Michael Jordan returns to his origins

In Michael Jordan’s professional résumé, the key stops are easy to trace. Chicago and Washington enjoyed his brilliance – with two retirements in between – during his NBA years. Charlotte knew him as owner of the Hornets until recently. And in North Carolina, where he studied, he blossomed into a star with three years at the Tar Heels and an NCAA championship in 1982. But those were steps along the path, not the true beginning. That came in the city that never sleeps – New York – where life began for the player many still consider the greatest of all time.

Jordan’s The One in New York

That is why Jordan Brand, Nike’s subsidiary that carries his legacy, has brought The One tournament to New York this year. On August 23, the city will crown the best teenage boy and girl players on the planet in one-on-one battles. It’s the Jordan seal of authenticity in the place where it all started. In the coming days, the greatest sporting spirit ever shaped will come alive once again.

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was the fourth of five children born to James Jordan, a plant supervisor, and Deloris Peoples, a bank clerk. When they had “Mike,” the family was living in New York. James was studying aircraft hydraulic engineering. Deloris gave birth at Cumberland Hospital in Fort Greene – the same neighborhood that three years later saw the arrival of another American sports legend, Mike Tyson.

“Air Jordan” lived in New York for only 18 months after his birth on February 17, 1963. The family then moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he grew up, became a man, and stunned the world with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. That was also where Nike took a gamble on him before he had even entered the NBA – a partnership that remains alive long after he hung up his sneakers in the early 2000s.

Jordan’s deep connection with New York will be renewed as he and his brand travel back to his origins to crown a new generation in a competition that means more to him than most. His competitive fire and talent were forged in one-on-one battles with his brother Larry in the backyard of their family home. While Jordan is often linked to the places where he was most dominant – with Chicago even hosting a qualifier for this year’s event – the full spotlight could only fall on the city where he was born. New legends are ready to be written under his watch.

Michael Jordan returns to his origins The New York City birth certificate showing Michael Jordan’s birth (obtained by the Chicago Tribune).

Jordan’s indirect imprint on New York basketball is clear. One living example is Taj Gibson. Still active today, Gibson is a Nike athlete who spent eight years in Chicago under coach Tom Thibodeau before returning to play in his hometown from 2019 to 2022, and again in the 2023–24 season to complete a circle. In New York, he proudly wore the number 67 – a nod to the P.S. 67 Charles A. Dorsey School, just steps away from the hospital where Jordan was born. Walking in the master’s footsteps, Gibson showed that if New York never sleeps, neither does basketball.

The One Tournament 2025 will unfold in New York, with 20 players from 15 cities testing themselves in one-on-one duels. The setting won’t be one of the city’s hallowed streetball courts – Rucker Park, The Cage, The Hole, Dyckman in Manhattan or the Kingdome in Harlem, all pillars of the US streetball culture. Instead, the stage is Pier 17, strategically located under the Brooklyn Bridge. Recently renovated and now a hub for cultural events, it will host not just basketball but music and spectacle – the kind of show only Nike can deliver in the beating heart of America.

Get ready.

Tags: