final Thoughts
Michael B. Jordan attends ‘Prossima Fermata Fruitvale Station’ photocall at hotel Bernini – @Getty
So, we can safely say that Michael B Jordan is NOT related to Michael Jordan. Though they share the same name, Michael B. Jordan takes his name after his father instead of the NBA legend. While it would be pretty wild if they were related in some capacity, that does not appear to be the case.
Michael B. Jordan and Michael Jordan are hugely successful in their fields for different reasons.
While one made his name as an acting star rising in the shadow of his namesake, Michael Jordan came from humble beginnings to change the sport of basketball and transform the world of sports in general.
Without Michael Jordan, we likely would not have the NBA as the globally popular game it is today.
There is, though, no relation between the two Jordans – though they share many similarities, there is no blood connection.
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Lee Parry is a writer and blogger originally from Manchester, UK, and he has a B.A. in Modern Languages from Manchester Metropolitan University. Parry occasionally teaches English and spends most of his free time reading.