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This article is about the American basketball player. For other people with the same name, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation).

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ,[9] is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: «By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.»[10] He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He was integral in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s,[11] becoming a global cultural icon in the process.[12]

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan smiling at the camera

Jordan in 2014
Charlotte Hornets
Position Owner
League NBA
Personal information
Born February 17, 1963 (age 59)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 216 lb (98 kg)[a]
Career information
High school Emsley A. Laney
(Wilmington, North Carolina)
College North Carolina (1981–1984)
NBA draft 1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career 1984–1993, 1995–1998, 2001–2003
Position Shooting guard
Number 23, 12,[b] 45
Career history
1984–1993,
1995–1998		 Chicago Bulls
2001–2003 Washington Wizards
Career highlights and awards
  • 6× NBA champion (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 6× NBA Finals MVP (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 5× NBA Most Valuable Player (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998)
  • 14× NBA All-Star (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002, 2003)
  • 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998)
  • 10× All-NBA First Team (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
  • All-NBA Second Team (1985)
  • NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988)
  • 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1988–1993, 1996–1998)
  • NBA Rookie of the Year (1985)
  • NBA All-Rookie First Team (1985)
  • 10× NBA scoring champion (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 3× NBA steals leader (1988, 1990, 1993)
  • 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1987, 1988)
  • No. 23 retired by Chicago Bulls
  • No. 23 retired by Miami Heat
  • 3× AP Athlete of the Year (1991–1993)
  • Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year (1991)
  • 2× IBM Award (1985, 1989)
  • NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th)
  • NCAA champion (1982)
  • National college player of the year (1984)
  • 2× Consensus first-team All-American (1983, 1984)
  • ACC Player of the Year (1984)
  • 2× First-team All-ACC (1983, 1984)
  • ACC Rookie of the Year (1982)
  • No. 23 retired by North Carolina Tar Heels
  • 2× USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1983, 1984)
  • McDonald’s All-American (1981)
  • First-team Parade All-American (1981)
  • Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016)
Career NBA statistics
Points 32,292 (30.1 ppg)
Rebounds 6,672 (6.2 rpg)
Assists 5,633 (5.3 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
FIBA Hall of Fame as player

Medals

Men’s basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Men’s basketball
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona Men’s basketball
Tournament of the Americas
Gold medal – first place 1992 Portland Men’s basketball
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Men’s basketball

Jordan played college basketball for three seasons under coach Dean Smith with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team in 1982.[5] Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick,[5][13] and quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring while gaining a reputation as one of the game’s best defensive players.[14] His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free-throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames «Air Jordan» and «His Airness«.[5][13] Jordan won his first NBA title with the Bulls in 1991, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a three-peat. Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball but returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season.[5] He retired for the second time in January 1999 but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.[5][13] During the course of his professional career he was also selected to play for the United States national team, winning four gold medals (at the 1983 Pan American Games, 1984 Summer Olympics, 1992 Tournament of the Americas and 1992 Summer Olympics), while also being undefeated.[15]

Jordan’s individual accolades and accomplishments include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, ten NBA scoring titles (both all-time records), five NBA MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game selections, three NBA All-Star Game MVP awards, three NBA steals titles, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.[13] He holds the NBA records for career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and career playoff scoring average (33.4 points per game).[16] In 1999, he was named the 20th century’s greatest North American athlete by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press’ list of athletes of the century.[5] Jordan was twice inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once in 2009 for his individual career,[17] and again in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team («The Dream Team»).[18] He became a member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009,[19] a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2010,[20] and an individual member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015 and a «Dream Team» member in 2017.[21][22] In 2021, Jordan was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[23]

One of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation,[11] Jordan is known for his product endorsements.[24] He fueled the success of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1984 and remain popular today.[25] Jordan also starred as himself in the 1996 live-action animation hybrid film Space Jam and is the central focus of the Emmy Award-winning documentary miniseries The Last Dance (2020).[26] He became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Bobcats (now named the Hornets) in 2006,[25] and bought a controlling interest in 2010. In 2016, Jordan became the first billionaire player in NBA history.[27] That year, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[28] As of 2022, Jordan’s net worth is estimated at $1.7 billion.[29]

Early life

Jordan was born at Cumberland Hospital in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City, on February 17, 1963,[30] the son of bank employee Deloris (née Peoples) and equipment supervisor James R. Jordan Sr.[30][31] In 1968, he moved with his family to Wilmington, North Carolina.[32] Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he highlighted his athletic career by playing basketball, baseball, and football. He tried out for the basketball varsity team during his sophomore year; at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend Harvest Leroy Smith was the only sophomore to make the team.[33][34]

Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney’s junior varsity team, and tallied some 40-point games.[33] The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm) and trained rigorously.[34] Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged more than 25 points per game (ppg) over his final two seasons of high school play.[35] As a senior, he was selected to play in the 1981 McDonald’s All-American Game and scored 30 points,[36][37] after averaging 27 ppg,[35] 12 rebounds (rpg),[38][39] and six assists per game (apg) for the season.[39][40][41] Jordan was recruited by numerous college basketball programs, including Duke, North Carolina, South Carolina, Syracuse, and Virginia.[42] In 1981, he accepted a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in cultural geography.[43]

College career

Jordan going in for a slam dunk for the Laney High School varsity basketball team, 1979–80

Jordan in action for North Carolina in 1983

As a freshman in coach Dean Smith’s team-oriented system, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.4 ppg on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage).[44] He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing.[45] Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career.[46][47] During his three seasons with the Tar Heels, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rpg and 1.8 apg.[13]

Jordan was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons.[48][49] After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA draft. Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986,[50] when he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography.[51] In 2002, Jordan was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men’s basketball team honoring the 50 greatest players in ACC history.[52]

Professional career

Chicago Bulls (1984–1993; 1995–1998)

Early NBA years (1984–1987)

The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick of the 1984 NBA draft after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center.[53] Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center but more a matter of taking Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Jordan.[54] Citing Bowie’s injury-laden college career, ESPN named the Blazers’ choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history.[55]

Jordan made his NBA debut at Chicago Stadium on October 26, 1984, and scored 16 points. In 2021, a ticket stub from the game sold at auction for $264,000, setting a record for a collectible ticket stub.[56] During his rookie 1984–85 season with the Bulls, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting,[44] and helped make a team that had won 35% of games in the previous three seasons playoff contenders. He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas.[57][58][59] Roy S. Johnson of The New York Times described him as «the phenomenal rookie of the Bulls» in November,[59] and Jordan appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading «A Star Is Born» in December.[60][61] The fans also voted in Jordan as an All-Star starter during his rookie season.[5] Controversy arose before the 1985 NBA All-Star Game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving.[5] This led to a so-called «freeze-out» on Jordan, where players refused to pass the ball to him throughout the game.[5] The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted the NBA Rookie of the Year.[62] The Bulls finished the season 38–44,[63] and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the first round of the playoffs.[62]

An often-cited moment was on August 26, 1985,[35][64] when Jordan shook the arena during a Nike exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, by shattering the glass of the backboard with a dunk.[65][66] The moment was filmed and is often referred to worldwide as an important milestone in Jordan’s rise.[66][67] The shoes Jordan wore during the game were auctioned in August 2020 and sold for $615,000, a record for a pair of sneakers.[68][69] Jordan’s 1985–86 season was cut short when he broke his foot in the third game of the year, causing him to miss 64 games.[70] The Bulls made the playoffs despite Jordan’s injury and a 30–52 record,[63] at the time the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history.[71] Jordan recovered in time to participate in the postseason and performed well upon his return. Against a Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history,[72] Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2,[73] but the Celtics managed to sweep the series.[62]

Jordan completely recovered in time for the 1986–87 season,[74] and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history; he became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league-high 37.1 ppg on 48.2% shooting.[44][75] In addition, Jordan demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season.[76] Despite Jordan’s success, Magic Johnson won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.[77] The Bulls reached 40 wins,[63] and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year but were again swept by the Celtics.[62]

Pistons roadblock (1987–1990)

Jordan again led the league in scoring during the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting,[44] and he won his first league MVP Award. He was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, as he averaged 1.6 blocks per game (bpg), a league-high 3.1 steals per game (spg),[78] and led the Bulls defense to the fewest points per game allowed in the league.[79] The Bulls finished 50–32,[63] and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan’s career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.[80] In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Bulls lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons,[62] who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the «Bad Boys».[81]

In the 1988–89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the field, along with 8 rpg and 8 apg.[44] During the season, Sam Vincent, Chicago’s point guard, was having trouble running the offense, and Jordan expressed his frustration with head coach Doug Collins, who would put Jordan at point guard. In his time as a point guard, Jordan averaged 10 triple-doubles in eleven games, with 33.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 10.8 apg, 2.9 spg, and 0.8 bpg on 51% shooting.[82]

The Bulls finished with a 47–35 record,[63] and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating the Cavaliers and New York Knicks along the way.[83] The Cavaliers series included a career highlight for Jordan when he hit «The Shot» over Craig Ehlo at the buzzer in the fifth and final game of the series.[84] In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games,[62] by utilizing their «Jordan Rules» method of guarding Jordan, which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball.[5]

The Bulls entered the 1989–90 season as a team on the rise, with their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, and under the guidance of new coach Phil Jackson.[85] On March 28, 1990, Jordan scored a career-high 69 points in a 117–113 road win over the Cavaliers.[86] He averaged a league-leading 33.6 ppg on 52.6% shooting, to go with 6.9 rpg and 6.3 apg,[44] in leading the Bulls to a 55–27 record.[63] They again advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers;[87] despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls lost to the Pistons for the third consecutive season.[62]

First three-peat (1991–1993)

In the 1990–91 season, Jordan won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season.[44] The Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in sixteen years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season.[63] With Scottie Pippen developing into an All-Star, the Bulls had elevated their play. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where their rival, the Detroit Pistons, awaited them;[88] this time, the Bulls beat the Pistons in a four-game sweep.[89]

The Bulls advanced to the Finals for the first time in franchise history to face the Los Angeles Lakers, who had Magic Johnson and James Worthy, two formidable opponents. The Bulls won the series four games to one, and compiled a 15–2 playoff record along the way.[88] Perhaps the best-known moment of the series came in Game 2 when, attempting a dunk, Jordan avoided a potential Sam Perkins block by switching the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air to lay the shot into the basket.[90] In his first Finals appearance, Jordan had 31.2 ppg on 56% shooting from the field, 11.4 apg, 6.6 rpg, 2.8 spg, and 1.4 bpg.[91] Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award,[92] and he cried while holding the Finals trophy.[93]

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991–92 season, establishing a 67–15 record, topping their franchise record from 1990–91.[63] Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with averages of 30.1 ppg, 6.4 rbg, and 6.1 apg on 52% shooting.[78] After winning a physical seven-game series over the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in six games, the Bulls met Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic–Bird rivalry, highlighted the similarities between «Air» Jordan and Clyde «The Glide» during the pre-Finals hype.[94]

In the first game, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six three-point field goals.[95] After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside. Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying: «I can’t believe I’m doing this.»[96] The Bulls went on to win Game 1 and defeat the Blazers in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row,[92] and finished the series averaging 35.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 6.5 apg, while shooting 52.6% from the floor.[97]

In the 1992–93 season, despite a 32.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 5.5 apg campaign, including a second-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting,[78][98] Jordan’s streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended, as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley,[77] which upset him.[99] Coincidentally, Jordan and the Bulls met Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. The Bulls won their third NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago’s leader. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 ppg during the six-game series,[100] and became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVP awards.[92] He scored more than 30 points in every game of the series, including 40 or more points in four consecutive games.[101] With his third Finals triumph, Jordan capped off a seven-year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.[102]

Gambling

During the Bulls’ 1993 NBA playoffs, Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the night before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks.[103] The previous year, he admitted that he had to cover $57,000 in gambling losses,[104] and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book in 1993 claiming he had won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course.[105] David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, denied in 1995 and 2006 that Jordan’s 1993 retirement was a secret suspension by the league for gambling,[106][107] but the rumor spread widely.[108]

In 2005, Jordan discussed his gambling with Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes and admitted that he made reckless decisions. Jordan stated: «Yeah, I’ve gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I’ve pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you’re willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah.» When Bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family, Jordan replied: «No.»[109] In 2010, Ron Shelton, director of Jordan Rides the Bus, said that he began working on the documentary believing that the NBA had suspended him, but that research «convinced [him it] was nonsense».[108]

First retirement and stint in Minor League Baseball (1993–1995)

Michael Jordan
 

Jordan in training with the Scottsdale Scorpions in 1994
Birmingham Barons – No. 45, 35
Outfielder

Batted: Right

Threw: Right
Professional debut
Southern League: April 8, 1994, for the Birmingham Barons
Arizona Fall League: 1994, for the Scottsdale Scorpions
Last Southern League appearance
March 10, 1995, for the Birmingham Barons
Southern League statistics
(through 1994)
Batting average .202
Home runs 3
Runs batted in 51
Arizona Fall League statistics
Batting average .252
Runs batted in 8
Teams
  • Birmingham Barons (1994–1995)
  • Scottsdale Scorpions (1994)

On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, saying that he lost his desire to play basketball. Jordan later said that the murder of his father three months earlier helped shape his decision.[110] James R. Jordan Sr. was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery, who carjacked his Lexus bearing the license plate «UNC 0023».[111][112] His body, dumped in a South Carolina swamp, was not discovered until August 3.[112] Green and Demery were found after they made calls on James Jordan’s cell phone,[113] convicted at a trial, and sentenced to life in prison.[114]

Jordan was close to his father; as a child, he imitated the way his father stuck out his tongue while absorbed in work. He later adopted it as his own signature, often displaying it as he drove to the basket.[5] In 1996, he founded a Chicago-area Boys & Girls Club and dedicated it to his father.[115][116] In his 1998 autobiography For the Love of the Game, Jordan wrote that he was preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992.[117] The added exhaustion due to the «Dream Team» run in the 1992 Summer Olympics solidified Jordan’s feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan’s announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.[118]

Jordan further surprised the sports world by signing a Minor League Baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox on February 7, 1994.[119] He reported to spring training in Sarasota, Florida, and was assigned to the team’s minor league system on March 31, 1994.[120] Jordan said that this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball player.[121] The White Sox were owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan’s basketball contract during the years he played baseball.[122]

In 1994, Jordan played for the Birmingham Barons, a Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, batting .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, 114 strikeouts, 51 bases on balls, and 11 errors.[123][124] His strikeout total led the team and his games played tied for the team lead. His 30 stolen bases were second on the team only to Doug Brady.[125] He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League, batting .252 against the top prospects in baseball.[120] On November 1, 1994, his No. 23 was retired by the Bulls in a ceremony that included the erection of a permanent sculpture known as The Spirit outside the new United Center.[126][127][128]

«I’m back»: Return to the NBA (1995)

The Bulls went 55–27 in 1993–94 without Jordan in the lineup,[63] and lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.[129] The 1994–95 Bulls were a shell of the championship team of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago was 31–31 at one point in mid-March;[130] the team received help when Jordan decided to return to the Bulls.[131]

In March 1995, Jordan decided to quit baseball because he feared he might become a replacement player during the Major League Baseball strike.[132] On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: «I’m back.»[133] The next day, Jordan took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points.[134] The game had the highest Nielsen rating of any regular season NBA game since 1975.[135] Although he could have worn his original number even though the Bulls retired it, Jordan wore No. 45, his baseball number.[134]

Despite his eighteen-month hiatus from the NBA, Jordan played well, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back. He scored 55 points in his next game, against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995.[62] Boosted by Jordan’s comeback, the Bulls went 13–4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic.[136] At the end of Game 1, Orlando’s Nick Anderson stripped Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he later commented that Jordan «didn’t look like the old Michael Jordan»,[137] and said that «No. 45 doesn’t explode like No. 23 used to».[138]

Jordan responded by scoring 38 points in the next game, which Chicago won. Before the game, Jordan decided that he would immediately resume wearing his former No. 23. The Bulls were fined $25,000 for failing to report the impromptu number change to the NBA.[138] Jordan was fined an additional $5,000 for opting to wear white sneakers when the rest of the Bulls wore black.[139] He averaged 31 ppg in the playoffs, but Orlando won the series in six games.[140]

Second three-peat (1995–1998)

Jordan was freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, and he trained aggressively for the 1995–96 season.[141] The Bulls were strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist Dennis Rodman, and the team dominated the league, starting the season at 41–3.[142] The Bulls eventually finished with the best regular season record in NBA history, 72–10, a mark broken two decades later by the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors.[143] Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 ppg,[144] and he won the league’s regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards.[13]

In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series (Miami Heat 3–0, New York Knicks 4–1, and Orlando Magic 4–0), as they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4–2 in the NBA Finals to win their fourth championship.[142] Jordan was named Finals MVP for a record fourth time, surpassing Magic Johnson’s three Finals MVP awards;[92] he also achieved only the second sweep of the MVP awards in the All-Star Game, regular season, and NBA Finals after Willis Reed in the 1969–70 season.[62] Upon winning the championship, his first since his father’s murder, Jordan reacted emotionally, clutching the game ball and crying on the locker room floor.[5][93]

In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls stood at a 69–11 record but ended the season by losing their final two games to finish the year 69–13, missing out on a second consecutive 70-win season.[145] The Bulls again advanced to the Finals, where they faced the Utah Jazz.[146] That team included Karl Malone, who had beaten Jordan for the NBA MVP award in a tight race (986–957).[147][148][149] The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan’s career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, with the series tied at 2, Jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. In what is known as «The Flu Game», Jordan scored 38 points, including the game-deciding 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining.[146] The Bulls won 90–88 and went on to win the series in six games.[145] For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award.[92] During the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, Jordan posted the first triple-double in All-Star Game history in a victorious effort, but the MVP award went to Glen Rice.[150]

Jordan and the Bulls compiled a 62–20 record in the 1997–98 season.[63] Jordan led the league with 28.7 ppg,[78] securing his fifth regular season MVP award, plus honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team, and the All-Star Game MVP.[13] The Bulls won the Eastern Conference Championship for a third straight season, including surviving a seven-game series with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals; it was the first time Jordan had played in a Game 7 since the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals with the New York Knicks.[151][152] After winning, they moved on for a rematch with the Jazz in the Finals.[153]

The Bulls returned to the Delta Center for Game 6 on June 14, 1998, leading the series 3–2. Jordan executed a series of plays, considered to be one of the greatest clutch performances in NBA Finals history.[154] With 41.9 seconds remaining and the Bulls trailing 86–83, Phil Jackson called a timeout. When play resumed, Jordan received the inbound pass, drove to the basket, and sank a shot over several Jazz defenders, cutting Utah’s lead to 86–85.[154] The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to Malone, who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by Rodman. Malone jostled with Rodman and caught the pass, but Jordan cut behind him and stole the ball out of his hands.[154]

Jordan then dribbled down the court and paused, eyeing his defender, Jazz guard Bryon Russell. With 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, then crossed over to his left, possibly pushing off Russell, although the officials did not call a foul.[155][156][157][158] With 5.2 seconds left, Jordan made the climactic shot of his Bulls career,[159] a top-key jumper over a stumbling Russell to give Chicago an 87–86 lead. Afterwards, the Jazz’ John Stockton narrowly missed a game-winning three-pointer, and the buzzer sounded as Jordan and the Bulls won their sixth NBA championship,[160] achieving a second three-peat in the decade.[161] Once again, Jordan was voted Finals MVP,[92] having led all scorers by averaging 33.5 ppg, including 45 in the deciding Game 6.[162] Jordan’s six Finals MVPs is a record.[163] The 1998 Finals holds the highest television rating of any Finals series in history,[164] and Game 6 holds the highest television rating of any game in NBA history.[165]

Second retirement (1999–2001)

Plaque at the United Center that chronicles Jordan’s career achievements

With Phil Jackson’s contract expiring, the pending departures of Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired for the second time on January 13, 1999.[166][167][168] On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player but as part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards.[169] Jordan’s responsibilities with the Wizards were comprehensive, as he controlled all aspects of the Wizards’ basketball operations, and had the final say in all personnel matters; opinions of Jordan as a basketball executive were mixed.[170][171] He managed to purge the team of several highly paid, unpopular players (like forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland)[172][173] but used the first pick in the 2001 NBA draft to select high schooler Kwame Brown, who did not live up to expectations and was traded away after four seasons.[170][174]

Despite his January 1999 claim that he was «99.9% certain» he would never play another NBA game,[93] Jordan expressed interest in making another comeback in the summer of 2001, this time with his new team.[175][176] Inspired by the NHL comeback of his friend Mario Lemieux the previous winter,[177] Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago.[178] In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington’s coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing another Jordan return.[175][176]

Washington Wizards (2001–2003)

On September 25, 2001, Jordan announced his return to the NBA to play for the Washington Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11 attacks.[179][180] In an injury-plagued 2001–02 season, Jordan led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.4 spg),[5] and was an MVP candidate, as he led the Wizards to a winning record and playoff contention;[181][182] he would eventually finish 13th in the MVP ballot.[183] After suffering torn cartilage in his right knee,[184] and subsequent knee soreness,[185] the Wizards missed the playoffs,[186] and Jordan’s season ended after only 60 games, the fewest he had played in a regular season since playing 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the 1994–95 season.[44] Jordan started 53 of his 60 games for the season, averaging 24.3 ppg, 5.4 apg, and 6.0 rpg, and shooting 41.9% from the field in his 53 starts. His last seven appearances were in a reserve role, in which he averaged just over 20 minutes per game.[187] The Wizards finished the season with a 37–45 record, an 18-game improvement.[186]

Jordan as a member of the Washington Wizards, April 14, 2003

Playing in his 14th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2003, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star Game history, a record since broken by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.[188][189] That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them, and coming from off the bench in 15. He averaged 20.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 spg per game.[5] He also shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free-throw line.[44] Even though he turned 40 during the season, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine times, and 40 or more points three times.[62] On February 21, 2003, Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 43 points in an NBA game.[190] During his stint with the Wizards, all of Jordan’s home games at the MCI Center were sold out and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the NBA, averaging 20,172 fans a game at home and 19,311 on the road.[191] Jordan’s final two seasons did not result in a playoff appearance for the Wizards, and he was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him.[192][193] At several points, he openly criticized his teammates to the media, citing their lack of focus and intensity, notably that of Kwame Brown, the number-one draft pick in the 2001 NBA draft.[192][193]

Final retirement (2003)

With the recognition that 2002–03 would be Jordan’s final season, tributes were paid to him throughout the NBA. In his final game at the United Center in Chicago, which was his old home court, Jordan received a four-minute standing ovation.[194] The Miami Heat retired the No. 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan never played for the team.[195] At the 2003 All-Star Game, Jordan was offered a starting spot from Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson but refused both;[196] in the end, he accepted the spot of Vince Carter.[197] Jordan played in his final NBA game on April 16, 2003, in Philadelphia. After scoring 13 points in the game, Jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter and his team trailing the Philadelphia 76ers 75–56. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the First Union Center crowd began chanting «We want Mike!» After much encouragement from coach Doug Collins, Jordan finally rose from the bench and re-entered the game, replacing Larry Hughes with 2:35 remaining. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers’ Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, the officials, and the crowd of 21,257 fans.[198]

National team career

Jordan on the «Dream Team» in 1992

Jordan made his debut for the U.S. national basketball team at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela. He led the team in scoring with 17.3 ppg as the U.S., coached by Jack Hartman, won the gold medal in the competition.[199][200] A year later, he won another gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The 1984 U.S. team was coached by Bob Knight and featured players such as Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin, Steve Alford, and Wayman Tisdale. Jordan led the team in scoring, averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament.[201]

In 1992, Jordan was a member of the star-studded squad that was dubbed the «Dream Team», which included Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The team went on to win two gold medals: the first one in the 1992 Tournament of the Americas,[202] and the second one in the 1992 Summer Olympics. He was the only player to start all eight games in the Olympics, averaged 14.9 ppg, and finished second on the team in scoring.[203] Jordan was undefeated in the four tournaments he played for the United States national team, winning all 30 games he took part in.[15]

Player profile

Jordan dunking the ball, 1987–88

Jordan was a shooting guard who could also play as a small forward, the position he would primarily play during his second return to professional basketball with the Washington Wizards,[13] and as a point guard.[82] Jordan was known throughout his career as a strong clutch performer. With the Bulls, he decided 25 games with field goals or free throws in the last 30 seconds, including two NBA Finals games and five other playoff contests.[204] His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash talk and well-known work ethic.[205][206][207] Jordan often used perceived slights to fuel his performances. Sportswriter Wright Thompson described him as «a killer, in the Darwinian sense of the word, immediately sensing and attacking someone’s weakest spot».[3] As the Bulls organization built the franchise around Jordan, management had to trade away players who were not «tough enough» to compete with him in practice. To help improve his defense, he spent extra hours studying film of opponents. On offense, he relied more upon instinct and improvization at game time.[208]

Noted as a durable player, Jordan did not miss four or more games while active for a full season from 1986–87 to 2001–02, when he injured his right knee.[13][209] Of the 15 seasons Jordan was in the NBA, he played all 82 regular season games nine times.[13] Jordan has frequently cited David Thompson, Walter Davis, and Jerry West as influences.[210][211] Confirmed at the start of his career, and possibly later on, Jordan had a special «Love of the Game Clause» written into his contract, which was unusual at the time, and allowed him to play basketball against anyone at any time, anywhere.[212]

Jordan had a versatile offensive game and was capable of aggressively driving to the basket as well as drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate. His 8,772 free throw attempts are the 11th-highest total in NBA history.[213] As his career progressed, Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jump shot, using his leaping ability to avoid block attempts. According to Hubie Brown, this move alone made him nearly unstoppable.[214] Despite media criticism by some as a selfish player early in his career, Jordan was willing to defer to this teammates, with a career average of 5.3 apg and a season-high of 8.0 apg.[44] For a guard, Jordan was also a good rebounder, finishing with 6.2 rpg. Defensively, he averaged 2.3 spg and 0.8 bpg.[44]

Three-point field goal was not Jordan’s strength, especially in his early years. Later on in Jordan’s career, he improved his three-point shooting, and finished his career with a respectable 32% success rate.[44] His three-point field-goal percentages ranged from 35% to 43% in seasons in which he attempted at least 230 three-pointers between 1989–90 and 1996–97.[13] Jordan’s effective field goal percentage was 50%, and he had six seasons with at least 50% shooting, five of which consecutively (1988–1992); he also shot 51% and 50%, and 30% and 33% from the three-point range, throughout his first and second retirements, respectively, finishing his Chicago Bulls career with 31.5 points per game on 50.5 FG% shooting and his overall career with 49.7 FG% shooting.[13]

Unlike NBA players often compared to Jordan, such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, who had a similar three-point percentage, he did not shoot as many threes as they did, as he did not need to rely on the three-pointer in order to be effective on offense. Three-point shooting was only introduced in 1979 and would not be a more fundamental aspect of the game until the first decades of the 21st century,[215] with the NBA having to briefly shorten the line to incentivize more shots.[216] Jordan’s three-point shooting was better selected, resulting in three-point field goals made in important games during the playoffs and the Finals, such as hitting six consecutive three-point shots in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals. Jordan shot 37%, 35%, 42%, and 37% in all the seasons he shot over 200 three-pointers, and also shot 38.5%, 38.6%, 38.9%, 40.3%, 19.4%, and 30.2% in the playoffs during his championship runs, improving his shooting even after the three-point line reverted to the original line.[217][218][219]

In 1988, Jordan was honored with the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player awards, becoming the first NBA player to win both awards in a career let alone season. In addition, he set both seasonal and career records for blocked shots by a guard,[220] and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout defensive player. He ranks third in NBA history in total steals with 2,514, trailing John Stockton and Jason Kidd.[221] Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Jordan’s defensive contributions than his offensive ones.[222] Doc Rivers declared Jordan «the best superstar defender in the history of the game».[223]

Jordan was known to have strong eyesight. Broadcaster Al Michaels said that he was able to read baseball box scores on a 27-inch (69 cm) television clearly from about 50 feet (15 m) away.[224] During the 2001 NBA Finals, Phil Jackson compared Jordan’s dominance to Shaquille O’Neal, stating: «Michael would get fouled on every play and still have to play through it and just clear himself for shots instead and would rise to that occasion.»[225]

Legacy

Jordan’s talent was clear from his first NBA season; by November 1984, he was being compared to Julius Erving.[57][59] Larry Bird said that rookie Jordan was the best player he ever saw, and that he was «one of a kind», and comparable to Wayne Gretzky as an athlete.[226] In his first game in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, Jordan received a near minute-long standing ovation.[59] After establishing the single game playoff record of 63 points against the Boston Celtics on April 20, 1986, Bird described him as «God disguised as Michael Jordan».[73]

Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 10 seasons (NBA record) and tied Wilt Chamberlain’s record of seven consecutive scoring titles.[5] He was also a fixture of the NBA All-Defensive First Team, making the roster nine times (NBA record shared with Gary Payton, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant).[227] Jordan also holds the top career regular season and playoff scoring averages of 30.1 and 33.4 ppg, respectively.[16][228] By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning shot against the Jazz, he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer. In the regular season, Jordan was the Bulls’ primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs; he would always ask for the ball at crunch time.[229] Jordan’s total of 5,987 points in the playoffs is the second-highest among NBA career playoff scoring leaders.[230] He retired with 32,292 points in regular season play,[231] placing him fifth on the NBA all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, Karl Malone, and Bryant.[231]

With five regular season MVPs (tied for second place with Bill Russell—only Abdul-Jabbar has won more, with six), six Finals MVPs (NBA record), and three NBA All-Star Game MVPs, Jordan is the most decorated player in NBA history.[13][232] Jordan finished among the top three in regular season MVP voting 10 times.[13] He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996,[233] and selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.[23] Jordan is one of only seven players in history to win an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal (doing so twice with the 1984 and 1992 U.S. men’s basketball teams).[234] Since 1976, the year of the ABA–NBA merger,[235] Jordan and Pippen are the only two players to win six NBA Finals playing for one team.[236] In the All-Star Game fan ballot, Jordan received the most votes nine times, more than any other player.[237]

«There’s Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us.»

—Magic Johnson[5]

Many of Jordan’s contemporaries have said that Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.[222] In 1999, an ESPN survey of journalists, athletes and other sports figures ranked Jordan the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century, above Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali.[238] Jordan placed second to Ruth in the Associated Press’ December 1999 list of 20th century athletes.[239] In addition, the Associated Press voted him the greatest basketball player of the 20th century.[240] Jordan has also appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 50 times.[241] In the September 1996 issue of Sport, which was the publication’s 50th-anniversary issue, Jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years.[242]

Jordan’s athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many people with having influenced a generation of young players.[243][244] Several NBA players, including James and Dwyane Wade, have stated that they considered Jordan their role model while they were growing up.[245][246] In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players «the next Michael Jordan» upon their entry to the NBA, including Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Bryant, Vince Carter, James, and Wade.[247][248][249] Some analysts, such as The Ringer’s Dan Devine, drew parallels between Jordan’s experiment at point guard in the 1988–89 season and the modern NBA; for Devine, it «inadvertently foreshadowed the modern game’s stylistic shift toward monster-usage primary playmakers», such as Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Luka Dončić, and James.[250] Don Nelson stated: «I would’ve been playing him at point guard the day he showed up as a rookie.»[251]

Although Jordan was a well-rounded player, his «Air Jordan» image is also often credited with inadvertently decreasing the jump shooting skills, defense, and fundamentals of young players,[243] a fact Jordan himself has lamented, saying: «I think it was the exposure of Michael Jordan; the marketing of Michael Jordan. Everything was marketed towards the things that people wanted to see, which was scoring and dunking. That Michael Jordan still played defense and an all-around game, but it was never really publicized.»[243] During his heyday, Jordan did much to increase the status of the game; television ratings increased only during his time in the league.[252] The popularity of the NBA in the U.S. declined after his last title.[252] As late as 2020, NBA Finals television ratings had not returned to the level reached during his last championship-winning season.[253]

In August 2009, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened a Michael Jordan exhibit that contained items from his college and NBA careers as well as from the 1992 «Dream Team»; the exhibit also has a batting baseball glove to signify Jordan’s short career in the Minor League Baseball.[254] After Jordan received word of his acceptance into the Hall of Fame, he selected Class of 1996 member David Thompson to present him.[255] As Jordan would later explain during his induction speech in September 2009, he was not a fan of the Tar Heels when growing up in North Carolina but greatly admired Thompson, who played for the rival NC State Wolfpack. In September, he was inducted into the Hall with several former Bulls teammates in attendance, including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoč.[17] Dean Smith and Doug Collins, two of Jordan’s former coaches, were also among those present. His emotional reaction during his speech when he began to cry was captured by Associated Press photographer Stephan Savoia and would later go viral on social media as the «Crying Jordan» Internet meme.[256][257] In 2016, President Barack Obama honored Jordan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[28] In October 2021, Jordan was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[23] In September 2022, Jordan’s jersey in which he played the opening game of the 1998 NBA Finals was sold for $10.1 million, making it the most expensive game-worn sports memorabilia in history.[258]

NBA career statistics

Legend

  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league     NBA record

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1984–85 Chicago 82* 82* 38.3 .515 .173 .845 6.5 5.9 2.4 .8 28.2
1985–86 Chicago 18 7 25.1 .457 .167 .840 3.6 2.9 2.1 1.2 22.7
1986–87 Chicago 82* 82* 40.0 .482 .182 .857 5.2 4.6 2.9 1.5 37.1*
1987–88 Chicago 82 82* 40.4* .535 .132 .841 5.5 5.9 3.2* 1.6 35.0*
1988–89 Chicago 81 81 40.2* .538 .276 .850 8.0 8.0 2.9 .8 32.5*
1989–90 Chicago 82* 82* 39.0 .526 .376 .848 6.9 6.3 2.8* .7 33.6*
1990–91† Chicago 82* 82* 37.0 .539 .312 .851 6.0 5.5 2.7 1.0 31.5*
1991–92† Chicago 80 80 38.8 .519 .270 .832 6.4 6.1 2.3 .9 30.1*
1992–93† Chicago 78 78 39.3 .495 .352 .837 6.7 5.5 2.8* .8 32.6*
1994–95 Chicago 17 17 39.3 .411 .500 .801 6.9 5.3 1.8 .8 26.9
1995–96† Chicago 82 82* 37.7 .495 .427 .834 6.6 4.3 2.2 .5 30.4*
1996–97† Chicago 82 82* 37.9 .486 .374 .833 5.9 4.3 1.7 .5 29.6*
1997–98† Chicago 82* 82* 38.8 .465 .238 .784 5.8 3.5 1.7 .5 28.7*
2001–02 Wash­ington 60 53 34.9 .416 .189 .790 5.7 5.2 1.4 .4 22.9
2002–03 Wash­ington 82 67 37.0 .445 .291 .821 6.1 3.8 1.5 .5 20.0
Career[13] 1,072 1,039 38.3 .497 .327 .835 6.2 5.3 2.3 .8 30.1 
All-Star[13] 13 13 29.4 .472 .273 .750 4.7 4.2 2.8 .5 20.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1985 Chicago 4 4 42.8 .436 .125 .828 5.8 8.5 2.8 1.0 29.3
1986 Chicago 3 3 45.0 .505 1.000 .872 6.3 5.7 2.3 1.3 43.7
1987 Chicago 3 3 42.7 .417 .400 .897 7.0 6.0 2.0 2.3 35.7
1988 Chicago 10 10 42.7 .531 .333 .869 7.1 4.7 2.4 1.1 36.3
1989 Chicago 17 17 42.2 .510 .286 .799 7.0 7.6 2.5 .8 34.8
1990 Chicago 16 16 42.1 .514 .320 .836 7.2 6.8 2.8 .9 36.7
1991† Chicago 17 17 40.5 .524 .385 .845 6.4 8.4 2.4 1.4 31.1
1992† Chicago 22 22 41.8 .499 .386 .857 6.2 5.8 2.0 .7 34.5
1993† Chicago 19 19 41.2 .475 .389 .805 6.7 6.0 2.1 .9 35.1
1995 Chicago 10 10 42.0 .484 .367 .810 6.5 4.5 2.3 1.4 31.5
1996† Chicago 18 18 40.7 .459 .403 .818 4.9 4.1 1.8 .3 30.7
1997† Chicago 19 19 42.3 .456 .194 .831 7.9 4.8 1.6 .9 31.1
1998† Chicago 21 21 41.5 .462 .302 .812 5.1 3.5 1.5 .6 32.4
Career[13] 179 179 41.8 .487 .332 .828 6.4 5.7 2.1 .8 33.4 

Awards and honors

NBA
  • Six-time NBA champion – 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998[5]
  • Six-time NBA Finals MVP – 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998[13]
  • Five-time NBA MVP – 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998[5]
  • NBA Defensive Player of the Year – 1987–88[259]
  • NBA Rookie of the Year – 1984–85[5]
  • 10-time NBA scoring leader – 1987–1993, 1996–1998[13]
  • Three-time NBA steals leader – 1988, 1990, 1993[13]
  • 14-time NBA All-Star – 1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002, 2003[13]
  • Three-time NBA All-Star Game MVP – 1988, 1996, 1998[13]
  • 10-time All-NBA First Team – 1987–1993, 1996–1998[5]
  • One-time All-NBA Second Team – 1985[5]
  • Nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team – 1988–1993, 1996–1998[5]
  • NBA All-Rookie First Team – 1985[13]
  • Two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion – 1987, 1988[5]
  • Two-time IBM Award winner – 1985, 1989[259]
  • Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996[5]
  • Selected on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021[23]
  • No. 23 retired by the Chicago Bulls[260]
  • No. 23 retired by the Miami Heat[260]
  • NBA MVP trophy renamed in Jordan’s honor («Michael Jordan Trophy») in 2022[261]
USA Basketball
  • Two-time Olympic gold medal winner – 1984, 1992[5]
  • Tournament of the Americas gold medal winner – 1992[262]
  • Pan American Games gold medal winner – 1983[263]
NCAA
  • NCAA national championship – 1981–82[259]
  • ACC Freshman of the Year – 1981–82[264]
  • Two-time Consensus NCAA All-American First Team – 1982–83, 1983–84[264]
  • ACC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year – 1983–84[264]
  • USBWA College Player of the Year – 1983–84[265]
  • Naismith College Player of the Year – 1983–84[5]
  • Adolph Rupp Trophy – 1983–84[266]
  • John R. Wooden Award – 1983–84[5]
  • No. 23 retired by the North Carolina Tar Heels[267]
High school
  • McDonald’s All-American – 1981[36]
  • Parade All-American First Team – 1981[268]
Halls of Fame
  • Two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee:
    • Class of 2009 – individual[17]
    • Class of 2010 – as a member of the «Dream Team»[18]
  • United States Olympic Hall of Fame – Class of 2009 (as a member of the «Dream Team»)[19]
  • North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame – Class of 2010[20]
  • Two-time FIBA Hall of Fame inductee:
    • Class of 2015 – individual[21]
    • Class of 2017 – as a member of the «Dream Team»[22]
Media
  • Three-time Associated Press Athlete of the Year – 1991, 1992, 1993[269]
  • Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year – 1991[270]
  • Ranked No. 1 by Slam magazine’s «Top 50 Players of All-Time»[271]
  • Ranked No. 1 by ESPN SportsCentury‘s «Top North American Athletes of the 20th Century»[238]
  • 10-time ESPY Award winner (in various categories)[272]
  • 1997 Marca Leyenda winner[273]
National
  • 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom[28]
State/local
  • Statue inside the United Center[274]
  • Section of Madison Street in Chicago renamed Michael Jordan Drive – 1994[275]

