Michael Jordan Wife: Is Michael Jordan Married?
James Craig
Updated on January 05, 2026
Michael Jordan Wife: Is Michael Jordan Married? – Michael Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year as a freshman in coach Dean Smith’s team-oriented system after averaging 13.4 points per game on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage).
He hit the game-winning jump shot against Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA Championship game, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing. Jordan later described this shot as a watershed moment in his career.
Jordan was unanimously selected to the NCAA All-American First Team as a sophomore (1983) and junior (1984). Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA draft after winning the Naismith and Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984.
Jordan was selected third overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 NBA draft, ahead of Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). The fact that the first two teams needed a center was one of the main reasons Jordan was not drafted sooner.
Jordan made his NBA debut at Chicago Stadium on October 26, 1984, scoring 16 points. In 2021, a game ticket stub sold at auction for $264,000, breaking the record for a collectible ticket stub.
Jordan averaged 28.2 points per game on 51.5% shooting as a rookie for the Bulls in 1984-85, helping a team that had only won 35% of its games the previous three seasons become a playoff contender.
Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the night before a game against the New York Knicks during the Bulls’ 1993 NBA playoffs. He admitted to having to cover $57,000 in gambling losses the previous year, and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book in 1993 claiming to have won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course.
Jordan announced his retirement on October 6, 1993. Giving his reason, he stated that he had lost his desire to play basketball. Jordan later stated that his father’s murder three months prior influenced his decision.
Jordan announced his return to the NBA on March 18, 1995, with a two-word press release: “I’m back.”
Jordan scored 19 points the next day when the Bulls played the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis. The game drew the highest Nielsen rating for an NBA regular season game since 1975.
Despite the fact that the Bulls had retired his original number, Jordan wore No. 45, his baseball number.
Jordan retired for the second time on January 13, 1999, with Phil Jackson’s contract expiring, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman set to leave, and the NBA in the midst of an owner-induced lockout.
Jordan announced his return to the NBA on September 25, 2001, to play for the Washington Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11 attacks.
With the knowledge that 2002-03 would be Jordan’s final season, tributes to him were paid throughout the NBA.
Jordan received a four-minute standing ovation in his final game at the United Center in Chicago, his old home court.
Michael Jordan Wife: Is Michael Jordan Married?
Jordan married Juanita Vanoy on September 2, 1989, at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On January 4, 2002, the Jordans filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, but later reconciled. They filed for divorce once more, and on December 29, 2006, they were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage, with the decision made “mutually and amicably.”
Juanita received a $168 million divorce settlement, according to reports, which was the largest celebrity divorce settlement on public record at the time.
Jordan proposed on Christmas Eve 2011 to his long-term girlfriend, Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto, and the couple married on April 27, 2013, at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church.