There's usually a story in every NBA player's jersey number. Often times, their decision to pick a specific number to wear has something to do with favorite players while they were growing up, or they dedicate it to a family member who played basketball before them. But for Orlando Magic All-Star Nikola Vucevic, it's both. In an interview with The Athletic's Josh Robbins, the 28-year-old forward said that his decision to wear jersey number 9 was because of his father and Chicago Bulls legend, Michael Jordan.

“It was my father’s first number, and then (Michael) Jordan wore it on the U.S. national team. So those are the two reasons.

“I think about it sometimes but not all the time when I put the jersey on. Basketball’s a big part of our family and it gave us so much. Obviously, first with my parents — my mom and my dad — and now to me. I’m glad I was able to continue my parents’ success. Hopefully, it’ll transfer down to my son as well.”

“I was a huge Jordan fan growing up. I actually didn’t watch the (1992) Olympics. I was too young. But the way I found out about it was I had a tape, this documentary on him. It was called ‘Michael Jordan: Air Time.’ It was on the 1991-92 season and the Olympics. So I watched the tape 100 times at least. That’s where I knew he wore No. 9. And I had a bunch of Jordan stuff. My dad was able to get it from playing. So I was a huge Jordan fan. To this day, I’m still (a fan of his). I just watched his highlights yesterday.”

Vucevic also explains the reason why he never wore number 23, despite being a huge Jordan fan.

“(In the Olympics) he had to wear 9. I feel like 23 should only be his number. So I would never have worn 23, anyway.”

The number 9 reveals more than just Vucevic's story as a kind who came from a basketball loving family or his admiration for MJ. It tells more about his motivation to play at his best. He's not only doing this to make his parents or his idol proud, but also to give the Magic fans a reason to celebrate. As of the moment, Orlando is currently in a neck-and-neck race with the Miami Heat for the eighth and final playoffs spot in the Eastern Conference. They are currently in the ninth seed, half a game out of the postseason race, but there's still several games left, and Vucevic is more than determined to lead his team to the playoffs.

He has a lot of motivation to do it.