NBA legend Michael Jordan has granted the final wish of his former high school teacher, Ms. Etta, and honestly, even the toughest basketball fans probably started blinking suspiciously after hearing the story.
Ms. Etta is currently in hospice care at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare in Jordan’s hometown in North Carolina. Staff members said that while she reflected on her life and memories, one name kept coming up over and over again: Michael Jordan.
Imagine casually telling people one of your former students became arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. That is the kind of flex teachers dream about forever.
According to reports, Ms. Etta taught Jordan back when he attended Laney High School, long before championships, billion-dollar sneaker deals, and documentaries that made everyone suddenly obsessed with 1990s basketball again, he was simply another student in her classroom.
As Ms. Etta continued talking about him, staff members at the hospice decided to try contacting the NBA icon, which sounds simple until you remember they were attempting to reach one of the most famous athletes on planet Earth.
Somehow, after multiple attempts, something incredible happened.
A LifeCare social worker named Wendy received a call from an unknown number. Now normally, unknown calls bring absolutely nothing good. It is usually spam, car insurance offers, or somebody trying to extend your vehicle warranty from another dimension.
But this time, it was Michael Jordan.
The basketball legend surprised Ms. Etta with a video call, giving her the chance to speak with her former student one last time. And suddenly the internet transformed into one giant emotional support group.
“Is this Ms. Etta?” the caller asked, per Wilmington local news WECT 6, noting that it was the star athlete himself on the line.
Since Wendy was at her own home at the time she received the call from Jordan, who famously played for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards over the course of his illustrious career that spanned 15 seasons in the NBA before he retired in April 2003, she drove straight to Ms. Etta.
“They laughed, reminisced, picked at each other, and shared a moment that brought tears to everyone in the room,” the staff at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare told the outlet of the retired teacher and her former student, Jordan.
In a world filled with nonstop scandals and chaotic headlines, this story hit differently. No drama, no controversy. Just a former student taking time to honor someone who mattered to him.
It was a memory that Ms. Etta and her family will remember forever, they told the outlet.
Since his high school years, Jordan has gone on to become regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time due to his flawless 6-0 record in the NBA Finals, his incomparable scoring dominance and his unmatched competitive drive.
And for a few minutes, the internet stopped arguing and simply smiled.
