Many people have wondered if the famous actor Michael B. Jordan is related to the legendary basketball player Michael Jordan. The answer is no, they are not related by blood or by marriage. They just happen to share the same name, which has caused some confusion and curiosity among fans and media.
Contents
How Michael B. Jordan Got His Name
Michael B. Jordan was born on February 9, 1987, in Santa Ana, California, to Donna and Michael A. Jordan. He is named after his father, who is not related to the basketball star either. His middle name is Bakari, which means “one with great promise” in Swahili.
Michael B. Jordan moved to Newark, New Jersey, when he was two years old and grew up there. He attended Newark Arts High School, where he played basketball and developed an interest in acting and modeling.
How Michael B. Jordan Felt About His Name
Having the same name as one of the most famous athletes in the world was not easy for Michael B. Jordan. He revealed in an interview with Good Morning America that he used to be teased and heckled for his name when he played sports as a kid.
“Honestly [it] gave me a competitive chip on my shoulder and made me wanted to compete at anything I did and create my own lane and have my own legacy,” he said.
He also said that he always wanted to meet the basketball player one day, but not as a fan, but as someone who would recognize him for his own achievements.
“I met him one time in passing but it didn’t count to me,” he said. “I want to meet him when he knows who I am.”
How Michael B. Jordan Made His Name
Michael B. Jordan started his acting career as a child model and appeared in several TV shows, such as Cosby, The Sopranos, The Wire, All My Children, and Friday Night Lights. He gained more recognition for his film roles as Oscar Grant in Fruitvale Station (2013), Adonis Creed in Creed (2015) and Creed II (2018), and Erik Killmonger in Black Panther (2018). He also directed and starred in Creed III (2023), which marked his directorial debut.
Michael B. Jordan has been praised for his performances and has received several awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Creed and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Black Panther.
He has also been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2020 and 2023, People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2020, and one of the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century by The New York Times in 2020.
Conclusion
Michael B. Jordan is not related to Michael Jordan, but he is a successful actor who has carved his own niche in Hollywood. He has proven that he can live up to his name and his middle name’s meaning of “one with great promise”. He has also shown respect and admiration for the basketball legend who shares his name.
According to IMDB, Michael B. Jordan has no relation to the basketball player Michael Jordan. According to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Michael B. Jordan used to be teased for his name but it also motivated him to excel at what he does. According to Wikipedia, Michael B. Jordan is named after his father and his middle name is Bakari..