Post-retirement

Jordan on a golf course in 2007

After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position as Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards.[276] His previous tenure in the Wizards’ front office had produced mixed results and may have also influenced the trade of Richard «Rip» Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse, although Jordan was not technically Director of Basketball Operations in 2002.[170] On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as the team’s president of basketball operations.[170] Jordan later stated that he felt betrayed, and that if he had known he would be fired upon retiring, he never would have come back to play for the Wizards.[109]

Jordan kept busy over the next few years. He stayed in shape, played golf in celebrity charity tournaments, and spent time with his family in Chicago. He also promoted his Jordan Brand clothing line and rode motorcycles.[277] Since 2004, Jordan has owned Michael Jordan Motorsports, a professional closed-course motorcycle road racing team that competed with two Suzukis in the premier Superbike championship sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) until the end of the 2013 season.[278][279]

Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets

On June 15, 2006, Jordan bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats (known as the Hornets since 2013), becoming the team’s second-largest shareholder behind majority owner Robert L. Johnson. As part of the deal, Jordan took full control over the basketball side of the operation, with the title Managing Member of Basketball Operations.[280][281] Despite Jordan’s previous success as an endorser, he has made an effort not to be included in Charlotte’s marketing campaigns.[282] A decade earlier, Jordan had made a bid to become part-owner of Charlotte’s original NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, but talks collapsed when owner George Shinn refused to give Jordan complete control of basketball operations.[283]

In February 2010, it was reported that Jordan was seeking majority ownership of the Bobcats.[284] As February wore on, it became apparent that Jordan and former Houston Rockets president George Postolos were the leading contenders for ownership of the team. On February 27, the Bobcats announced that Johnson had reached an agreement with Jordan and his group, MJ Basketball Holdings, to buy the team from Johnson pending NBA approval.[285] On March 17, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Jordan’s purchase, making him the first former player to become the majority owner of an NBA team.[286] It also made him the league’s only African-American majority owner.[287]

During the 2011 NBA lockout, The New York Times wrote that Jordan led a group of 10 to 14 hardline owners who wanted to cap the players’ share of basketball-related income at 50 percent and as low as 47. Journalists observed that, during the labor dispute in 1998, Jordan had told Washington Wizards then-owner Abe Pollin: «If you can’t make a profit, you should sell your team.»[288] Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com called Jordan «a hypocrite sellout who can easily betray the very people who made him a billionaire global icon» for wanting «current players to pay for his incompetence».[289] He cited Jordan’s executive decisions to draft disappointing players Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison.[289]

During the 2011–12 NBA season that was shortened to 66 games by the lockout, the Bobcats posted a 7–59 record. The team closed out the season with a 23-game losing streak; their .106 winning percentage was the worst in NBA history.[290] Before the next season, Jordan said: «I’m not real happy about the record book scenario last year. It’s very, very frustrating.»[291]

During the 2019 NBA offseason, Jordan sold a minority piece of the Hornets to Gabe Plotkin and Daniel Sundheim, retaining the majority of the team for himself,[292] as well as the role of chairman.[293]

23XI Racing

On September 21, 2020, Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin announced they would be fielding a NASCAR team with Bubba Wallace driving, beginning competition in the 2021 season. [294] On October 22, the team’s name was confirmed to be 23XI Racing (pronounced twenty-three eleven) and the team’s entry would bear No. 23.[295] As of the end of the 2022 season, 23XI Racing have 3 wins, 2 of them coming from Wallace, and 1 coming from Kurt Busch.[296]

Personal life

Jordan is the fourth of five children. He has two older brothers, Larry Jordan and James R. Jordan Jr., one older sister, Deloris, and one younger sister, Roslyn.[297][298] James retired in 2006 as the command sergeant major of the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army.[299] Jordan’s nephew through Larry, Justin Jordan, played NCAA Division I basketball for the UNC Greensboro Spartans and is a scout for the Charlotte Hornets.[300][301]

Jordan married Juanita Vanoy on September 2, 1989, at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.[302][303] They had two sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, and a daughter, Jasmine.[304] The Jordans filed for divorce on January 4, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences, but reconciled shortly thereafter. They again filed for divorce and were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage on December 29, 2006, commenting that the decision was made «mutually and amicably».[305][306] It is reported that Juanita received a $168 million settlement (equivalent to $226 million in 2021), making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement on public record at the time.[307][308]

In 1991, Jordan purchased a lot in Highland Park, Illinois, where he planned to build a 56,000 square-foot (5,200 m2) mansion. It was completed in 1995. He listed the mansion for sale in 2012.[309] He also owns homes in North Carolina and Jupiter Island, Florida.[310] His two sons attended Loyola Academy, a private Catholic school in Wilmette, Illinois.[311] Jeffrey graduated in 2007 and played his first collegiate basketball game for the University of Illinois on November 11, 2007. After two seasons, he left the Illinois basketball team in 2009. He later rejoined the team for a third season,[312][313] then received a release to transfer to the University of Central Florida, where Marcus was attending.[314][315] Marcus transferred to Whitney Young High School after his sophomore year at Loyola Academy and graduated in 2009. He began attending UCF in the fall of 2009,[316] and played three seasons of basketball for the school.[317]

On July 21, 2006, a judge in Cook County, Illinois, determined that Jordan did not owe his alleged former lover Karla Knafel $5 million in a breach of contract claim.[318] Jordan had allegedly paid Knafel $250,000 to keep their relationship a secret.[319][320][321] Knafel claimed Jordan promised her $5 million for remaining silent and agreeing not to file a paternity suit after Knafel learned she was pregnant in 1991; a DNA test showed Jordan was not the father of the child.[318]

Jordan proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto, on Christmas 2011,[322] and they were married on April 27, 2013, at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church.[323][324] It was announced on November 30, 2013, that the two were expecting their first child together.[325][326] On February 11, 2014, Prieto gave birth to identical twin daughters named Victoria and Ysabel.[327] In 2019, Jordan became a grandfather when his daughter Jasmine gave birth to a son, whose father is professional basketball player Rakeem Christmas.[328]

Media figure and business interests

Endorsements

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald’s, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, Wheaties, Hanes, and MCI.[329] Jordan has had a long relationship with Gatorade, appearing in over 20 commercials for the company since 1991, including the «Be Like Mike» commercials in which a song was sung by children wishing to be like Jordan.[329][330]

Nike created a signature shoe for Jordan, called the Air Jordan, in 1984.[331] One of Jordan’s more popular commercials for the shoe involved Spike Lee playing the part of Mars Blackmon. In the commercials, Lee, as Blackmon, attempted to find the source of Jordan’s abilities and became convinced that «it’s gotta be the shoes».[329] The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spate of «shoe-jackings» where people were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. Subsequently, Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own division named the «Jordan Brand». The company features an impressive list of athletes and celebrities as endorsers.[332][333] The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina, UCLA, California, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgetown, and Marquette.[334][335]

Jordan also has been associated with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial shown during 1992’s Super Bowl XXVI featured Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball.[336] The Super Bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action/animated film Space Jam, which starred Jordan and Bugs in a fictional story set during the former’s first retirement from basketball.[337] They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI.[337] Jordan also made an appearance in the music video for Michael Jackson’s «Jam» (1992).[338]

Since 2008, Jordan’s yearly income from the endorsements is estimated to be over $40 million.[339][340] In addition, when Jordan’s power at the ticket gates was at its highest point, the Bulls regularly sold out both their home and road games.[341] Due to this, Jordan set records in player salary by signing annual contracts worth in excess of US$30 million per season.[342] An academic study found that Jordan’s first NBA comeback resulted in an increase in the market capitalization of his client firms of more than $1 billion.[343]

Most of Jordan’s endorsement deals, including his first deal with Nike, were engineered by his agent, David Falk.[344] Jordan has described Falk as «the best at what he does» and that «marketing-wise, he’s great. He’s the one who came up with the concept of ‘Air Jordan.'»[345]

Business ventures

In June 2010, Jordan was ranked by Forbes as the 20th-most powerful celebrity in the world with $55 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010. According to Forbes, Jordan Brand generates $1 billion in sales for Nike.[346] In June 2014, Jordan was named the first NBA player to become a billionaire, after he increased his stake in the Charlotte Hornets from 80% to 89.5%.[347][348] On January 20, 2015, Jordan was honored with the Charlotte Business Journal’s Business Person of the Year for 2014.[349] In 2017, he became a part owner of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball.[350]

Forbes designated Jordan as the athlete with the highest career earnings in 2017.[351] From his Jordan Brand income and endorsements, Jordan’s 2015 income was an estimated $110 million, the most of any retired athlete.[352] As of 2022, his net worth is estimated at $1.7 billion by Forbes,[29] making him the sixth-richest African-American, behind Robert F. Smith, David Steward, Oprah Winfrey, Kanye West, and Rihanna.[353]

Jordan co-owns an automotive group which bears his name. The company has a Nissan dealership in Durham, North Carolina, acquired in 1990,[354] and formerly had a Lincoln–Mercury dealership from 1995 until its closure in June 2009.[355][356] The company also owned a Nissan franchise in Glen Burnie, Maryland.[355] The restaurant industry is another business interest of Jordan’s. Restaurants he has owned include a steakhouse in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, among others;[357] that restaurant closed in 2018.[358] Jordan is the majority investor in a golf course, Grove XXIII, under construction in Hobe Sound, Florida.[359]

In September 2020, Jordan became an investor and advisor for DraftKings.[360]

Philanthropy

From 2001 to 2014, Jordan hosted an annual golf tournament, the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational, that raised money for various charities.[361] In 2006, Jordan and his wife Juanita pledged $5 million to Chicago’s Hales Franciscan High School.[362] The Jordan Brand has made donations to Habitat for Humanity and a Louisiana branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.[363]

The Make-A-Wish Foundation named Jordan its Chief Wish Ambassador in 2008.[361] In 2013, he granted his 200th wish for the organization.[364] As of 2019, he has raised more than $5 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.[361]

In 2015, Jordan donated a settlement of undisclosed size from a lawsuit against supermarkets that had used his name without permission to 23 different Chicago charities.[365] In 2017, Jordan funded two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics in Charlotte, North Carolina, by giving $7 million, the biggest donation he had made at the time.[366] In 2018, after Hurricane Florence damaged parts of North Carolina, including his former hometown of Wilmington, Jordan donated $2 million to relief efforts.[367] He gave $1 million to aid the Bahamas’ recovery following Hurricane Dorian in 2019.[368]

On June 5, 2020, in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd, Jordan and his brand announced in a joint statement that they would be donating $100 million over the next 10 years to organizations dedicated to «ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education».[369] In February 2021, Jordan funded two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics in New Hanover County, North Carolina, by giving $10 million.[370][371]

Film and television

Jordan played himself in the 1996 comedy film Space Jam. The film received mixed reviews,[26] but it was a box office success, making $230 million worldwide, and earned more than $1 billion through merchandise sales.[372]

In 2000, Jordan was the subject of an IMAX documentary about his career with the Chicago Bulls, especially the 1998 NBA playoffs, entitled Michael Jordan to the Max.[373] Two decades later, the same period of Jordan’s life was covered in much greater and more personal detail by the Emmy Award-winning The Last Dance, a 10-part TV documentary which debuted on ESPN in April and May 2020. The Last Dance relied heavily on about 500 hours of candid film of Jordan’s and his teammates’ off-court activities which an NBA Entertainment crew had shot over the course of the 1997–98 NBA season for use in a documentary. The project was delayed for many years because Jordan had not yet given his permission for the footage to be used.[374][375] He was interviewed at three homes associated with the production and did not want cameras in his home or on his plane, as according to director Jason Hehir «there are certain aspects of his life that he wants to keep private».[376]

Jordan granted rapper Travis Scott permission to film a music video for his single «Franchise» at his home in Highland Park, Illinois.[377] Jordan appeared in the 2022 miniseries The Captain, which follows the life and career of Derek Jeter.[378]

Books

Jordan has authored several books focusing on his life, basketball career, and world view.

  • Rare Air: Michael on Michael, with Mark Vancil and Walter Iooss (Harper San Francisco, 1993).[379][380]
  • I Can’t Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence, with Mark Vancil and Sandro Miller (Harper San Francisco, 1994).[381]
  • For the Love of the Game: My Story, with Mark Vancil (Crown Publishers, 1998).[382]
  • Driven from Within, with Mark Vancil (Atria Books, 2005).[383]

See also

  • Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid athletes
  • List of athletes who came out of retirement
  • List of NBA teams by single season win percentage
  • Michael Jordan’s Restaurant
  • Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City
  • Michael Jordan in Flight
  • NBA 2K11
  • NBA 2K12

Notes

  1. ^ Jordan’s weight fluctuated from 195 lb (88 kg) to 218 lb (99 kg) during the course of his professional career;[1][2][3] his NBA listed weight was 216 lb (98 kg).[4][5][6]
  2. ^ Jordan wore a nameless No. 12 jersey in a February 14, 1990, game against the Orlando Magic because his No. 23 jersey had been stolen.[7] Jordan scored 49 points, setting a franchise record for players wearing that jersey number.[8]

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  378. ^ Bumbaca, Chris (July 18, 2022). «Derek Jeter like you’ve never seen him: ‘The Captain’ uncovers the man behind Yankees’ legend». USA Today. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
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  380. ^ Warren, James (October 24, 1993). «Rare DEA». Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  381. ^ «I Can’t Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence». WorldCat. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
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  383. ^ «Driven From Within» WorldCat. Retrieved January 3, 2019.

Sources

External video
  Discussion with Halberstam on Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made, February 22, 1999, C-SPAN
  • Condor, Bob (1998). Michael Jordan’s 50 Greatest Games. Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8065-2030-8.
  • Halberstam, David (2000). Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made. Broadway Books. ISBN 978-0-7679-0444-5.
  • Jordan, Michael (1998). For the Love of the Game: My Story. New York City: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-609-60206-5.
  • Kotler, Philip; Rein, Irving J.; Shields, Ben (2006). The Elusive Fan: Reinventing Sports in a Crowded Marketplace. The McGraw-Hill Companies. ISBN 978-0-07-149114-3.
  • Kruger, Mitchell (2003). One Last Shot: The Story of Michael Jordan’s Comeback. New York City: St. Martin’s Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-312-99223-1.
  • Lazenby, Roland (2014). Michael Jordan: The Life. New York City: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-19477-8.
  • LaFeber, Walter (2002). Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism. W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-32369-6.
  • Markovits, Andrei S.; Rensman, Lars (June 3, 2010). Gaming the World: How Sports are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13751-3.
  • Porter, David L. (2007). Michael Jordan: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33767-3.
  • The Sporting News Official NBA Register 1994–95 (1994). The Sporting News. ISBN 978-0-89204-501-3.

Further reading

  • Leahy, Michael (2004). When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan’s Last Comeback. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-7648-1.
  • McGovern, Mike (2005). Michael Jordan: Basketball Player. Ferguson. ISBN 978-0-8160-5876-1.

External links

This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 19 January 2013, and does not reflect subsequent edits.

  • Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
  • Michael Jordan at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
  • Michael Jordan at Curlie
  • Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
  • Michael Jordan Career Retrospective on YouTube
  • Michael Jordan at IMDb
  • «Jordan archives». Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 5, 1997. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
Источник

This article is about the American basketball player. For other people with the same name, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation).

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan smiling at the camera

Jordan in 2014
Charlotte Hornets
Position Owner
League NBA
Personal information
Born February 17, 1963 (age 59)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 216 lb (98 kg)[a]
Career information
High school Emsley A. Laney
(Wilmington, North Carolina)
College North Carolina (1981–1984)
NBA draft 1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career 1984–1993, 1995–1998, 2001–2003
Position Shooting guard
Number 23, 12,[b] 45
Career history
1984–1993,
1995–1998		 Chicago Bulls
2001–2003 Washington Wizards
Career highlights and awards
  • 6× NBA champion (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 6× NBA Finals MVP (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 5× NBA Most Valuable Player (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998)
  • 14× NBA All-Star (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002, 2003)
  • 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998)
  • 10× All-NBA First Team (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
  • All-NBA Second Team (1985)
  • NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988)
  • 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1988–1993, 1996–1998)
  • NBA Rookie of the Year (1985)
  • NBA All-Rookie First Team (1985)
  • 10× NBA scoring champion (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 3× NBA steals leader (1988, 1990, 1993)
  • 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1987, 1988)
  • No. 23 retired by Chicago Bulls
  • No. 23 retired by Miami Heat
  • 3× AP Athlete of the Year (1991–1993)
  • Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year (1991)
  • 2× IBM Award (1985, 1989)
  • NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th)
  • NCAA champion (1982)
  • National college player of the year (1984)
  • 2× Consensus first-team All-American (1983, 1984)
  • ACC Player of the Year (1984)
  • 2× First-team All-ACC (1983, 1984)
  • ACC Rookie of the Year (1982)
  • No. 23 retired by North Carolina Tar Heels
  • 2× USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1983, 1984)
  • McDonald’s All-American (1981)
  • First-team Parade All-American (1981)
  • Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016)
Career NBA statistics
Points 32,292 (30.1 ppg)
Rebounds 6,672 (6.2 rpg)
Assists 5,633 (5.3 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
FIBA Hall of Fame as player

Medals

Men’s basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Men’s basketball
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona Men’s basketball
Tournament of the Americas
Gold medal – first place 1992 Portland Men’s basketball
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Men’s basketball

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ,[9] is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: «By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.»[10] He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He was integral in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s,[11] becoming a global cultural icon in the process.[12]

Jordan played college basketball for three seasons under coach Dean Smith with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team in 1982.[5] Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick,[5][13] and quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring while gaining a reputation as one of the game’s best defensive players.[14] His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free-throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames «Air Jordan» and «His Airness«.[5][13] Jordan won his first NBA title with the Bulls in 1991, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a three-peat. Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball but returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season.[5] He retired for the second time in January 1999 but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.[5][13] During the course of his professional career he was also selected to play for the United States national team, winning four gold medals (at the 1983 Pan American Games, 1984 Summer Olympics, 1992 Tournament of the Americas and 1992 Summer Olympics), while also being undefeated.[15]

Jordan’s individual accolades and accomplishments include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, ten NBA scoring titles (both all-time records), five NBA MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game selections, three NBA All-Star Game MVP awards, three NBA steals titles, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.[13] He holds the NBA records for career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and career playoff scoring average (33.4 points per game).[16] In 1999, he was named the 20th century’s greatest North American athlete by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press’ list of athletes of the century.[5] Jordan was twice inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once in 2009 for his individual career,[17] and again in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team («The Dream Team»).[18] He became a member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009,[19] a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2010,[20] and an individual member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015 and a «Dream Team» member in 2017.[21][22] In 2021, Jordan was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[23]

One of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation,[11] Jordan is known for his product endorsements.[24] He fueled the success of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1984 and remain popular today.[25] Jordan also starred as himself in the 1996 live-action animation hybrid film Space Jam and is the central focus of the Emmy Award-winning documentary miniseries The Last Dance (2020).[26] He became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Bobcats (now named the Hornets) in 2006,[25] and bought a controlling interest in 2010. In 2016, Jordan became the first billionaire player in NBA history.[27] That year, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[28] As of 2022, Jordan’s net worth is estimated at $1.7 billion.[29]

Early life

Jordan was born at Cumberland Hospital in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City, on February 17, 1963,[30] the son of bank employee Deloris (née Peoples) and equipment supervisor James R. Jordan Sr.[30][31] In 1968, he moved with his family to Wilmington, North Carolina.[32] Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he highlighted his athletic career by playing basketball, baseball, and football. He tried out for the basketball varsity team during his sophomore year; at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend Harvest Leroy Smith was the only sophomore to make the team.[33][34]

Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney’s junior varsity team, and tallied some 40-point games.[33] The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm) and trained rigorously.[34] Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged more than 25 points per game (ppg) over his final two seasons of high school play.[35] As a senior, he was selected to play in the 1981 McDonald’s All-American Game and scored 30 points,[36][37] after averaging 27 ppg,[35] 12 rebounds (rpg),[38][39] and six assists per game (apg) for the season.[39][40][41] Jordan was recruited by numerous college basketball programs, including Duke, North Carolina, South Carolina, Syracuse, and Virginia.[42] In 1981, he accepted a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in cultural geography.[43]

College career

Jordan going in for a slam dunk for the Laney High School varsity basketball team, 1979–80

Jordan in action for North Carolina in 1983

As a freshman in coach Dean Smith’s team-oriented system, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.4 ppg on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage).[44] He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing.[45] Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career.[46][47] During his three seasons with the Tar Heels, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rpg and 1.8 apg.[13]

Jordan was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons.[48][49] After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA draft. Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986,[50] when he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography.[51] In 2002, Jordan was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men’s basketball team honoring the 50 greatest players in ACC history.[52]

Professional career

Chicago Bulls (1984–1993; 1995–1998)

Early NBA years (1984–1987)

The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick of the 1984 NBA draft after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center.[53] Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center but more a matter of taking Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Jordan.[54] Citing Bowie’s injury-laden college career, ESPN named the Blazers’ choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history.[55]

Jordan made his NBA debut at Chicago Stadium on October 26, 1984, and scored 16 points. In 2021, a ticket stub from the game sold at auction for $264,000, setting a record for a collectible ticket stub.[56] During his rookie 1984–85 season with the Bulls, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting,[44] and helped make a team that had won 35% of games in the previous three seasons playoff contenders. He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas.[57][58][59] Roy S. Johnson of The New York Times described him as «the phenomenal rookie of the Bulls» in November,[59] and Jordan appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading «A Star Is Born» in December.[60][61] The fans also voted in Jordan as an All-Star starter during his rookie season.[5] Controversy arose before the 1985 NBA All-Star Game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving.[5] This led to a so-called «freeze-out» on Jordan, where players refused to pass the ball to him throughout the game.[5] The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted the NBA Rookie of the Year.[62] The Bulls finished the season 38–44,[63] and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the first round of the playoffs.[62]

An often-cited moment was on August 26, 1985,[35][64] when Jordan shook the arena during a Nike exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, by shattering the glass of the backboard with a dunk.[65][66] The moment was filmed and is often referred to worldwide as an important milestone in Jordan’s rise.[66][67] The shoes Jordan wore during the game were auctioned in August 2020 and sold for $615,000, a record for a pair of sneakers.[68][69] Jordan’s 1985–86 season was cut short when he broke his foot in the third game of the year, causing him to miss 64 games.[70] The Bulls made the playoffs despite Jordan’s injury and a 30–52 record,[63] at the time the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history.[71] Jordan recovered in time to participate in the postseason and performed well upon his return. Against a Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history,[72] Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2,[73] but the Celtics managed to sweep the series.[62]

Jordan completely recovered in time for the 1986–87 season,[74] and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history; he became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league-high 37.1 ppg on 48.2% shooting.[44][75] In addition, Jordan demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season.[76] Despite Jordan’s success, Magic Johnson won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.[77] The Bulls reached 40 wins,[63] and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year but were again swept by the Celtics.[62]

Pistons roadblock (1987–1990)

Jordan again led the league in scoring during the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting,[44] and he won his first league MVP Award. He was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, as he averaged 1.6 blocks per game (bpg), a league-high 3.1 steals per game (spg),[78] and led the Bulls defense to the fewest points per game allowed in the league.[79] The Bulls finished 50–32,[63] and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan’s career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.[80] In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Bulls lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons,[62] who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the «Bad Boys».[81]

In the 1988–89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the field, along with 8 rpg and 8 apg.[44] During the season, Sam Vincent, Chicago’s point guard, was having trouble running the offense, and Jordan expressed his frustration with head coach Doug Collins, who would put Jordan at point guard. In his time as a point guard, Jordan averaged 10 triple-doubles in eleven games, with 33.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 10.8 apg, 2.9 spg, and 0.8 bpg on 51% shooting.[82]

The Bulls finished with a 47–35 record,[63] and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating the Cavaliers and New York Knicks along the way.[83] The Cavaliers series included a career highlight for Jordan when he hit «The Shot» over Craig Ehlo at the buzzer in the fifth and final game of the series.[84] In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games,[62] by utilizing their «Jordan Rules» method of guarding Jordan, which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball.[5]

The Bulls entered the 1989–90 season as a team on the rise, with their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, and under the guidance of new coach Phil Jackson.[85] On March 28, 1990, Jordan scored a career-high 69 points in a 117–113 road win over the Cavaliers.[86] He averaged a league-leading 33.6 ppg on 52.6% shooting, to go with 6.9 rpg and 6.3 apg,[44] in leading the Bulls to a 55–27 record.[63] They again advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers;[87] despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls lost to the Pistons for the third consecutive season.[62]

First three-peat (1991–1993)

In the 1990–91 season, Jordan won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season.[44] The Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in sixteen years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season.[63] With Scottie Pippen developing into an All-Star, the Bulls had elevated their play. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where their rival, the Detroit Pistons, awaited them;[88] this time, the Bulls beat the Pistons in a four-game sweep.[89]

The Bulls advanced to the Finals for the first time in franchise history to face the Los Angeles Lakers, who had Magic Johnson and James Worthy, two formidable opponents. The Bulls won the series four games to one, and compiled a 15–2 playoff record along the way.[88] Perhaps the best-known moment of the series came in Game 2 when, attempting a dunk, Jordan avoided a potential Sam Perkins block by switching the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air to lay the shot into the basket.[90] In his first Finals appearance, Jordan had 31.2 ppg on 56% shooting from the field, 11.4 apg, 6.6 rpg, 2.8 spg, and 1.4 bpg.[91] Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award,[92] and he cried while holding the Finals trophy.[93]

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991–92 season, establishing a 67–15 record, topping their franchise record from 1990–91.[63] Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with averages of 30.1 ppg, 6.4 rbg, and 6.1 apg on 52% shooting.[78] After winning a physical seven-game series over the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in six games, the Bulls met Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic–Bird rivalry, highlighted the similarities between «Air» Jordan and Clyde «The Glide» during the pre-Finals hype.[94]

In the first game, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six three-point field goals.[95] After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside. Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying: «I can’t believe I’m doing this.»[96] The Bulls went on to win Game 1 and defeat the Blazers in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row,[92] and finished the series averaging 35.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 6.5 apg, while shooting 52.6% from the floor.[97]

In the 1992–93 season, despite a 32.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 5.5 apg campaign, including a second-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting,[78][98] Jordan’s streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended, as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley,[77] which upset him.[99] Coincidentally, Jordan and the Bulls met Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. The Bulls won their third NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago’s leader. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 ppg during the six-game series,[100] and became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVP awards.[92] He scored more than 30 points in every game of the series, including 40 or more points in four consecutive games.[101] With his third Finals triumph, Jordan capped off a seven-year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.[102]

Gambling

During the Bulls’ 1993 NBA playoffs, Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the night before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks.[103] The previous year, he admitted that he had to cover $57,000 in gambling losses,[104] and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book in 1993 claiming he had won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course.[105] David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, denied in 1995 and 2006 that Jordan’s 1993 retirement was a secret suspension by the league for gambling,[106][107] but the rumor spread widely.[108]

In 2005, Jordan discussed his gambling with Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes and admitted that he made reckless decisions. Jordan stated: «Yeah, I’ve gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I’ve pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you’re willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah.» When Bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family, Jordan replied: «No.»[109] In 2010, Ron Shelton, director of Jordan Rides the Bus, said that he began working on the documentary believing that the NBA had suspended him, but that research «convinced [him it] was nonsense».[108]

First retirement and stint in Minor League Baseball (1993–1995)

Michael Jordan
Jordan Scorpions.jpg

Jordan in training with the Scottsdale Scorpions in 1994
Birmingham Barons – No. 45, 35
Outfielder

Batted: Right

Threw: Right
Professional debut
Southern League: April 8, 1994, for the Birmingham Barons
Arizona Fall League: 1994, for the Scottsdale Scorpions
Last Southern League appearance
March 10, 1995, for the Birmingham Barons
Southern League statistics
(through 1994)
Batting average .202
Home runs 3
Runs batted in 51
Arizona Fall League statistics
Batting average .252
Runs batted in 8
Teams
  • Birmingham Barons (1994–1995)
  • Scottsdale Scorpions (1994)

On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, saying that he lost his desire to play basketball. Jordan later said that the murder of his father three months earlier helped shape his decision.[110] James R. Jordan Sr. was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery, who carjacked his Lexus bearing the license plate «UNC 0023».[111][112] His body, dumped in a South Carolina swamp, was not discovered until August 3.[112] Green and Demery were found after they made calls on James Jordan’s cell phone,[113] convicted at a trial, and sentenced to life in prison.[114]

Jordan was close to his father; as a child, he imitated the way his father stuck out his tongue while absorbed in work. He later adopted it as his own signature, often displaying it as he drove to the basket.[5] In 1996, he founded a Chicago-area Boys & Girls Club and dedicated it to his father.[115][116] In his 1998 autobiography For the Love of the Game, Jordan wrote that he was preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992.[117] The added exhaustion due to the «Dream Team» run in the 1992 Summer Olympics solidified Jordan’s feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan’s announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.[118]

Jordan further surprised the sports world by signing a Minor League Baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox on February 7, 1994.[119] He reported to spring training in Sarasota, Florida, and was assigned to the team’s minor league system on March 31, 1994.[120] Jordan said that this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball player.[121] The White Sox were owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan’s basketball contract during the years he played baseball.[122]

In 1994, Jordan played for the Birmingham Barons, a Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, batting .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, 114 strikeouts, 51 bases on balls, and 11 errors.[123][124] His strikeout total led the team and his games played tied for the team lead. His 30 stolen bases were second on the team only to Doug Brady.[125] He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League, batting .252 against the top prospects in baseball.[120] On November 1, 1994, his No. 23 was retired by the Bulls in a ceremony that included the erection of a permanent sculpture known as The Spirit outside the new United Center.[126][127][128]

«I’m back»: Return to the NBA (1995)

The Bulls went 55–27 in 1993–94 without Jordan in the lineup,[63] and lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.[129] The 1994–95 Bulls were a shell of the championship team of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago was 31–31 at one point in mid-March;[130] the team received help when Jordan decided to return to the Bulls.[131]

In March 1995, Jordan decided to quit baseball because he feared he might become a replacement player during the Major League Baseball strike.[132] On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: «I’m back.»[133] The next day, Jordan took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points.[134] The game had the highest Nielsen rating of any regular season NBA game since 1975.[135] Although he could have worn his original number even though the Bulls retired it, Jordan wore No. 45, his baseball number.[134]

Despite his eighteen-month hiatus from the NBA, Jordan played well, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back. He scored 55 points in his next game, against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995.[62] Boosted by Jordan’s comeback, the Bulls went 13–4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic.[136] At the end of Game 1, Orlando’s Nick Anderson stripped Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he later commented that Jordan «didn’t look like the old Michael Jordan»,[137] and said that «No. 45 doesn’t explode like No. 23 used to».[138]

Jordan responded by scoring 38 points in the next game, which Chicago won. Before the game, Jordan decided that he would immediately resume wearing his former No. 23. The Bulls were fined $25,000 for failing to report the impromptu number change to the NBA.[138] Jordan was fined an additional $5,000 for opting to wear white sneakers when the rest of the Bulls wore black.[139] He averaged 31 ppg in the playoffs, but Orlando won the series in six games.[140]

Second three-peat (1995–1998)

Jordan was freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, and he trained aggressively for the 1995–96 season.[141] The Bulls were strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist Dennis Rodman, and the team dominated the league, starting the season at 41–3.[142] The Bulls eventually finished with the best regular season record in NBA history, 72–10, a mark broken two decades later by the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors.[143] Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 ppg,[144] and he won the league’s regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards.[13]

In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series (Miami Heat 3–0, New York Knicks 4–1, and Orlando Magic 4–0), as they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4–2 in the NBA Finals to win their fourth championship.[142] Jordan was named Finals MVP for a record fourth time, surpassing Magic Johnson’s three Finals MVP awards;[92] he also achieved only the second sweep of the MVP awards in the All-Star Game, regular season, and NBA Finals after Willis Reed in the 1969–70 season.[62] Upon winning the championship, his first since his father’s murder, Jordan reacted emotionally, clutching the game ball and crying on the locker room floor.[5][93]

In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls stood at a 69–11 record but ended the season by losing their final two games to finish the year 69–13, missing out on a second consecutive 70-win season.[145] The Bulls again advanced to the Finals, where they faced the Utah Jazz.[146] That team included Karl Malone, who had beaten Jordan for the NBA MVP award in a tight race (986–957).[147][148][149] The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan’s career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, with the series tied at 2, Jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. In what is known as «The Flu Game», Jordan scored 38 points, including the game-deciding 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining.[146] The Bulls won 90–88 and went on to win the series in six games.[145] For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award.[92] During the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, Jordan posted the first triple-double in All-Star Game history in a victorious effort, but the MVP award went to Glen Rice.[150]

Jordan and the Bulls compiled a 62–20 record in the 1997–98 season.[63] Jordan led the league with 28.7 ppg,[78] securing his fifth regular season MVP award, plus honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team, and the All-Star Game MVP.[13] The Bulls won the Eastern Conference Championship for a third straight season, including surviving a seven-game series with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals; it was the first time Jordan had played in a Game 7 since the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals with the New York Knicks.[151][152] After winning, they moved on for a rematch with the Jazz in the Finals.[153]

The Bulls returned to the Delta Center for Game 6 on June 14, 1998, leading the series 3–2. Jordan executed a series of plays, considered to be one of the greatest clutch performances in NBA Finals history.[154] With 41.9 seconds remaining and the Bulls trailing 86–83, Phil Jackson called a timeout. When play resumed, Jordan received the inbound pass, drove to the basket, and sank a shot over several Jazz defenders, cutting Utah’s lead to 86–85.[154] The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to Malone, who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by Rodman. Malone jostled with Rodman and caught the pass, but Jordan cut behind him and stole the ball out of his hands.[154]

Jordan then dribbled down the court and paused, eyeing his defender, Jazz guard Bryon Russell. With 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, then crossed over to his left, possibly pushing off Russell, although the officials did not call a foul.[155][156][157][158] With 5.2 seconds left, Jordan made the climactic shot of his Bulls career,[159] a top-key jumper over a stumbling Russell to give Chicago an 87–86 lead. Afterwards, the Jazz’ John Stockton narrowly missed a game-winning three-pointer, and the buzzer sounded as Jordan and the Bulls won their sixth NBA championship,[160] achieving a second three-peat in the decade.[161] Once again, Jordan was voted Finals MVP,[92] having led all scorers by averaging 33.5 ppg, including 45 in the deciding Game 6.[162] Jordan’s six Finals MVPs is a record.[163] The 1998 Finals holds the highest television rating of any Finals series in history,[164] and Game 6 holds the highest television rating of any game in NBA history.[165]

Second retirement (1999–2001)

Plaque at the United Center that chronicles Jordan’s career achievements

With Phil Jackson’s contract expiring, the pending departures of Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired for the second time on January 13, 1999.[166][167][168] On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player but as part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards.[169] Jordan’s responsibilities with the Wizards were comprehensive, as he controlled all aspects of the Wizards’ basketball operations, and had the final say in all personnel matters; opinions of Jordan as a basketball executive were mixed.[170][171] He managed to purge the team of several highly paid, unpopular players (like forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland)[172][173] but used the first pick in the 2001 NBA draft to select high schooler Kwame Brown, who did not live up to expectations and was traded away after four seasons.[170][174]

Despite his January 1999 claim that he was «99.9% certain» he would never play another NBA game,[93] Jordan expressed interest in making another comeback in the summer of 2001, this time with his new team.[175][176] Inspired by the NHL comeback of his friend Mario Lemieux the previous winter,[177] Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago.[178] In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington’s coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing another Jordan return.[175][176]

Washington Wizards (2001–2003)

On September 25, 2001, Jordan announced his return to the NBA to play for the Washington Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11 attacks.[179][180] In an injury-plagued 2001–02 season, Jordan led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.4 spg),[5] and was an MVP candidate, as he led the Wizards to a winning record and playoff contention;[181][182] he would eventually finish 13th in the MVP ballot.[183] After suffering torn cartilage in his right knee,[184] and subsequent knee soreness,[185] the Wizards missed the playoffs,[186] and Jordan’s season ended after only 60 games, the fewest he had played in a regular season since playing 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the 1994–95 season.[44] Jordan started 53 of his 60 games for the season, averaging 24.3 ppg, 5.4 apg, and 6.0 rpg, and shooting 41.9% from the field in his 53 starts. His last seven appearances were in a reserve role, in which he averaged just over 20 minutes per game.[187] The Wizards finished the season with a 37–45 record, an 18-game improvement.[186]

Jordan as a member of the Washington Wizards, April 14, 2003

Playing in his 14th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2003, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star Game history, a record since broken by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.[188][189] That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them, and coming from off the bench in 15. He averaged 20.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 spg per game.[5] He also shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free-throw line.[44] Even though he turned 40 during the season, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine times, and 40 or more points three times.[62] On February 21, 2003, Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 43 points in an NBA game.[190] During his stint with the Wizards, all of Jordan’s home games at the MCI Center were sold out and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the NBA, averaging 20,172 fans a game at home and 19,311 on the road.[191] Jordan’s final two seasons did not result in a playoff appearance for the Wizards, and he was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him.[192][193] At several points, he openly criticized his teammates to the media, citing their lack of focus and intensity, notably that of Kwame Brown, the number-one draft pick in the 2001 NBA draft.[192][193]

Final retirement (2003)

With the recognition that 2002–03 would be Jordan’s final season, tributes were paid to him throughout the NBA. In his final game at the United Center in Chicago, which was his old home court, Jordan received a four-minute standing ovation.[194] The Miami Heat retired the No. 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan never played for the team.[195] At the 2003 All-Star Game, Jordan was offered a starting spot from Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson but refused both;[196] in the end, he accepted the spot of Vince Carter.[197] Jordan played in his final NBA game on April 16, 2003, in Philadelphia. After scoring 13 points in the game, Jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter and his team trailing the Philadelphia 76ers 75–56. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the First Union Center crowd began chanting «We want Mike!» After much encouragement from coach Doug Collins, Jordan finally rose from the bench and re-entered the game, replacing Larry Hughes with 2:35 remaining. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers’ Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, the officials, and the crowd of 21,257 fans.[198]

National team career

Jordan on the «Dream Team» in 1992

Jordan made his debut for the U.S. national basketball team at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela. He led the team in scoring with 17.3 ppg as the U.S., coached by Jack Hartman, won the gold medal in the competition.[199][200] A year later, he won another gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The 1984 U.S. team was coached by Bob Knight and featured players such as Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin, Steve Alford, and Wayman Tisdale. Jordan led the team in scoring, averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament.[201]

In 1992, Jordan was a member of the star-studded squad that was dubbed the «Dream Team», which included Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The team went on to win two gold medals: the first one in the 1992 Tournament of the Americas,[202] and the second one in the 1992 Summer Olympics. He was the only player to start all eight games in the Olympics, averaged 14.9 ppg, and finished second on the team in scoring.[203] Jordan was undefeated in the four tournaments he played for the United States national team, winning all 30 games he took part in.[15]

