where did michael jordan grow up

Michael Jordan grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Quick Scoop: Where Did Michael Jordan Grow Up?

Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1963, but his family moved away when he was still a baby. He spent his childhood and teen years in the coastal city of Wilmington , North Carolina, which is the place most closely associated with where he “grew up.”

In Wilmington, Jordan:

• Lived in a modest family home that later became a small point of local pride and curiosity for fans.

• Attended Emsley A. Laney High School, where he developed into a standout basketball player.

• Started building the competitive mindset and work ethic that would define his later career.

Bit of context and “story” flavor

Picture a kid in suburban North Carolina, playing endless one‑on‑one games in the driveway and trying to outdo his older brothers. That was young Michael in Wilmington: fiercely competitive, sometimes overlooked, but constantly pushing himself to get better. Those years in Wilmington shaped the future global icon far more than his brief early life in Brooklyn, which is why North Carolina so strongly “claims” him as their own.

Many biographies and local histories describe him as “born in Brooklyn, raised in Wilmington, North Carolina,” highlighting that Wilmington is where his real upbringing and basketball journey happened.

TL;DR

• Born: Brooklyn, New York.

• Grew up: Wilmington, North Carolina (this is the answer people are usually looking for).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.