Michael Jordan FaceTimes to Fulfill Hospice Patient's Last Wish: ‘Is This Ms. Etta?'

Michael Jordan is a hard man to reach on any given day.

When he's not promoting his Jordan brand, he's busy keeping up with his private golf club in Florida, enjoying a minority ownership stake in the Charlotte Hornets, not to mention his latest endeavor: co-owning and managing his NASCAR Cup Series team, 23XI Racing, which he co-founded in 2020 with NASCAR star Denny Hamlin.

Jordan is reportedly worth more than $4 billion, according to Forbes, so it's safe to say the greatest professional basketball player of all time more than likely has his schedule structured from the time he gets out of bed until he closes his eyelids for the night.

You can see why it was difficult for the folks at hospice center LifeCare in Wilmington, North Carolina, to get in touch with Jordan, after a patient, Ms. Etta, wanted to fulfill a bucket-list item.

But why Jordan?

It turns out that Ms. Etta used to work as the transportation coordinator at Laney High School. One of the students she became incredibly close with was none other than the GOAT himself.

"As she reflected on favorite memories from her time at Laney, one name kept coming up. Ms. Etta had a special bucket list wish... to hug Michael's neck one more time," a post shared on Facebook read. "After several attempts to reach the former student, Wendy, a LifeCare social worker, received a call from an unknown number and heard, 'Is this, Ms. Etta?'"

It was Michael Jordan.

According to the hospice center's Facebook post, the social worker was at home when she got MJ's call.

"But she jumped in her car and drove to Ms. Etta's so they could FaceTime," the Facebook post continued. "They laughed, reminisced, picked at each other, and shared a moment that brought tears to everyone in the room. A memory her family will carry with them forever."

Jordan attended Laney High School, where he was famously cut from the high school basketball team.

The rest, of course, is history, but even at the height of his popularity with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan always made time to meet with children stricken with cancer or other health ailments. He met with these children before every home game at the United Center in Chicago. When his teammates brought friends into the locker room, Jordan always obliged with photos and autographs, as documented in the popular Netflix docuseries, The Last Dance.

That Jordan reached out to Ms. Etta to fulfill her final wish is par for the course.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 1:22 PM.