Michael Jordan’s Daughter Addresses Her Mom Juanita’s Absence In ‘The Last Dance’

Michael Jordan’s daughter Jasmine has addressed a question many fans had on their minds after watching ESPN’s “The Last Dance”: Where was Juanita Vanoy?

In an interview with Essence published Tuesday, Jasmine Jordan responded to speculation about her mother’s glaring absence from the hit docuseries, saying, “There’s no need to go down memory lane.”

The series, which centered on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls team, saw huge success in viewership over its monthlong run that concluded Sunday.

During much of the time covered in the documentary, the six-time NBA champion was married to Vanoy, now his ex-wife. The two got married in 1989 and divorced in 2006. They share Jasmine and sons Marcus and Jeffrey.

But any real mention of or appearance from Vanoy was notably missing from the 10-part documentary, which featured some of Michael Jordan’s past controversies, insight on his life growing up, and interviews with some of his family members, former teammates and closest friends.

“I think at the end of the day, you ask my mom … she lived it,” Jasmine Jordan told Essence. “There’s no need to go down memory lane and bring up everything that has already happened when the proof is in the pudding. She was at the championship, she was at the retirement ceremony, we saw her in her glory in her best way.”

“I don’t think there was a need to really rehash and go through it all” she continued.

During an interview with Crain’s Chicago Business in 2013, Vanoy talked about her efforts to provide her now-adult children with as much normalcy as possible when they were young.

Vanoy said she encouraged her sons not to wear their father’s iconic jersey number, 23, when they played basketball in middle school and high school to ensure they established their own identity and didn’t “try to be their dad.”

“They needed to understand that they had to develop their own skills and they needed to work hard and learn how to manage their own challenges on their own,” she said.

Jasmine Jordan told The Associated Press last week that she was surprised by her father’s openness throughout the docuseries, describing him as “very private.”

In 2013, Michael Jordan married his wife, Yvette Prieto, who was also not featured in the docuseries. The couple share twin daughters, Victoria and Ysabel.