Player profile

Jordan dunking the ball, 1987–88

Jordan was a shooting guard who could also play as a small forward, the position he would primarily play during his second return to professional basketball with the Washington Wizards,[13] and as a point guard.[82] Jordan was known throughout his career as a strong clutch performer. With the Bulls, he decided 25 games with field goals or free throws in the last 30 seconds, including two NBA Finals games and five other playoff contests.[204] His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash talk and well-known work ethic.[205][206][207] Jordan often used perceived slights to fuel his performances. Sportswriter Wright Thompson described him as «a killer, in the Darwinian sense of the word, immediately sensing and attacking someone’s weakest spot».[3] As the Bulls organization built the franchise around Jordan, management had to trade away players who were not «tough enough» to compete with him in practice. To help improve his defense, he spent extra hours studying film of opponents. On offense, he relied more upon instinct and improvization at game time.[208]

Noted as a durable player, Jordan did not miss four or more games while active for a full season from 1986–87 to 2001–02, when he injured his right knee.[13][209] Of the 15 seasons Jordan was in the NBA, he played all 82 regular season games nine times.[13] Jordan has frequently cited David Thompson, Walter Davis, and Jerry West as influences.[210][211] Confirmed at the start of his career, and possibly later on, Jordan had a special «Love of the Game Clause» written into his contract, which was unusual at the time, and allowed him to play basketball against anyone at any time, anywhere.[212]

Jordan had a versatile offensive game and was capable of aggressively driving to the basket as well as drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate. His 8,772 free throw attempts are the 11th-highest total in NBA history.[213] As his career progressed, Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jump shot, using his leaping ability to avoid block attempts. According to Hubie Brown, this move alone made him nearly unstoppable.[214] Despite media criticism by some as a selfish player early in his career, Jordan was willing to defer to this teammates, with a career average of 5.3 apg and a season-high of 8.0 apg.[44] For a guard, Jordan was also a good rebounder, finishing with 6.2 rpg. Defensively, he averaged 2.3 spg and 0.8 bpg.[44]

Three-point field goal was not Jordan’s strength, especially in his early years. Later on in Jordan’s career, he improved his three-point shooting, and finished his career with a respectable 32% success rate.[44] His three-point field-goal percentages ranged from 35% to 43% in seasons in which he attempted at least 230 three-pointers between 1989–90 and 1996–97.[13] Jordan’s effective field goal percentage was 50%, and he had six seasons with at least 50% shooting, five of which consecutively (1988–1992); he also shot 51% and 50%, and 30% and 33% from the three-point range, throughout his first and second retirements, respectively, finishing his Chicago Bulls career with 31.5 points per game on 50.5 FG% shooting and his overall career with 49.7 FG% shooting.[13]

Unlike NBA players often compared to Jordan, such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, who had a similar three-point percentage, he did not shoot as many threes as they did, as he did not need to rely on the three-pointer in order to be effective on offense. Three-point shooting was only introduced in 1979 and would not be a more fundamental aspect of the game until the first decades of the 21st century,[215] with the NBA having to briefly shorten the line to incentivize more shots.[216] Jordan’s three-point shooting was better selected, resulting in three-point field goals made in important games during the playoffs and the Finals, such as hitting six consecutive three-point shots in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals. Jordan shot 37%, 35%, 42%, and 37% in all the seasons he shot over 200 three-pointers, and also shot 38.5%, 38.6%, 38.9%, 40.3%, 19.4%, and 30.2% in the playoffs during his championship runs, improving his shooting even after the three-point line reverted to the original line.[217][218][219]

In 1988, Jordan was honored with the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player awards, becoming the first NBA player to win both awards in a career let alone season. In addition, he set both seasonal and career records for blocked shots by a guard,[220] and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout defensive player. He ranks third in NBA history in total steals with 2,514, trailing John Stockton and Jason Kidd.[221] Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Jordan’s defensive contributions than his offensive ones.[222] Doc Rivers declared Jordan «the best superstar defender in the history of the game».[223]

Jordan was known to have strong eyesight. Broadcaster Al Michaels said that he was able to read baseball box scores on a 27-inch (69 cm) television clearly from about 50 feet (15 m) away.[224] During the 2001 NBA Finals, Phil Jackson compared Jordan’s dominance to Shaquille O’Neal, stating: «Michael would get fouled on every play and still have to play through it and just clear himself for shots instead and would rise to that occasion.»[225]

Legacy

Jordan’s talent was clear from his first NBA season; by November 1984, he was being compared to Julius Erving.[57][59] Larry Bird said that rookie Jordan was the best player he ever saw, and that he was «one of a kind», and comparable to Wayne Gretzky as an athlete.[226] In his first game in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, Jordan received a near minute-long standing ovation.[59] After establishing the single game playoff record of 63 points against the Boston Celtics on April 20, 1986, Bird described him as «God disguised as Michael Jordan».[73]

Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 10 seasons (NBA record) and tied Wilt Chamberlain’s record of seven consecutive scoring titles.[5] He was also a fixture of the NBA All-Defensive First Team, making the roster nine times (NBA record shared with Gary Payton, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant).[227] Jordan also holds the top career regular season and playoff scoring averages of 30.1 and 33.4 ppg, respectively.[16][228] By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning shot against the Jazz, he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer. In the regular season, Jordan was the Bulls’ primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs; he would always ask for the ball at crunch time.[229] Jordan’s total of 5,987 points in the playoffs is the second-highest among NBA career playoff scoring leaders.[230] He retired with 32,292 points in regular season play,[231] placing him fifth on the NBA all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, Karl Malone, and Bryant.[231]

With five regular season MVPs (tied for second place with Bill Russell—only Abdul-Jabbar has won more, with six), six Finals MVPs (NBA record), and three NBA All-Star Game MVPs, Jordan is the most decorated player in NBA history.[13][232] Jordan finished among the top three in regular season MVP voting 10 times.[13] He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996,[233] and selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.[23] Jordan is one of only seven players in history to win an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal (doing so twice with the 1984 and 1992 U.S. men’s basketball teams).[234] Since 1976, the year of the ABA–NBA merger,[235] Jordan and Pippen are the only two players to win six NBA Finals playing for one team.[236] In the All-Star Game fan ballot, Jordan received the most votes nine times, more than any other player.[237]

«There’s Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us.»

—Magic Johnson[5]

Many of Jordan’s contemporaries have said that Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.[222] In 1999, an ESPN survey of journalists, athletes and other sports figures ranked Jordan the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century, above Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali.[238] Jordan placed second to Ruth in the Associated Press’ December 1999 list of 20th century athletes.[239] In addition, the Associated Press voted him the greatest basketball player of the 20th century.[240] Jordan has also appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 50 times.[241] In the September 1996 issue of Sport, which was the publication’s 50th-anniversary issue, Jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years.[242]

Jordan’s athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many people with having influenced a generation of young players.[243][244] Several NBA players, including James and Dwyane Wade, have stated that they considered Jordan their role model while they were growing up.[245][246] In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players «the next Michael Jordan» upon their entry to the NBA, including Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Bryant, Vince Carter, James, and Wade.[247][248][249] Some analysts, such as The Ringer’s Dan Devine, drew parallels between Jordan’s experiment at point guard in the 1988–89 season and the modern NBA; for Devine, it «inadvertently foreshadowed the modern game’s stylistic shift toward monster-usage primary playmakers», such as Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Luka Dončić, and James.[250] Don Nelson stated: «I would’ve been playing him at point guard the day he showed up as a rookie.»[251]

Although Jordan was a well-rounded player, his «Air Jordan» image is also often credited with inadvertently decreasing the jump shooting skills, defense, and fundamentals of young players,[243] a fact Jordan himself has lamented, saying: «I think it was the exposure of Michael Jordan; the marketing of Michael Jordan. Everything was marketed towards the things that people wanted to see, which was scoring and dunking. That Michael Jordan still played defense and an all-around game, but it was never really publicized.»[243] During his heyday, Jordan did much to increase the status of the game; television ratings increased only during his time in the league.[252] The popularity of the NBA in the U.S. declined after his last title.[252] As late as 2020, NBA Finals television ratings had not returned to the level reached during his last championship-winning season.[253]

In August 2009, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened a Michael Jordan exhibit that contained items from his college and NBA careers as well as from the 1992 «Dream Team»; the exhibit also has a batting baseball glove to signify Jordan’s short career in the Minor League Baseball.[254] After Jordan received word of his acceptance into the Hall of Fame, he selected Class of 1996 member David Thompson to present him.[255] As Jordan would later explain during his induction speech in September 2009, he was not a fan of the Tar Heels when growing up in North Carolina but greatly admired Thompson, who played for the rival NC State Wolfpack. In September, he was inducted into the Hall with several former Bulls teammates in attendance, including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoč.[17] Dean Smith and Doug Collins, two of Jordan’s former coaches, were also among those present. His emotional reaction during his speech when he began to cry was captured by Associated Press photographer Stephan Savoia and would later go viral on social media as the «Crying Jordan» Internet meme.[256][257] In 2016, President Barack Obama honored Jordan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[28] In October 2021, Jordan was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[23] In September 2022, Jordan’s jersey in which he played the opening game of the 1998 NBA Finals was sold for $10.1 million, making it the most expensive game-worn sports memorabilia in history.[258]

NBA career statistics

Legend

  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league  double-dagger  NBA record

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1984–85 Chicago 82* 82* 38.3 .515 .173 .845 6.5 5.9 2.4 .8 28.2
1985–86 Chicago 18 7 25.1 .457 .167 .840 3.6 2.9 2.1 1.2 22.7
1986–87 Chicago 82* 82* 40.0 .482 .182 .857 5.2 4.6 2.9 1.5 37.1*
1987–88 Chicago 82 82* 40.4* .535 .132 .841 5.5 5.9 3.2* 1.6 35.0*
1988–89 Chicago 81 81 40.2* .538 .276 .850 8.0 8.0 2.9 .8 32.5*
1989–90 Chicago 82* 82* 39.0 .526 .376 .848 6.9 6.3 2.8* .7 33.6*
1990–91† Chicago 82* 82* 37.0 .539 .312 .851 6.0 5.5 2.7 1.0 31.5*
1991–92† Chicago 80 80 38.8 .519 .270 .832 6.4 6.1 2.3 .9 30.1*
1992–93† Chicago 78 78 39.3 .495 .352 .837 6.7 5.5 2.8* .8 32.6*
1994–95 Chicago 17 17 39.3 .411 .500 .801 6.9 5.3 1.8 .8 26.9
1995–96† Chicago 82 82* 37.7 .495 .427 .834 6.6 4.3 2.2 .5 30.4*
1996–97† Chicago 82 82* 37.9 .486 .374 .833 5.9 4.3 1.7 .5 29.6*
1997–98† Chicago 82* 82* 38.8 .465 .238 .784 5.8 3.5 1.7 .5 28.7*
2001–02 Wash­ington 60 53 34.9 .416 .189 .790 5.7 5.2 1.4 .4 22.9
2002–03 Wash­ington 82 67 37.0 .445 .291 .821 6.1 3.8 1.5 .5 20.0
Career[13] 1,072 1,039 38.3 .497 .327 .835 6.2 5.3 2.3 .8 30.1double-dagger
All-Star[13] 13 13 29.4 .472 .273 .750 4.7 4.2 2.8 .5 20.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1985 Chicago 4 4 42.8 .436 .125 .828 5.8 8.5 2.8 1.0 29.3
1986 Chicago 3 3 45.0 .505 1.000 .872 6.3 5.7 2.3 1.3 43.7
1987 Chicago 3 3 42.7 .417 .400 .897 7.0 6.0 2.0 2.3 35.7
1988 Chicago 10 10 42.7 .531 .333 .869 7.1 4.7 2.4 1.1 36.3
1989 Chicago 17 17 42.2 .510 .286 .799 7.0 7.6 2.5 .8 34.8
1990 Chicago 16 16 42.1 .514 .320 .836 7.2 6.8 2.8 .9 36.7
1991† Chicago 17 17 40.5 .524 .385 .845 6.4 8.4 2.4 1.4 31.1
1992† Chicago 22 22 41.8 .499 .386 .857 6.2 5.8 2.0 .7 34.5
1993† Chicago 19 19 41.2 .475 .389 .805 6.7 6.0 2.1 .9 35.1
1995 Chicago 10 10 42.0 .484 .367 .810 6.5 4.5 2.3 1.4 31.5
1996† Chicago 18 18 40.7 .459 .403 .818 4.9 4.1 1.8 .3 30.7
1997† Chicago 19 19 42.3 .456 .194 .831 7.9 4.8 1.6 .9 31.1
1998† Chicago 21 21 41.5 .462 .302 .812 5.1 3.5 1.5 .6 32.4
Career[13] 179 179 41.8 .487 .332 .828 6.4 5.7 2.1 .8 33.4double-dagger

Awards and honors

NBA
  • Six-time NBA champion – 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998[5]
  • Six-time NBA Finals MVP – 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998[13]
  • Five-time NBA MVP – 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998[5]
  • NBA Defensive Player of the Year – 1987–88[259]
  • NBA Rookie of the Year – 1984–85[5]
  • 10-time NBA scoring leader – 1987–1993, 1996–1998[13]
  • Three-time NBA steals leader – 1988, 1990, 1993[13]
  • 14-time NBA All-Star – 1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002, 2003[13]
  • Three-time NBA All-Star Game MVP – 1988, 1996, 1998[13]
  • 10-time All-NBA First Team – 1987–1993, 1996–1998[5]
  • One-time All-NBA Second Team – 1985[5]
  • Nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team – 1988–1993, 1996–1998[5]
  • NBA All-Rookie First Team – 1985[13]
  • Two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion – 1987, 1988[5]
  • Two-time IBM Award winner – 1985, 1989[259]
  • Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996[5]
  • Selected on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021[23]
  • No. 23 retired by the Chicago Bulls[260]
  • No. 23 retired by the Miami Heat[260]
  • NBA MVP trophy renamed in Jordan’s honor («Michael Jordan Trophy») in 2022[261]
USA Basketball
  • Two-time Olympic gold medal winner – 1984, 1992[5]
  • Tournament of the Americas gold medal winner – 1992[262]
  • Pan American Games gold medal winner – 1983[263]
NCAA
  • NCAA national championship – 1981–82[259]
  • ACC Freshman of the Year – 1981–82[264]
  • Two-time Consensus NCAA All-American First Team – 1982–83, 1983–84[264]
  • ACC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year – 1983–84[264]
  • USBWA College Player of the Year – 1983–84[265]
  • Naismith College Player of the Year – 1983–84[5]
  • Adolph Rupp Trophy – 1983–84[266]
  • John R. Wooden Award – 1983–84[5]
  • No. 23 retired by the North Carolina Tar Heels[267]
High school
  • McDonald’s All-American – 1981[36]
  • Parade All-American First Team – 1981[268]
Halls of Fame
  • Two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee:
    • Class of 2009 – individual[17]
    • Class of 2010 – as a member of the «Dream Team»[18]
  • United States Olympic Hall of Fame – Class of 2009 (as a member of the «Dream Team»)[19]
  • North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame – Class of 2010[20]
  • Two-time FIBA Hall of Fame inductee:
    • Class of 2015 – individual[21]
    • Class of 2017 – as a member of the «Dream Team»[22]
Media
  • Three-time Associated Press Athlete of the Year – 1991, 1992, 1993[269]
  • Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year – 1991[270]
  • Ranked No. 1 by Slam magazine’s «Top 50 Players of All-Time»[271]
  • Ranked No. 1 by ESPN SportsCentury‘s «Top North American Athletes of the 20th Century»[238]
  • 10-time ESPY Award winner (in various categories)[272]
  • 1997 Marca Leyenda winner[273]
National
  • 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom[28]
State/local
  • Statue inside the United Center[274]
  • Section of Madison Street in Chicago renamed Michael Jordan Drive – 1994[275]

Post-retirement

Jordan on a golf course in 2007

After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position as Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards.[276] His previous tenure in the Wizards’ front office had produced mixed results and may have also influenced the trade of Richard «Rip» Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse, although Jordan was not technically Director of Basketball Operations in 2002.[170] On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as the team’s president of basketball operations.[170] Jordan later stated that he felt betrayed, and that if he had known he would be fired upon retiring, he never would have come back to play for the Wizards.[109]

Jordan kept busy over the next few years. He stayed in shape, played golf in celebrity charity tournaments, and spent time with his family in Chicago. He also promoted his Jordan Brand clothing line and rode motorcycles.[277] Since 2004, Jordan has owned Michael Jordan Motorsports, a professional closed-course motorcycle road racing team that competed with two Suzukis in the premier Superbike championship sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) until the end of the 2013 season.[278][279]

Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets

On June 15, 2006, Jordan bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats (known as the Hornets since 2013), becoming the team’s second-largest shareholder behind majority owner Robert L. Johnson. As part of the deal, Jordan took full control over the basketball side of the operation, with the title Managing Member of Basketball Operations.[280][281] Despite Jordan’s previous success as an endorser, he has made an effort not to be included in Charlotte’s marketing campaigns.[282] A decade earlier, Jordan had made a bid to become part-owner of Charlotte’s original NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, but talks collapsed when owner George Shinn refused to give Jordan complete control of basketball operations.[283]

In February 2010, it was reported that Jordan was seeking majority ownership of the Bobcats.[284] As February wore on, it became apparent that Jordan and former Houston Rockets president George Postolos were the leading contenders for ownership of the team. On February 27, the Bobcats announced that Johnson had reached an agreement with Jordan and his group, MJ Basketball Holdings, to buy the team from Johnson pending NBA approval.[285] On March 17, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Jordan’s purchase, making him the first former player to become the majority owner of an NBA team.[286] It also made him the league’s only African-American majority owner.[287]

During the 2011 NBA lockout, The New York Times wrote that Jordan led a group of 10 to 14 hardline owners who wanted to cap the players’ share of basketball-related income at 50 percent and as low as 47. Journalists observed that, during the labor dispute in 1998, Jordan had told Washington Wizards then-owner Abe Pollin: «If you can’t make a profit, you should sell your team.»[288] Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com called Jordan «a hypocrite sellout who can easily betray the very people who made him a billionaire global icon» for wanting «current players to pay for his incompetence».[289] He cited Jordan’s executive decisions to draft disappointing players Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison.[289]

During the 2011–12 NBA season that was shortened to 66 games by the lockout, the Bobcats posted a 7–59 record. The team closed out the season with a 23-game losing streak; their .106 winning percentage was the worst in NBA history.[290] Before the next season, Jordan said: «I’m not real happy about the record book scenario last year. It’s very, very frustrating.»[291]

During the 2019 NBA offseason, Jordan sold a minority piece of the Hornets to Gabe Plotkin and Daniel Sundheim, retaining the majority of the team for himself,[292] as well as the role of chairman.[293]

23XI Racing

On September 21, 2020, Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin announced they would be fielding a NASCAR team with Bubba Wallace driving, beginning competition in the 2021 season. [294] On October 22, the team’s name was confirmed to be 23XI Racing (pronounced twenty-three eleven) and the team’s entry would bear No. 23.[295] As of the end of the 2022 season, 23XI Racing have 3 wins, 2 of them coming from Wallace, and 1 coming from Kurt Busch.[296]

Personal life

Jordan is the fourth of five children. He has two older brothers, Larry Jordan and James R. Jordan Jr., one older sister, Deloris, and one younger sister, Roslyn.[297][298] James retired in 2006 as the command sergeant major of the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army.[299] Jordan’s nephew through Larry, Justin Jordan, played NCAA Division I basketball for the UNC Greensboro Spartans and is a scout for the Charlotte Hornets.[300][301]

Jordan married Juanita Vanoy on September 2, 1989, at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.[302][303] They had two sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, and a daughter, Jasmine.[304] The Jordans filed for divorce on January 4, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences, but reconciled shortly thereafter. They again filed for divorce and were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage on December 29, 2006, commenting that the decision was made «mutually and amicably».[305][306] It is reported that Juanita received a $168 million settlement (equivalent to $226 million in 2021), making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement on public record at the time.[307][308]

