This article contains references to substance abuse.

Born in 1990 when his father was already well on his way to NBA greatness, Marcus, “son of Michael” Jordan, has never known anything but a life of privilege. “I grew up playing PlayStation on a private jet,” he once acknowledged to TMZ Sports. But like many celebrity offspring, the middle child has struggled to cope with the pressures and expectations placed upon him. And like many celebrity offspring, he’s become something of a wild child, too.

Marcus has regularly graced the tabloids for his hard-partying lifestyle, whether it’s his multiple arrests while under the influence, high-profile relationship with reality TV favorites, or Vegas gambling habits at an age when he should have been nowhere near a roulette wheel. Of course, the former University of Central Florida student has also faced a number of problems that haven’t been of his own doing, too. Here’s a look at 11 times the basketball player-turned-sneaker entrepreneur proved that the high life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. 

While being the son of the most famous basketball player in the world undoubtedly came with many perks, it also came with a few downsides. During an interview about his childhood with Complex, Marcus Jordan revealed that he could never be sure whether those who entered his orbit had an ulterior motive.

“The negative, or the worst thing, would just be having to operate under the assumption that people are always wanting something from you,” Marcus said, referring to the fact that his dad is the one and only Michael Jordan. “Whether it was a Jordan shoe, or a connection of some sort. You have to operate under the assumption that people are coming around with their hands out. That’s probably the only downfall.”

And in a chat with UCF Today, Marcus revealed that because of his famous name, he also had to deal with much more scrutiny than most of his peers. And he recalls it being this way from the age of eight. “I’m used to being criticized everywhere I go on the basketball court, and off the basketball court. So I just take it in stride.”

In 2009, Michael Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. But instead of using his speech as an opportunity to thank all those who’d helped and supported him during his glittering career, the NBA icon decided it was the perfect moment to unleash all his grievances. And even his own children, including Marcus Jordan, weren’t safe.

Indeed, when he finally addressed his family, who were also in attendance, the oft-shady Michael could only muster the sentiment (via Yahoo! Sports), “I wouldn’t want to be you.” Although hardly a glowing tribute, Marcus later told UCF Today that it came from a place of love. “It’s just a lot of pressure, being Michael Jordan’s son [or] Michael Jordan’s daughter. It’s tough for anyone to be in my shoes. It’s tough for me, too. I think when he said that, he was just trying to [relay] to everybody that it is pretty tough.”

And sometimes that toughness came from his nearest and dearest. “We’re a whole competitive family,” he explained, including his mom and older sibling Jeffrey, too. “You could even dig out old tapes of us playing basketball — me, my brother, and my dad. It used to get pretty heated because we all talked trash, but it’s all with love.”

Marcus Jordan learned the hard way that you should never post about the morning after the night before on social media, even more so when you’re discussing underage gambling and drinking as the kid of a world-famous sporting superstar.

Following a wild night out in Las Vegas in 2010, Marcus tweeted (via ESPN), “Last night was stupid. 35k at Haze … Totals 50k something the whole day.” The youngest son of NBA legend Michael Jordan was, of course, referring to the Haze Nightclub and Liquid Pool Lounge, which at the age of just 19, he shouldn’t have legally been allowed to enter.

Marcus inevitably faced an online backlash for what many considered to be a blatant flaunting of his financial privilege. And after being reprimanded by his parents, the University of Central Florida student took to the same platform (via the Los Angeles Times) to apologize. “I didn’t mean it the way it came across. My family and friends know the type of person I am.” This wasn’t enough to placate the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which revealed it’d be launching an investigation into the night in question. 

Marcus Jordan’s legal issues began in 2012 when he was arrested for disorderly conduct outside a downtown Omaha hotel. Police had been called to the Embassy Suites after the sportsman, then playing for the University of Central Florida basketball team, had been spotted getting into a heated verbal altercation with two women. And he also faced charges of resisting arrest and obstructing an officer following the incident.

These charges were eventually dropped following a deal which saw Marcus plead no contest to disturbing the peace and be fined $250. The youngest son of Michael Jordan, the NBA icon who appears to have disappeared from the public eye of late, arrived at Douglas County Court for the hearing accompanied by his lawyer, Steve Lefler, who revealed that his client had later visited the officer in question to apologize for his behavior on the night.

“He’s just been a sweet kid to work with,” Lefler told the press (via ESPN) before applauding him for turning up to the hearing in person. “Honestly, because he’s who he is, Marcus Jordan, we thought you guys (media) might go crazy if he wasn’t here. Truly, that was it. You guys would have thought that he’s given special treatment when he wouldn’t have been given special treatment.”

Hopes were no doubt high that Marcus Jordan would follow in his father’s NBA footsteps when he began playing for his Loyola Academy high school in Illinois. Alongside his older brother Jeffrey, he helped the team post their best season ever. And after moving to Chicago’s Whitney Young Magnet High School, he guided the Dolphins to the Illinois 4A Championship. Unfortunately, his college basketball career never quite hit the same heights.

Marcus became more renowned for his off-court activities while playing for the University of Central Florida. Alongside the arrest for disorderly conduct, there was also drama surrounding his insistence on wearing Nike, resulting in Adidas dropping their sponsorship deal with the college.