In 1991, Jordan purchased a lot in Highland Park, Illinois, where he planned to build a 56,000 square-foot (5,200 m2) mansion. It was completed in 1995. He listed the mansion for sale in 2012.[309] He also owns homes in North Carolina and Jupiter Island, Florida.[310] His two sons attended Loyola Academy, a private Catholic school in Wilmette, Illinois.[311] Jeffrey graduated in 2007 and played his first collegiate basketball game for the University of Illinois on November 11, 2007. After two seasons, he left the Illinois basketball team in 2009. He later rejoined the team for a third season,[312][313] then received a release to transfer to the University of Central Florida, where Marcus was attending.[314][315] Marcus transferred to Whitney Young High School after his sophomore year at Loyola Academy and graduated in 2009. He began attending UCF in the fall of 2009,[316] and played three seasons of basketball for the school.[317]

On July 21, 2006, a judge in Cook County, Illinois, determined that Jordan did not owe his alleged former lover Karla Knafel $5 million in a breach of contract claim.[318] Jordan had allegedly paid Knafel $250,000 to keep their relationship a secret.[319][320][321] Knafel claimed Jordan promised her $5 million for remaining silent and agreeing not to file a paternity suit after Knafel learned she was pregnant in 1991; a DNA test showed Jordan was not the father of the child.[318]

Jordan proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto, on Christmas 2011,[322] and they were married on April 27, 2013, at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church.[323][324] It was announced on November 30, 2013, that the two were expecting their first child together.[325][326] On February 11, 2014, Prieto gave birth to identical twin daughters named Victoria and Ysabel.[327] In 2019, Jordan became a grandfather when his daughter Jasmine gave birth to a son, whose father is professional basketball player Rakeem Christmas.[328]

Media figure and business interests

Endorsements

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald’s, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, Wheaties, Hanes, and MCI.[329] Jordan has had a long relationship with Gatorade, appearing in over 20 commercials for the company since 1991, including the «Be Like Mike» commercials in which a song was sung by children wishing to be like Jordan.[329][330]

Nike created a signature shoe for Jordan, called the Air Jordan, in 1984.[331] One of Jordan’s more popular commercials for the shoe involved Spike Lee playing the part of Mars Blackmon. In the commercials, Lee, as Blackmon, attempted to find the source of Jordan’s abilities and became convinced that «it’s gotta be the shoes».[329] The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spate of «shoe-jackings» where people were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. Subsequently, Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own division named the «Jordan Brand». The company features an impressive list of athletes and celebrities as endorsers.[332][333] The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina, UCLA, California, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgetown, and Marquette.[334][335]

Jordan also has been associated with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial shown during 1992’s Super Bowl XXVI featured Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball.[336] The Super Bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action/animated film Space Jam, which starred Jordan and Bugs in a fictional story set during the former’s first retirement from basketball.[337] They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI.[337] Jordan also made an appearance in the music video for Michael Jackson’s «Jam» (1992).[338]

Since 2008, Jordan’s yearly income from the endorsements is estimated to be over $40 million.[339][340] In addition, when Jordan’s power at the ticket gates was at its highest point, the Bulls regularly sold out both their home and road games.[341] Due to this, Jordan set records in player salary by signing annual contracts worth in excess of US$30 million per season.[342] An academic study found that Jordan’s first NBA comeback resulted in an increase in the market capitalization of his client firms of more than $1 billion.[343]

Most of Jordan’s endorsement deals, including his first deal with Nike, were engineered by his agent, David Falk.[344] Jordan has described Falk as «the best at what he does» and that «marketing-wise, he’s great. He’s the one who came up with the concept of ‘Air Jordan.'»[345]

Business ventures

In June 2010, Jordan was ranked by Forbes as the 20th-most powerful celebrity in the world with $55 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010. According to Forbes, Jordan Brand generates $1 billion in sales for Nike.[346] In June 2014, Jordan was named the first NBA player to become a billionaire, after he increased his stake in the Charlotte Hornets from 80% to 89.5%.[347][348] On January 20, 2015, Jordan was honored with the Charlotte Business Journal’s Business Person of the Year for 2014.[349] In 2017, he became a part owner of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball.[350]

Forbes designated Jordan as the athlete with the highest career earnings in 2017.[351] From his Jordan Brand income and endorsements, Jordan’s 2015 income was an estimated $110 million, the most of any retired athlete.[352] As of 2022, his net worth is estimated at $1.7 billion by Forbes,[29] making him the sixth-richest African-American, behind Robert F. Smith, David Steward, Oprah Winfrey, Kanye West, and Rihanna.[353]

Jordan co-owns an automotive group which bears his name. The company has a Nissan dealership in Durham, North Carolina, acquired in 1990,[354] and formerly had a Lincoln–Mercury dealership from 1995 until its closure in June 2009.[355][356] The company also owned a Nissan franchise in Glen Burnie, Maryland.[355] The restaurant industry is another business interest of Jordan’s. Restaurants he has owned include a steakhouse in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, among others;[357] that restaurant closed in 2018.[358] Jordan is the majority investor in a golf course, Grove XXIII, under construction in Hobe Sound, Florida.[359]

In September 2020, Jordan became an investor and advisor for DraftKings.[360]

Philanthropy

From 2001 to 2014, Jordan hosted an annual golf tournament, the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational, that raised money for various charities.[361] In 2006, Jordan and his wife Juanita pledged $5 million to Chicago’s Hales Franciscan High School.[362] The Jordan Brand has made donations to Habitat for Humanity and a Louisiana branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.[363]

The Make-A-Wish Foundation named Jordan its Chief Wish Ambassador in 2008.[361] In 2013, he granted his 200th wish for the organization.[364] As of 2019, he has raised more than $5 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.[361]

In 2015, Jordan donated a settlement of undisclosed size from a lawsuit against supermarkets that had used his name without permission to 23 different Chicago charities.[365] In 2017, Jordan funded two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics in Charlotte, North Carolina, by giving $7 million, the biggest donation he had made at the time.[366] In 2018, after Hurricane Florence damaged parts of North Carolina, including his former hometown of Wilmington, Jordan donated $2 million to relief efforts.[367] He gave $1 million to aid the Bahamas’ recovery following Hurricane Dorian in 2019.[368]

On June 5, 2020, in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd, Jordan and his brand announced in a joint statement that they would be donating $100 million over the next 10 years to organizations dedicated to «ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education».[369] In February 2021, Jordan funded two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics in New Hanover County, North Carolina, by giving $10 million.[370][371]

Film and television

Jordan played himself in the 1996 comedy film Space Jam. The film received mixed reviews,[26] but it was a box office success, making $230 million worldwide, and earned more than $1 billion through merchandise sales.[372]

In 2000, Jordan was the subject of an IMAX documentary about his career with the Chicago Bulls, especially the 1998 NBA playoffs, entitled Michael Jordan to the Max.[373] Two decades later, the same period of Jordan’s life was covered in much greater and more personal detail by the Emmy Award-winning The Last Dance, a 10-part TV documentary which debuted on ESPN in April and May 2020. The Last Dance relied heavily on about 500 hours of candid film of Jordan’s and his teammates’ off-court activities which an NBA Entertainment crew had shot over the course of the 1997–98 NBA season for use in a documentary. The project was delayed for many years because Jordan had not yet given his permission for the footage to be used.[374][375] He was interviewed at three homes associated with the production and did not want cameras in his home or on his plane, as according to director Jason Hehir «there are certain aspects of his life that he wants to keep private».[376]

Jordan granted rapper Travis Scott permission to film a music video for his single «Franchise» at his home in Highland Park, Illinois.[377] Jordan appeared in the 2022 miniseries The Captain, which follows the life and career of Derek Jeter.[378]

Books

Jordan has authored several books focusing on his life, basketball career, and world view.

  • Rare Air: Michael on Michael, with Mark Vancil and Walter Iooss (Harper San Francisco, 1993).[379][380]
  • I Can’t Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence, with Mark Vancil and Sandro Miller (Harper San Francisco, 1994).[381]
  • For the Love of the Game: My Story, with Mark Vancil (Crown Publishers, 1998).[382]
  • Driven from Within, with Mark Vancil (Atria Books, 2005).[383]

See also

  • Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid athletes
  • List of athletes who came out of retirement
  • List of NBA teams by single season win percentage
  • Michael Jordan’s Restaurant
  • Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City
  • Michael Jordan in Flight
  • NBA 2K11
  • NBA 2K12

Notes

  1. ^ Jordan’s weight fluctuated from 195 lb (88 kg) to 218 lb (99 kg) during the course of his professional career;[1][2][3] his NBA listed weight was 216 lb (98 kg).[4][5][6]
  2. ^ Jordan wore a nameless No. 12 jersey in a February 14, 1990, game against the Orlando Magic because his No. 23 jersey had been stolen.[7] Jordan scored 49 points, setting a franchise record for players wearing that jersey number.[8]

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Sources

External video
video icon Discussion with Halberstam on Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made, February 22, 1999, C-SPAN
  • Condor, Bob (1998). Michael Jordan’s 50 Greatest Games. Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8065-2030-8.
  • Halberstam, David (2000). Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made. Broadway Books. ISBN 978-0-7679-0444-5.
  • Jordan, Michael (1998). For the Love of the Game: My Story. New York City: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-609-60206-5.
  • Kotler, Philip; Rein, Irving J.; Shields, Ben (2006). The Elusive Fan: Reinventing Sports in a Crowded Marketplace. The McGraw-Hill Companies. ISBN 978-0-07-149114-3.
  • Kruger, Mitchell (2003). One Last Shot: The Story of Michael Jordan’s Comeback. New York City: St. Martin’s Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-312-99223-1.
  • Lazenby, Roland (2014). Michael Jordan: The Life. New York City: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-19477-8.
  • LaFeber, Walter (2002). Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism. W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-32369-6.
  • Markovits, Andrei S.; Rensman, Lars (June 3, 2010). Gaming the World: How Sports are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13751-3.
  • Porter, David L. (2007). Michael Jordan: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33767-3.
  • The Sporting News Official NBA Register 1994–95 (1994). The Sporting News. ISBN 978-0-89204-501-3.

Further reading

  • Leahy, Michael (2004). When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan’s Last Comeback. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-7648-1.
  • McGovern, Mike (2005). Michael Jordan: Basketball Player. Ferguson. ISBN 978-0-8160-5876-1.

External links

Spoken Wikipedia icon

This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 19 January 2013, and does not reflect subsequent edits.

  • Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
  • Michael Jordan at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
  • Michael Jordan at Curlie
  • Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
  • Michael Jordan Career Retrospective on YouTube
  • Michael Jordan at IMDb
  • «Jordan archives». Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 5, 1997. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
Источник

This article is about the American basketball player. For other people with the same name, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation).

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan smiling at the camera

Jordan in 2014
Charlotte Hornets
Position Owner
League NBA
Personal information
Born February 17, 1963 (age 59)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 216 lb (98 kg)[a]
Career information
High school Emsley A. Laney
(Wilmington, North Carolina)
College North Carolina (1981–1984)
NBA draft 1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career 1984–1993, 1995–1998, 2001–2003
Position Shooting guard
Number 23, 12,[b] 45
Career history
1984–1993,
1995–1998		 Chicago Bulls
2001–2003 Washington Wizards
Career highlights and awards
  • 6× NBA champion (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 6× NBA Finals MVP (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 5× NBA Most Valuable Player (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998)
  • 14× NBA All-Star (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002, 2003)
  • 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998)
  • 10× All-NBA First Team (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
  • All-NBA Second Team (1985)
  • NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988)
  • 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1988–1993, 1996–1998)
  • NBA Rookie of the Year (1985)
  • NBA All-Rookie First Team (1985)
  • 10× NBA scoring champion (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 3× NBA steals leader (1988, 1990, 1993)
  • 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1987, 1988)
  • No. 23 retired by Chicago Bulls
  • No. 23 retired by Miami Heat
  • 3× AP Athlete of the Year (1991–1993)
  • Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year (1991)
  • 2× IBM Award (1985, 1989)
  • NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th)
  • NCAA champion (1982)
  • National college player of the year (1984)
  • 2× Consensus first-team All-American (1983, 1984)
  • ACC Player of the Year (1984)
  • 2× First-team All-ACC (1983, 1984)
  • ACC Rookie of the Year (1982)
  • No. 23 retired by North Carolina Tar Heels
  • 2× USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1983, 1984)
  • McDonald’s All-American (1981)
  • First-team Parade All-American (1981)
  • Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016)
Career NBA statistics
Points 32,292 (30.1 ppg)
Rebounds 6,672 (6.2 rpg)
Assists 5,633 (5.3 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
FIBA Hall of Fame as player

Medals

Men’s basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Men’s basketball
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona Men’s basketball
Tournament of the Americas
Gold medal – first place 1992 Portland Men’s basketball
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Men’s basketball

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ,[9] is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: «By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.»[10] He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He was integral in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s,[11] becoming a global cultural icon in the process.[12]

Jordan played college basketball for three seasons under coach Dean Smith with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team in 1982.[5] Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick,[5][13] and quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring while gaining a reputation as one of the game’s best defensive players.[14] His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free-throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames «Air Jordan» and «His Airness«.[5][13] Jordan won his first NBA title with the Bulls in 1991, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a three-peat. Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball but returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season.[5] He retired for the second time in January 1999 but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.[5][13] During the course of his professional career he was also selected to play for the United States national team, winning four gold medals (at the 1983 Pan American Games, 1984 Summer Olympics, 1992 Tournament of the Americas and 1992 Summer Olympics), while also being undefeated.[15]

Jordan’s individual accolades and accomplishments include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, ten NBA scoring titles (both all-time records), five NBA MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game selections, three NBA All-Star Game MVP awards, three NBA steals titles, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.[13] He holds the NBA records for career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and career playoff scoring average (33.4 points per game).[16] In 1999, he was named the 20th century’s greatest North American athlete by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press’ list of athletes of the century.[5] Jordan was twice inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once in 2009 for his individual career,[17] and again in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team («The Dream Team»).[18] He became a member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009,[19] a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2010,[20] and an individual member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015 and a «Dream Team» member in 2017.[21][22] In 2021, Jordan was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[23]

One of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation,[11] Jordan is known for his product endorsements.[24] He fueled the success of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1984 and remain popular today.[25] Jordan also starred as himself in the 1996 live-action animation hybrid film Space Jam and is the central focus of the Emmy Award-winning documentary miniseries The Last Dance (2020).[26] He became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Bobcats (now named the Hornets) in 2006,[25] and bought a controlling interest in 2010. In 2016, Jordan became the first billionaire player in NBA history.[27] That year, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[28] As of 2022, Jordan’s net worth is estimated at $1.7 billion.[29]

Early life

Jordan was born at Cumberland Hospital in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City, on February 17, 1963,[30] the son of bank employee Deloris (née Peoples) and equipment supervisor James R. Jordan Sr.[30][31] In 1968, he moved with his family to Wilmington, North Carolina.[32] Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he highlighted his athletic career by playing basketball, baseball, and football. He tried out for the basketball varsity team during his sophomore year; at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend Harvest Leroy Smith was the only sophomore to make the team.[33][34]

Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney’s junior varsity team, and tallied some 40-point games.[33] The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm) and trained rigorously.[34] Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged more than 25 points per game (ppg) over his final two seasons of high school play.[35] As a senior, he was selected to play in the 1981 McDonald’s All-American Game and scored 30 points,[36][37] after averaging 27 ppg,[35] 12 rebounds (rpg),[38][39] and six assists per game (apg) for the season.[39][40][41] Jordan was recruited by numerous college basketball programs, including Duke, North Carolina, South Carolina, Syracuse, and Virginia.[42] In 1981, he accepted a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in cultural geography.[43]

College career

Jordan going in for a slam dunk for the Laney High School varsity basketball team, 1979–80

Jordan in action for North Carolina in 1983

As a freshman in coach Dean Smith’s team-oriented system, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.4 ppg on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage).[44] He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing.[45] Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career.[46][47] During his three seasons with the Tar Heels, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rpg and 1.8 apg.[13]

Jordan was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons.[48][49] After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA draft. Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986,[50] when he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography.[51] In 2002, Jordan was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men’s basketball team honoring the 50 greatest players in ACC history.[52]

Professional career

Chicago Bulls (1984–1993; 1995–1998)

Early NBA years (1984–1987)

The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick of the 1984 NBA draft after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center.[53] Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center but more a matter of taking Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Jordan.[54] Citing Bowie’s injury-laden college career, ESPN named the Blazers’ choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history.[55]

Jordan made his NBA debut at Chicago Stadium on October 26, 1984, and scored 16 points. In 2021, a ticket stub from the game sold at auction for $264,000, setting a record for a collectible ticket stub.[56] During his rookie 1984–85 season with the Bulls, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting,[44] and helped make a team that had won 35% of games in the previous three seasons playoff contenders. He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas.[57][58][59] Roy S. Johnson of The New York Times described him as «the phenomenal rookie of the Bulls» in November,[59] and Jordan appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading «A Star Is Born» in December.[60][61] The fans also voted in Jordan as an All-Star starter during his rookie season.[5] Controversy arose before the 1985 NBA All-Star Game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving.[5] This led to a so-called «freeze-out» on Jordan, where players refused to pass the ball to him throughout the game.[5] The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted the NBA Rookie of the Year.[62] The Bulls finished the season 38–44,[63] and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the first round of the playoffs.[62]

An often-cited moment was on August 26, 1985,[35][64] when Jordan shook the arena during a Nike exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, by shattering the glass of the backboard with a dunk.[65][66] The moment was filmed and is often referred to worldwide as an important milestone in Jordan’s rise.[66][67] The shoes Jordan wore during the game were auctioned in August 2020 and sold for $615,000, a record for a pair of sneakers.[68][69] Jordan’s 1985–86 season was cut short when he broke his foot in the third game of the year, causing him to miss 64 games.[70] The Bulls made the playoffs despite Jordan’s injury and a 30–52 record,[63] at the time the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history.[71] Jordan recovered in time to participate in the postseason and performed well upon his return. Against a Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history,[72] Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2,[73] but the Celtics managed to sweep the series.[62]

Jordan completely recovered in time for the 1986–87 season,[74] and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history; he became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league-high 37.1 ppg on 48.2% shooting.[44][75] In addition, Jordan demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season.[76] Despite Jordan’s success, Magic Johnson won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.[77] The Bulls reached 40 wins,[63] and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year but were again swept by the Celtics.[62]

Pistons roadblock (1987–1990)

Jordan again led the league in scoring during the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting,[44] and he won his first league MVP Award. He was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, as he averaged 1.6 blocks per game (bpg), a league-high 3.1 steals per game (spg),[78] and led the Bulls defense to the fewest points per game allowed in the league.[79] The Bulls finished 50–32,[63] and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan’s career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.[80] In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Bulls lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons,[62] who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the «Bad Boys».[81]

In the 1988–89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the field, along with 8 rpg and 8 apg.[44] During the season, Sam Vincent, Chicago’s point guard, was having trouble running the offense, and Jordan expressed his frustration with head coach Doug Collins, who would put Jordan at point guard. In his time as a point guard, Jordan averaged 10 triple-doubles in eleven games, with 33.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 10.8 apg, 2.9 spg, and 0.8 bpg on 51% shooting.[82]

The Bulls finished with a 47–35 record,[63] and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating the Cavaliers and New York Knicks along the way.[83] The Cavaliers series included a career highlight for Jordan when he hit «The Shot» over Craig Ehlo at the buzzer in the fifth and final game of the series.[84] In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games,[62] by utilizing their «Jordan Rules» method of guarding Jordan, which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball.[5]

The Bulls entered the 1989–90 season as a team on the rise, with their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, and under the guidance of new coach Phil Jackson.[85] On March 28, 1990, Jordan scored a career-high 69 points in a 117–113 road win over the Cavaliers.[86] He averaged a league-leading 33.6 ppg on 52.6% shooting, to go with 6.9 rpg and 6.3 apg,[44] in leading the Bulls to a 55–27 record.[63] They again advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers;[87] despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls lost to the Pistons for the third consecutive season.[62]

First three-peat (1991–1993)

In the 1990–91 season, Jordan won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season.[44] The Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in sixteen years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season.[63] With Scottie Pippen developing into an All-Star, the Bulls had elevated their play. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where their rival, the Detroit Pistons, awaited them;[88] this time, the Bulls beat the Pistons in a four-game sweep.[89]

The Bulls advanced to the Finals for the first time in franchise history to face the Los Angeles Lakers, who had Magic Johnson and James Worthy, two formidable opponents. The Bulls won the series four games to one, and compiled a 15–2 playoff record along the way.[88] Perhaps the best-known moment of the series came in Game 2 when, attempting a dunk, Jordan avoided a potential Sam Perkins block by switching the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air to lay the shot into the basket.[90] In his first Finals appearance, Jordan had 31.2 ppg on 56% shooting from the field, 11.4 apg, 6.6 rpg, 2.8 spg, and 1.4 bpg.[91] Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award,[92] and he cried while holding the Finals trophy.[93]

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991–92 season, establishing a 67–15 record, topping their franchise record from 1990–91.[63] Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with averages of 30.1 ppg, 6.4 rbg, and 6.1 apg on 52% shooting.[78] After winning a physical seven-game series over the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in six games, the Bulls met Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic–Bird rivalry, highlighted the similarities between «Air» Jordan and Clyde «The Glide» during the pre-Finals hype.[94]

In the first game, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six three-point field goals.[95] After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside. Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying: «I can’t believe I’m doing this.»[96] The Bulls went on to win Game 1 and defeat the Blazers in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row,[92] and finished the series averaging 35.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 6.5 apg, while shooting 52.6% from the floor.[97]

In the 1992–93 season, despite a 32.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 5.5 apg campaign, including a second-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting,[78][98] Jordan’s streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended, as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley,[77] which upset him.[99] Coincidentally, Jordan and the Bulls met Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. The Bulls won their third NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago’s leader. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 ppg during the six-game series,[100] and became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVP awards.[92] He scored more than 30 points in every game of the series, including 40 or more points in four consecutive games.[101] With his third Finals triumph, Jordan capped off a seven-year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.[102]

Gambling

During the Bulls’ 1993 NBA playoffs, Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the night before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks.[103] The previous year, he admitted that he had to cover $57,000 in gambling losses,[104] and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book in 1993 claiming he had won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course.[105] David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, denied in 1995 and 2006 that Jordan’s 1993 retirement was a secret suspension by the league for gambling,[106][107] but the rumor spread widely.[108]

In 2005, Jordan discussed his gambling with Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes and admitted that he made reckless decisions. Jordan stated: «Yeah, I’ve gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I’ve pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you’re willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah.» When Bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family, Jordan replied: «No.»[109] In 2010, Ron Shelton, director of Jordan Rides the Bus, said that he began working on the documentary believing that the NBA had suspended him, but that research «convinced [him it] was nonsense».[108]

First retirement and stint in Minor League Baseball (1993–1995)

Michael Jordan
Jordan Scorpions.jpg

Jordan in training with the Scottsdale Scorpions in 1994
Birmingham Barons – No. 45, 35
Outfielder

Batted: Right

Threw: Right
Professional debut
Southern League: April 8, 1994, for the Birmingham Barons
Arizona Fall League: 1994, for the Scottsdale Scorpions
Last Southern League appearance
March 10, 1995, for the Birmingham Barons
Southern League statistics
(through 1994)
Batting average .202
Home runs 3
Runs batted in 51
Arizona Fall League statistics
Batting average .252
Runs batted in 8
Teams
  • Birmingham Barons (1994–1995)
  • Scottsdale Scorpions (1994)

On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, saying that he lost his desire to play basketball. Jordan later said that the murder of his father three months earlier helped shape his decision.[110] James R. Jordan Sr. was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery, who carjacked his Lexus bearing the license plate «UNC 0023».[111][112] His body, dumped in a South Carolina swamp, was not discovered until August 3.[112] Green and Demery were found after they made calls on James Jordan’s cell phone,[113] convicted at a trial, and sentenced to life in prison.[114]

Jordan was close to his father; as a child, he imitated the way his father stuck out his tongue while absorbed in work. He later adopted it as his own signature, often displaying it as he drove to the basket.[5] In 1996, he founded a Chicago-area Boys & Girls Club and dedicated it to his father.[115][116] In his 1998 autobiography For the Love of the Game, Jordan wrote that he was preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992.[117] The added exhaustion due to the «Dream Team» run in the 1992 Summer Olympics solidified Jordan’s feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan’s announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.[118]

Jordan further surprised the sports world by signing a Minor League Baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox on February 7, 1994.[119] He reported to spring training in Sarasota, Florida, and was assigned to the team’s minor league system on March 31, 1994.[120] Jordan said that this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball player.[121] The White Sox were owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan’s basketball contract during the years he played baseball.[122]

In 1994, Jordan played for the Birmingham Barons, a Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, batting .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, 114 strikeouts, 51 bases on balls, and 11 errors.[123][124] His strikeout total led the team and his games played tied for the team lead. His 30 stolen bases were second on the team only to Doug Brady.[125] He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League, batting .252 against the top prospects in baseball.[120] On November 1, 1994, his No. 23 was retired by the Bulls in a ceremony that included the erection of a permanent sculpture known as The Spirit outside the new United Center.[126][127][128]

«I’m back»: Return to the NBA (1995)

The Bulls went 55–27 in 1993–94 without Jordan in the lineup,[63] and lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.[129] The 1994–95 Bulls were a shell of the championship team of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago was 31–31 at one point in mid-March;[130] the team received help when Jordan decided to return to the Bulls.[131]

In March 1995, Jordan decided to quit baseball because he feared he might become a replacement player during the Major League Baseball strike.[132] On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: «I’m back.»[133] The next day, Jordan took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points.[134] The game had the highest Nielsen rating of any regular season NBA game since 1975.[135] Although he could have worn his original number even though the Bulls retired it, Jordan wore No. 45, his baseball number.[134]

Despite his eighteen-month hiatus from the NBA, Jordan played well, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back. He scored 55 points in his next game, against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995.[62] Boosted by Jordan’s comeback, the Bulls went 13–4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic.[136] At the end of Game 1, Orlando’s Nick Anderson stripped Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he later commented that Jordan «didn’t look like the old Michael Jordan»,[137] and said that «No. 45 doesn’t explode like No. 23 used to».[138]

Jordan responded by scoring 38 points in the next game, which Chicago won. Before the game, Jordan decided that he would immediately resume wearing his former No. 23. The Bulls were fined $25,000 for failing to report the impromptu number change to the NBA.[138] Jordan was fined an additional $5,000 for opting to wear white sneakers when the rest of the Bulls wore black.[139] He averaged 31 ppg in the playoffs, but Orlando won the series in six games.[140]

Second three-peat (1995–1998)

Jordan was freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, and he trained aggressively for the 1995–96 season.[141] The Bulls were strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist Dennis Rodman, and the team dominated the league, starting the season at 41–3.[142] The Bulls eventually finished with the best regular season record in NBA history, 72–10, a mark broken two decades later by the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors.[143] Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 ppg,[144] and he won the league’s regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards.[13]

In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series (Miami Heat 3–0, New York Knicks 4–1, and Orlando Magic 4–0), as they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4–2 in the NBA Finals to win their fourth championship.[142] Jordan was named Finals MVP for a record fourth time, surpassing Magic Johnson’s three Finals MVP awards;[92] he also achieved only the second sweep of the MVP awards in the All-Star Game, regular season, and NBA Finals after Willis Reed in the 1969–70 season.[62] Upon winning the championship, his first since his father’s murder, Jordan reacted emotionally, clutching the game ball and crying on the locker room floor.[5][93]

In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls stood at a 69–11 record but ended the season by losing their final two games to finish the year 69–13, missing out on a second consecutive 70-win season.[145] The Bulls again advanced to the Finals, where they faced the Utah Jazz.[146] That team included Karl Malone, who had beaten Jordan for the NBA MVP award in a tight race (986–957).[147][148][149] The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan’s career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, with the series tied at 2, Jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. In what is known as «The Flu Game», Jordan scored 38 points, including the game-deciding 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining.[146] The Bulls won 90–88 and went on to win the series in six games.[145] For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award.[92] During the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, Jordan posted the first triple-double in All-Star Game history in a victorious effort, but the MVP award went to Glen Rice.[150]

Jordan and the Bulls compiled a 62–20 record in the 1997–98 season.[63] Jordan led the league with 28.7 ppg,[78] securing his fifth regular season MVP award, plus honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team, and the All-Star Game MVP.[13] The Bulls won the Eastern Conference Championship for a third straight season, including surviving a seven-game series with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals; it was the first time Jordan had played in a Game 7 since the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals with the New York Knicks.[151][152] After winning, they moved on for a rematch with the Jazz in the Finals.[153]

The Bulls returned to the Delta Center for Game 6 on June 14, 1998, leading the series 3–2. Jordan executed a series of plays, considered to be one of the greatest clutch performances in NBA Finals history.[154] With 41.9 seconds remaining and the Bulls trailing 86–83, Phil Jackson called a timeout. When play resumed, Jordan received the inbound pass, drove to the basket, and sank a shot over several Jazz defenders, cutting Utah’s lead to 86–85.[154] The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to Malone, who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by Rodman. Malone jostled with Rodman and caught the pass, but Jordan cut behind him and stole the ball out of his hands.[154]

Jordan then dribbled down the court and paused, eyeing his defender, Jazz guard Bryon Russell. With 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, then crossed over to his left, possibly pushing off Russell, although the officials did not call a foul.[155][156][157][158] With 5.2 seconds left, Jordan made the climactic shot of his Bulls career,[159] a top-key jumper over a stumbling Russell to give Chicago an 87–86 lead. Afterwards, the Jazz’ John Stockton narrowly missed a game-winning three-pointer, and the buzzer sounded as Jordan and the Bulls won their sixth NBA championship,[160] achieving a second three-peat in the decade.[161] Once again, Jordan was voted Finals MVP,[92] having led all scorers by averaging 33.5 ppg, including 45 in the deciding Game 6.[162] Jordan’s six Finals MVPs is a record.[163] The 1998 Finals holds the highest television rating of any Finals series in history,[164] and Game 6 holds the highest television rating of any game in NBA history.[165]

Second retirement (1999–2001)

Plaque at the United Center that chronicles Jordan’s career achievements

With Phil Jackson’s contract expiring, the pending departures of Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired for the second time on January 13, 1999.[166][167][168] On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player but as part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards.[169] Jordan’s responsibilities with the Wizards were comprehensive, as he controlled all aspects of the Wizards’ basketball operations, and had the final say in all personnel matters; opinions of Jordan as a basketball executive were mixed.[170][171] He managed to purge the team of several highly paid, unpopular players (like forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland)[172][173] but used the first pick in the 2001 NBA draft to select high schooler Kwame Brown, who did not live up to expectations and was traded away after four seasons.[170][174]

Despite his January 1999 claim that he was «99.9% certain» he would never play another NBA game,[93] Jordan expressed interest in making another comeback in the summer of 2001, this time with his new team.[175][176] Inspired by the NHL comeback of his friend Mario Lemieux the previous winter,[177] Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago.[178] In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington’s coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing another Jordan return.[175][176]

Washington Wizards (2001–2003)

On September 25, 2001, Jordan announced his return to the NBA to play for the Washington Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11 attacks.[179][180] In an injury-plagued 2001–02 season, Jordan led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.4 spg),[5] and was an MVP candidate, as he led the Wizards to a winning record and playoff contention;[181][182] he would eventually finish 13th in the MVP ballot.[183] After suffering torn cartilage in his right knee,[184] and subsequent knee soreness,[185] the Wizards missed the playoffs,[186] and Jordan’s season ended after only 60 games, the fewest he had played in a regular season since playing 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the 1994–95 season.[44] Jordan started 53 of his 60 games for the season, averaging 24.3 ppg, 5.4 apg, and 6.0 rpg, and shooting 41.9% from the field in his 53 starts. His last seven appearances were in a reserve role, in which he averaged just over 20 minutes per game.[187] The Wizards finished the season with a 37–45 record, an 18-game improvement.[186]

Jordan as a member of the Washington Wizards, April 14, 2003

Playing in his 14th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2003, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star Game history, a record since broken by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.[188][189] That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them, and coming from off the bench in 15. He averaged 20.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 spg per game.[5] He also shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free-throw line.[44] Even though he turned 40 during the season, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine times, and 40 or more points three times.[62] On February 21, 2003, Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 43 points in an NBA game.[190] During his stint with the Wizards, all of Jordan’s home games at the MCI Center were sold out and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the NBA, averaging 20,172 fans a game at home and 19,311 on the road.[191] Jordan’s final two seasons did not result in a playoff appearance for the Wizards, and he was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him.[192][193] At several points, he openly criticized his teammates to the media, citing their lack of focus and intensity, notably that of Kwame Brown, the number-one draft pick in the 2001 NBA draft.[192][193]

Final retirement (2003)

With the recognition that 2002–03 would be Jordan’s final season, tributes were paid to him throughout the NBA. In his final game at the United Center in Chicago, which was his old home court, Jordan received a four-minute standing ovation.[194] The Miami Heat retired the No. 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan never played for the team.[195] At the 2003 All-Star Game, Jordan was offered a starting spot from Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson but refused both;[196] in the end, he accepted the spot of Vince Carter.[197] Jordan played in his final NBA game on April 16, 2003, in Philadelphia. After scoring 13 points in the game, Jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter and his team trailing the Philadelphia 76ers 75–56. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the First Union Center crowd began chanting «We want Mike!» After much encouragement from coach Doug Collins, Jordan finally rose from the bench and re-entered the game, replacing Larry Hughes with 2:35 remaining. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers’ Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, the officials, and the crowd of 21,257 fans.[198]

National team career

Jordan on the «Dream Team» in 1992

Jordan made his debut for the U.S. national basketball team at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela. He led the team in scoring with 17.3 ppg as the U.S., coached by Jack Hartman, won the gold medal in the competition.[199][200] A year later, he won another gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The 1984 U.S. team was coached by Bob Knight and featured players such as Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin, Steve Alford, and Wayman Tisdale. Jordan led the team in scoring, averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament.[201]

In 1992, Jordan was a member of the star-studded squad that was dubbed the «Dream Team», which included Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The team went on to win two gold medals: the first one in the 1992 Tournament of the Americas,[202] and the second one in the 1992 Summer Olympics. He was the only player to start all eight games in the Olympics, averaged 14.9 ppg, and finished second on the team in scoring.[203] Jordan was undefeated in the four tournaments he played for the United States national team, winning all 30 games he took part in.[15]

Player profile

Jordan dunking the ball, 1987–88

Jordan was a shooting guard who could also play as a small forward, the position he would primarily play during his second return to professional basketball with the Washington Wizards,[13] and as a point guard.[82] Jordan was known throughout his career as a strong clutch performer. With the Bulls, he decided 25 games with field goals or free throws in the last 30 seconds, including two NBA Finals games and five other playoff contests.[204] His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash talk and well-known work ethic.[205][206][207] Jordan often used perceived slights to fuel his performances. Sportswriter Wright Thompson described him as «a killer, in the Darwinian sense of the word, immediately sensing and attacking someone’s weakest spot».[3] As the Bulls organization built the franchise around Jordan, management had to trade away players who were not «tough enough» to compete with him in practice. To help improve his defense, he spent extra hours studying film of opponents. On offense, he relied more upon instinct and improvization at game time.[208]

Noted as a durable player, Jordan did not miss four or more games while active for a full season from 1986–87 to 2001–02, when he injured his right knee.[13][209] Of the 15 seasons Jordan was in the NBA, he played all 82 regular season games nine times.[13] Jordan has frequently cited David Thompson, Walter Davis, and Jerry West as influences.[210][211] Confirmed at the start of his career, and possibly later on, Jordan had a special «Love of the Game Clause» written into his contract, which was unusual at the time, and allowed him to play basketball against anyone at any time, anywhere.[212]

Jordan had a versatile offensive game and was capable of aggressively driving to the basket as well as drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate. His 8,772 free throw attempts are the 11th-highest total in NBA history.[213] As his career progressed, Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jump shot, using his leaping ability to avoid block attempts. According to Hubie Brown, this move alone made him nearly unstoppable.[214] Despite media criticism by some as a selfish player early in his career, Jordan was willing to defer to this teammates, with a career average of 5.3 apg and a season-high of 8.0 apg.[44] For a guard, Jordan was also a good rebounder, finishing with 6.2 rpg. Defensively, he averaged 2.3 spg and 0.8 bpg.[44]

Three-point field goal was not Jordan’s strength, especially in his early years. Later on in Jordan’s career, he improved his three-point shooting, and finished his career with a respectable 32% success rate.[44] His three-point field-goal percentages ranged from 35% to 43% in seasons in which he attempted at least 230 three-pointers between 1989–90 and 1996–97.[13] Jordan’s effective field goal percentage was 50%, and he had six seasons with at least 50% shooting, five of which consecutively (1988–1992); he also shot 51% and 50%, and 30% and 33% from the three-point range, throughout his first and second retirements, respectively, finishing his Chicago Bulls career with 31.5 points per game on 50.5 FG% shooting and his overall career with 49.7 FG% shooting.[13]

Unlike NBA players often compared to Jordan, such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, who had a similar three-point percentage, he did not shoot as many threes as they did, as he did not need to rely on the three-pointer in order to be effective on offense. Three-point shooting was only introduced in 1979 and would not be a more fundamental aspect of the game until the first decades of the 21st century,[215] with the NBA having to briefly shorten the line to incentivize more shots.[216] Jordan’s three-point shooting was better selected, resulting in three-point field goals made in important games during the playoffs and the Finals, such as hitting six consecutive three-point shots in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals. Jordan shot 37%, 35%, 42%, and 37% in all the seasons he shot over 200 three-pointers, and also shot 38.5%, 38.6%, 38.9%, 40.3%, 19.4%, and 30.2% in the playoffs during his championship runs, improving his shooting even after the three-point line reverted to the original line.[217][218][219]

In 1988, Jordan was honored with the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player awards, becoming the first NBA player to win both awards in a career let alone season. In addition, he set both seasonal and career records for blocked shots by a guard,[220] and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout defensive player. He ranks third in NBA history in total steals with 2,514, trailing John Stockton and Jason Kidd.[221] Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Jordan’s defensive contributions than his offensive ones.[222] Doc Rivers declared Jordan «the best superstar defender in the history of the game».[223]

Jordan was known to have strong eyesight. Broadcaster Al Michaels said that he was able to read baseball box scores on a 27-inch (69 cm) television clearly from about 50 feet (15 m) away.[224] During the 2001 NBA Finals, Phil Jackson compared Jordan’s dominance to Shaquille O’Neal, stating: «Michael would get fouled on every play and still have to play through it and just clear himself for shots instead and would rise to that occasion.»[225]

Legacy

Jordan’s talent was clear from his first NBA season; by November 1984, he was being compared to Julius Erving.[57][59] Larry Bird said that rookie Jordan was the best player he ever saw, and that he was «one of a kind», and comparable to Wayne Gretzky as an athlete.[226] In his first game in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, Jordan received a near minute-long standing ovation.[59] After establishing the single game playoff record of 63 points against the Boston Celtics on April 20, 1986, Bird described him as «God disguised as Michael Jordan».[73]

Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 10 seasons (NBA record) and tied Wilt Chamberlain’s record of seven consecutive scoring titles.[5] He was also a fixture of the NBA All-Defensive First Team, making the roster nine times (NBA record shared with Gary Payton, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant).[227] Jordan also holds the top career regular season and playoff scoring averages of 30.1 and 33.4 ppg, respectively.[16][228] By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning shot against the Jazz, he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer. In the regular season, Jordan was the Bulls’ primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs; he would always ask for the ball at crunch time.[229] Jordan’s total of 5,987 points in the playoffs is the second-highest among NBA career playoff scoring leaders.[230] He retired with 32,292 points in regular season play,[231] placing him fifth on the NBA all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, Karl Malone, and Bryant.[231]

With five regular season MVPs (tied for second place with Bill Russell—only Abdul-Jabbar has won more, with six), six Finals MVPs (NBA record), and three NBA All-Star Game MVPs, Jordan is the most decorated player in NBA history.[13][232] Jordan finished among the top three in regular season MVP voting 10 times.[13] He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996,[233] and selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.[23] Jordan is one of only seven players in history to win an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal (doing so twice with the 1984 and 1992 U.S. men’s basketball teams).[234] Since 1976, the year of the ABA–NBA merger,[235] Jordan and Pippen are the only two players to win six NBA Finals playing for one team.[236] In the All-Star Game fan ballot, Jordan received the most votes nine times, more than any other player.[237]

«There’s Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us.»