Yet, there were a couple of high points. In the first game of the 2010-11 season, he scored a career high of 28 points during a win over the University of West Florida. But in the summer of 2012, Marcus decided to quit the UCF team just seven months after Jeffrey had done the same, and he never played competitive basketball again. A year later, he graduated with a degree from the Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

Michael Jordan is almost as renowned for his sneakers as his skills on the court. So, it makes sense that his son Marcus Jordan would launch an exclusive retail outlet showing off the best in such sportswear. Unfortunately, in 2019, just three years after opening up its doors at Orlando’s Disney World, the Trophy Room was forced to close.

“Thank you to our amazing guests and team members who helped bring this concept to life and make Trophy Room at Disney Springs a success,” Marcus remarked in a statement (via Spectrum News 13) which insisted that the store, which also sold memorabilia and high-end apparel, would be returning to a different location at some point: a new site was eventually found in downtown Orlando in 2022.

Marcus also suffered another setback in 2020 when The Trophy Room, which had remained an online concern, was accused of backdooring. This is a frowned-upon practice among sneakerheads, which restricts the purchases of certain products to a particular elite group. The hospitality management graduate has always denied adopting such tactics, telling Complex, “No matter how many sneakers we put online, people are gonna say we backdoor.”

Renowned for his playboy ways, Marcus Jordan finally looked to have settled down when he started dating Larsa Pippen, “The Real Housewives of Miami” star 16 years his senior, in 2023. But in the summer of 2024, after 18 months of on-off drama and numerous red flags, the reality TV favorite called things off for good. And her own family was instrumental in this decision.

In the seventh season opener of the hit Bravo show, Pippen explained to her mom (via People), “When I was with Marcus, my kids were like, ‘Stop getting back together and breaking up, and just get off the ride.’ That’s when I was like, ‘I need to get away from the situation — my kids think that it’s not good for me.'”

Pippen went on to add that the pair, who had previously talked about the prospect of having kids, had different priorities in life, noting how Jordan would often be the last person standing on a night out. Unfortunately, the sneaker enthusiast didn’t take the rejection particularly well. “But doing what’s best for me and my family ended up pissing him off so bad that he’d send me really bad messages and reach out to my friends and say hurtful things about me, and it was just bad,” the ex-wife of NBA star Scottie Pippen went on to add.

Marcus Jordan may have personally apologized to police for resisting arrest during his first major brush with the law. But he didn’t appear to have learned his lesson. 13 years later, the entrepreneur was once again arrested for the same misdemeanor. Even more damagingly, he was also found with cocaine in his possession. And he was only ten minutes away from causing a devastating rail accident, too.

The drama began when Jordan’s Lamborghini got stuck on a railroad track just moments before a commuter train was due to pass through, with the placement of its tires indicating that they’d been continually spun. After approaching the vehicle, which had also just run a traffic stop, the Maitland Police Department discovered the former basketball player in a disheveled and inebriated state. And during their subsequent search, they found a bag of what was thought to be cocaine on his person.

Jordan, who was also accompanied by a female passenger at the time, claimed that he’d gotten into difficulty after taking a wrong turn. Embarrassingly, he also pulled out the “don’t you know who I am” card, telling officers that he was Michael Jordan’s son, perhaps in a bid for some leniency. But the shameless tactic didn’t work, and he was booked in at the nearest station before being released on a $4,000 bond. The entrepreneur later pled not guilty to all charges.

Marcus Jordan’s sneaker woes continued in 2024 when up to 400 pairs were reportedly stolen from his rented Orange County warehouse. The stock from his The Trophy Room retail outlet, which was taken while the area was coming under attack from Hurricane Milton, was said to be worth approximately $20,000.

Surveillance video footage showed several masked men helping themselves to the rare footwear while scavenging their way through various shelves and boxes before fleeing in a Mercedes-Benz van also owned by Jordan. But it seems safe to say they weren’t exactly criminal masterminds. In fact, the sheriff’s office was able to acquire a search warrant for one suspect’s home after he was spotted sporting one of the thieved pairs of shoes.

Scott Wimbley Jr., Channing Ratcliffe, Allen Wimbley, Timothy Mitchell Jr., and Kahmari Jones-Shipley were later named as the culprits and charged with several offenses, including dealing in stolen property and grand theft above $20,000. “Just know, that just because there’s a hurricane, once it’s over, we’re going to investigate every lead, and we’re going to catch you,” Detective John Mendez later warned on Fox 35 (via WWD).

Just a month on from pleading not guilty to several charges after getting his vehicle stuck on an Orange County railroad while reportedly under the influence in 2025, Marcus Jordan acknowledged that he desperately needed some help in dealing with his substance abuse problem.

According to a filing acquired by People, the entrepreneur’s attorney had asked the court to permit his client to join a particular rehab initiative instead of dishing out punishment, claiming that Jordan had a “strong desire to live as a responsible, drug-free, productive member in the community.”

“His participation in the Pre-Trial Substance Abuse Education and Treatment Intervention Program will not only benefit him personally but also serve the community by reducing the likelihood of future offenses,” the filing went on to add. Jordan had initially been charged with possession of cocaine before tests discovered that the substance on his person was, in fact, ketamine.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse and mental health, please contact SAMHSA’s 24-hour National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit their website.