—Magic Johnson[5]

Many of Jordan’s contemporaries have said that Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.[222] In 1999, an ESPN survey of journalists, athletes and other sports figures ranked Jordan the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century, above Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali.[238] Jordan placed second to Ruth in the Associated Press’ December 1999 list of 20th century athletes.[239] In addition, the Associated Press voted him the greatest basketball player of the 20th century.[240] Jordan has also appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 50 times.[241] In the September 1996 issue of Sport, which was the publication’s 50th-anniversary issue, Jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years.[242]

Jordan’s athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many people with having influenced a generation of young players.[243][244] Several NBA players, including James and Dwyane Wade, have stated that they considered Jordan their role model while they were growing up.[245][246] In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players «the next Michael Jordan» upon their entry to the NBA, including Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Bryant, Vince Carter, James, and Wade.[247][248][249] Some analysts, such as The Ringer’s Dan Devine, drew parallels between Jordan’s experiment at point guard in the 1988–89 season and the modern NBA; for Devine, it «inadvertently foreshadowed the modern game’s stylistic shift toward monster-usage primary playmakers», such as Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Luka Dončić, and James.[250] Don Nelson stated: «I would’ve been playing him at point guard the day he showed up as a rookie.»[251]

Although Jordan was a well-rounded player, his «Air Jordan» image is also often credited with inadvertently decreasing the jump shooting skills, defense, and fundamentals of young players,[243] a fact Jordan himself has lamented, saying: «I think it was the exposure of Michael Jordan; the marketing of Michael Jordan. Everything was marketed towards the things that people wanted to see, which was scoring and dunking. That Michael Jordan still played defense and an all-around game, but it was never really publicized.»[243] During his heyday, Jordan did much to increase the status of the game; television ratings increased only during his time in the league.[252] The popularity of the NBA in the U.S. declined after his last title.[252] As late as 2020, NBA Finals television ratings had not returned to the level reached during his last championship-winning season.[253]

In August 2009, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened a Michael Jordan exhibit that contained items from his college and NBA careers as well as from the 1992 «Dream Team»; the exhibit also has a batting baseball glove to signify Jordan’s short career in the Minor League Baseball.[254] After Jordan received word of his acceptance into the Hall of Fame, he selected Class of 1996 member David Thompson to present him.[255] As Jordan would later explain during his induction speech in September 2009, he was not a fan of the Tar Heels when growing up in North Carolina but greatly admired Thompson, who played for the rival NC State Wolfpack. In September, he was inducted into the Hall with several former Bulls teammates in attendance, including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoč.[17] Dean Smith and Doug Collins, two of Jordan’s former coaches, were also among those present. His emotional reaction during his speech when he began to cry was captured by Associated Press photographer Stephan Savoia and would later go viral on social media as the «Crying Jordan» Internet meme.[256][257] In 2016, President Barack Obama honored Jordan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[28] In October 2021, Jordan was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[23] In September 2022, Jordan’s jersey in which he played the opening game of the 1998 NBA Finals was sold for $10.1 million, making it the most expensive game-worn sports memorabilia in history.[258]

NBA career statistics

Legend

  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league  double-dagger  NBA record

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1984–85 Chicago 82* 82* 38.3 .515 .173 .845 6.5 5.9 2.4 .8 28.2
1985–86 Chicago 18 7 25.1 .457 .167 .840 3.6 2.9 2.1 1.2 22.7
1986–87 Chicago 82* 82* 40.0 .482 .182 .857 5.2 4.6 2.9 1.5 37.1*
1987–88 Chicago 82 82* 40.4* .535 .132 .841 5.5 5.9 3.2* 1.6 35.0*
1988–89 Chicago 81 81 40.2* .538 .276 .850 8.0 8.0 2.9 .8 32.5*
1989–90 Chicago 82* 82* 39.0 .526 .376 .848 6.9 6.3 2.8* .7 33.6*
1990–91† Chicago 82* 82* 37.0 .539 .312 .851 6.0 5.5 2.7 1.0 31.5*
1991–92† Chicago 80 80 38.8 .519 .270 .832 6.4 6.1 2.3 .9 30.1*
1992–93† Chicago 78 78 39.3 .495 .352 .837 6.7 5.5 2.8* .8 32.6*
1994–95 Chicago 17 17 39.3 .411 .500 .801 6.9 5.3 1.8 .8 26.9
1995–96† Chicago 82 82* 37.7 .495 .427 .834 6.6 4.3 2.2 .5 30.4*
1996–97† Chicago 82 82* 37.9 .486 .374 .833 5.9 4.3 1.7 .5 29.6*
1997–98† Chicago 82* 82* 38.8 .465 .238 .784 5.8 3.5 1.7 .5 28.7*
2001–02 Wash­ington 60 53 34.9 .416 .189 .790 5.7 5.2 1.4 .4 22.9
2002–03 Wash­ington 82 67 37.0 .445 .291 .821 6.1 3.8 1.5 .5 20.0
Career[13] 1,072 1,039 38.3 .497 .327 .835 6.2 5.3 2.3 .8 30.1double-dagger
All-Star[13] 13 13 29.4 .472 .273 .750 4.7 4.2 2.8 .5 20.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1985 Chicago 4 4 42.8 .436 .125 .828 5.8 8.5 2.8 1.0 29.3
1986 Chicago 3 3 45.0 .505 1.000 .872 6.3 5.7 2.3 1.3 43.7
1987 Chicago 3 3 42.7 .417 .400 .897 7.0 6.0 2.0 2.3 35.7
1988 Chicago 10 10 42.7 .531 .333 .869 7.1 4.7 2.4 1.1 36.3
1989 Chicago 17 17 42.2 .510 .286 .799 7.0 7.6 2.5 .8 34.8
1990 Chicago 16 16 42.1 .514 .320 .836 7.2 6.8 2.8 .9 36.7
1991† Chicago 17 17 40.5 .524 .385 .845 6.4 8.4 2.4 1.4 31.1
1992† Chicago 22 22 41.8 .499 .386 .857 6.2 5.8 2.0 .7 34.5
1993† Chicago 19 19 41.2 .475 .389 .805 6.7 6.0 2.1 .9 35.1
1995 Chicago 10 10 42.0 .484 .367 .810 6.5 4.5 2.3 1.4 31.5
1996† Chicago 18 18 40.7 .459 .403 .818 4.9 4.1 1.8 .3 30.7
1997† Chicago 19 19 42.3 .456 .194 .831 7.9 4.8 1.6 .9 31.1
1998† Chicago 21 21 41.5 .462 .302 .812 5.1 3.5 1.5 .6 32.4
Career[13] 179 179 41.8 .487 .332 .828 6.4 5.7 2.1 .8 33.4double-dagger

Awards and honors

NBA
  • Six-time NBA champion – 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998[5]
  • Six-time NBA Finals MVP – 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998[13]
  • Five-time NBA MVP – 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998[5]
  • NBA Defensive Player of the Year – 1987–88[259]
  • NBA Rookie of the Year – 1984–85[5]
  • 10-time NBA scoring leader – 1987–1993, 1996–1998[13]
  • Three-time NBA steals leader – 1988, 1990, 1993[13]
  • 14-time NBA All-Star – 1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002, 2003[13]
  • Three-time NBA All-Star Game MVP – 1988, 1996, 1998[13]
  • 10-time All-NBA First Team – 1987–1993, 1996–1998[5]
  • One-time All-NBA Second Team – 1985[5]
  • Nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team – 1988–1993, 1996–1998[5]
  • NBA All-Rookie First Team – 1985[13]
  • Two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion – 1987, 1988[5]
  • Two-time IBM Award winner – 1985, 1989[259]
  • Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996[5]
  • Selected on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021[23]
  • No. 23 retired by the Chicago Bulls[260]
  • No. 23 retired by the Miami Heat[260]
  • NBA MVP trophy renamed in Jordan’s honor («Michael Jordan Trophy») in 2022[261]
USA Basketball
  • Two-time Olympic gold medal winner – 1984, 1992[5]
  • Tournament of the Americas gold medal winner – 1992[262]
  • Pan American Games gold medal winner – 1983[263]
NCAA
  • NCAA national championship – 1981–82[259]
  • ACC Freshman of the Year – 1981–82[264]
  • Two-time Consensus NCAA All-American First Team – 1982–83, 1983–84[264]
  • ACC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year – 1983–84[264]
  • USBWA College Player of the Year – 1983–84[265]
  • Naismith College Player of the Year – 1983–84[5]
  • Adolph Rupp Trophy – 1983–84[266]
  • John R. Wooden Award – 1983–84[5]
  • No. 23 retired by the North Carolina Tar Heels[267]
High school
  • McDonald’s All-American – 1981[36]
  • Parade All-American First Team – 1981[268]
Halls of Fame
  • Two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee:
    • Class of 2009 – individual[17]
    • Class of 2010 – as a member of the «Dream Team»[18]
  • United States Olympic Hall of Fame – Class of 2009 (as a member of the «Dream Team»)[19]
  • North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame – Class of 2010[20]
  • Two-time FIBA Hall of Fame inductee:
    • Class of 2015 – individual[21]
    • Class of 2017 – as a member of the «Dream Team»[22]
Media
  • Three-time Associated Press Athlete of the Year – 1991, 1992, 1993[269]
  • Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year – 1991[270]
  • Ranked No. 1 by Slam magazine’s «Top 50 Players of All-Time»[271]
  • Ranked No. 1 by ESPN SportsCentury‘s «Top North American Athletes of the 20th Century»[238]
  • 10-time ESPY Award winner (in various categories)[272]
  • 1997 Marca Leyenda winner[273]
National
  • 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom[28]
State/local
  • Statue inside the United Center[274]
  • Section of Madison Street in Chicago renamed Michael Jordan Drive – 1994[275]

Post-retirement

Jordan on a golf course in 2007

After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position as Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards.[276] His previous tenure in the Wizards’ front office had produced mixed results and may have also influenced the trade of Richard «Rip» Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse, although Jordan was not technically Director of Basketball Operations in 2002.[170] On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as the team’s president of basketball operations.[170] Jordan later stated that he felt betrayed, and that if he had known he would be fired upon retiring, he never would have come back to play for the Wizards.[109]

Jordan kept busy over the next few years. He stayed in shape, played golf in celebrity charity tournaments, and spent time with his family in Chicago. He also promoted his Jordan Brand clothing line and rode motorcycles.[277] Since 2004, Jordan has owned Michael Jordan Motorsports, a professional closed-course motorcycle road racing team that competed with two Suzukis in the premier Superbike championship sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) until the end of the 2013 season.[278][279]

Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets

On June 15, 2006, Jordan bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats (known as the Hornets since 2013), becoming the team’s second-largest shareholder behind majority owner Robert L. Johnson. As part of the deal, Jordan took full control over the basketball side of the operation, with the title Managing Member of Basketball Operations.[280][281] Despite Jordan’s previous success as an endorser, he has made an effort not to be included in Charlotte’s marketing campaigns.[282] A decade earlier, Jordan had made a bid to become part-owner of Charlotte’s original NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, but talks collapsed when owner George Shinn refused to give Jordan complete control of basketball operations.[283]

In February 2010, it was reported that Jordan was seeking majority ownership of the Bobcats.[284] As February wore on, it became apparent that Jordan and former Houston Rockets president George Postolos were the leading contenders for ownership of the team. On February 27, the Bobcats announced that Johnson had reached an agreement with Jordan and his group, MJ Basketball Holdings, to buy the team from Johnson pending NBA approval.[285] On March 17, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Jordan’s purchase, making him the first former player to become the majority owner of an NBA team.[286] It also made him the league’s only African-American majority owner.[287]

During the 2011 NBA lockout, The New York Times wrote that Jordan led a group of 10 to 14 hardline owners who wanted to cap the players’ share of basketball-related income at 50 percent and as low as 47. Journalists observed that, during the labor dispute in 1998, Jordan had told Washington Wizards then-owner Abe Pollin: «If you can’t make a profit, you should sell your team.»[288] Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com called Jordan «a hypocrite sellout who can easily betray the very people who made him a billionaire global icon» for wanting «current players to pay for his incompetence».[289] He cited Jordan’s executive decisions to draft disappointing players Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison.[289]

During the 2011–12 NBA season that was shortened to 66 games by the lockout, the Bobcats posted a 7–59 record. The team closed out the season with a 23-game losing streak; their .106 winning percentage was the worst in NBA history.[290] Before the next season, Jordan said: «I’m not real happy about the record book scenario last year. It’s very, very frustrating.»[291]

During the 2019 NBA offseason, Jordan sold a minority piece of the Hornets to Gabe Plotkin and Daniel Sundheim, retaining the majority of the team for himself,[292] as well as the role of chairman.[293]

23XI Racing

On September 21, 2020, Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin announced they would be fielding a NASCAR team with Bubba Wallace driving, beginning competition in the 2021 season. [294] On October 22, the team’s name was confirmed to be 23XI Racing (pronounced twenty-three eleven) and the team’s entry would bear No. 23.[295] As of the end of the 2022 season, 23XI Racing have 3 wins, 2 of them coming from Wallace, and 1 coming from Kurt Busch.[296]

Personal life

Jordan is the fourth of five children. He has two older brothers, Larry Jordan and James R. Jordan Jr., one older sister, Deloris, and one younger sister, Roslyn.[297][298] James retired in 2006 as the command sergeant major of the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army.[299] Jordan’s nephew through Larry, Justin Jordan, played NCAA Division I basketball for the UNC Greensboro Spartans and is a scout for the Charlotte Hornets.[300][301]

Jordan married Juanita Vanoy on September 2, 1989, at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.[302][303] They had two sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, and a daughter, Jasmine.[304] The Jordans filed for divorce on January 4, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences, but reconciled shortly thereafter. They again filed for divorce and were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage on December 29, 2006, commenting that the decision was made «mutually and amicably».[305][306] It is reported that Juanita received a $168 million settlement (equivalent to $226 million in 2021), making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement on public record at the time.[307][308]

In 1991, Jordan purchased a lot in Highland Park, Illinois, where he planned to build a 56,000 square-foot (5,200 m2) mansion. It was completed in 1995. He listed the mansion for sale in 2012.[309] He also owns homes in North Carolina and Jupiter Island, Florida.[310] His two sons attended Loyola Academy, a private Catholic school in Wilmette, Illinois.[311] Jeffrey graduated in 2007 and played his first collegiate basketball game for the University of Illinois on November 11, 2007. After two seasons, he left the Illinois basketball team in 2009. He later rejoined the team for a third season,[312][313] then received a release to transfer to the University of Central Florida, where Marcus was attending.[314][315] Marcus transferred to Whitney Young High School after his sophomore year at Loyola Academy and graduated in 2009. He began attending UCF in the fall of 2009,[316] and played three seasons of basketball for the school.[317]

On July 21, 2006, a judge in Cook County, Illinois, determined that Jordan did not owe his alleged former lover Karla Knafel $5 million in a breach of contract claim.[318] Jordan had allegedly paid Knafel $250,000 to keep their relationship a secret.[319][320][321] Knafel claimed Jordan promised her $5 million for remaining silent and agreeing not to file a paternity suit after Knafel learned she was pregnant in 1991; a DNA test showed Jordan was not the father of the child.[318]

Jordan proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto, on Christmas 2011,[322] and they were married on April 27, 2013, at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church.[323][324] It was announced on November 30, 2013, that the two were expecting their first child together.[325][326] On February 11, 2014, Prieto gave birth to identical twin daughters named Victoria and Ysabel.[327] In 2019, Jordan became a grandfather when his daughter Jasmine gave birth to a son, whose father is professional basketball player Rakeem Christmas.[328]

Media figure and business interests

Endorsements

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald’s, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, Wheaties, Hanes, and MCI.[329] Jordan has had a long relationship with Gatorade, appearing in over 20 commercials for the company since 1991, including the «Be Like Mike» commercials in which a song was sung by children wishing to be like Jordan.[329][330]

Nike created a signature shoe for Jordan, called the Air Jordan, in 1984.[331] One of Jordan’s more popular commercials for the shoe involved Spike Lee playing the part of Mars Blackmon. In the commercials, Lee, as Blackmon, attempted to find the source of Jordan’s abilities and became convinced that «it’s gotta be the shoes».[329] The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spate of «shoe-jackings» where people were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. Subsequently, Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own division named the «Jordan Brand». The company features an impressive list of athletes and celebrities as endorsers.[332][333] The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina, UCLA, California, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgetown, and Marquette.[334][335]

Jordan also has been associated with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial shown during 1992’s Super Bowl XXVI featured Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball.[336] The Super Bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action/animated film Space Jam, which starred Jordan and Bugs in a fictional story set during the former’s first retirement from basketball.[337] They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI.[337] Jordan also made an appearance in the music video for Michael Jackson’s «Jam» (1992).[338]

Since 2008, Jordan’s yearly income from the endorsements is estimated to be over $40 million.[339][340] In addition, when Jordan’s power at the ticket gates was at its highest point, the Bulls regularly sold out both their home and road games.[341] Due to this, Jordan set records in player salary by signing annual contracts worth in excess of US$30 million per season.[342] An academic study found that Jordan’s first NBA comeback resulted in an increase in the market capitalization of his client firms of more than $1 billion.[343]

Most of Jordan’s endorsement deals, including his first deal with Nike, were engineered by his agent, David Falk.[344] Jordan has described Falk as «the best at what he does» and that «marketing-wise, he’s great. He’s the one who came up with the concept of ‘Air Jordan.'»[345]

Business ventures

In June 2010, Jordan was ranked by Forbes as the 20th-most powerful celebrity in the world with $55 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010. According to Forbes, Jordan Brand generates $1 billion in sales for Nike.[346] In June 2014, Jordan was named the first NBA player to become a billionaire, after he increased his stake in the Charlotte Hornets from 80% to 89.5%.[347][348] On January 20, 2015, Jordan was honored with the Charlotte Business Journal’s Business Person of the Year for 2014.[349] In 2017, he became a part owner of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball.[350]

Forbes designated Jordan as the athlete with the highest career earnings in 2017.[351] From his Jordan Brand income and endorsements, Jordan’s 2015 income was an estimated $110 million, the most of any retired athlete.[352] As of 2022, his net worth is estimated at $1.7 billion by Forbes,[29] making him the sixth-richest African-American, behind Robert F. Smith, David Steward, Oprah Winfrey, Kanye West, and Rihanna.[353]

Jordan co-owns an automotive group which bears his name. The company has a Nissan dealership in Durham, North Carolina, acquired in 1990,[354] and formerly had a Lincoln–Mercury dealership from 1995 until its closure in June 2009.[355][356] The company also owned a Nissan franchise in Glen Burnie, Maryland.[355] The restaurant industry is another business interest of Jordan’s. Restaurants he has owned include a steakhouse in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, among others;[357] that restaurant closed in 2018.[358] Jordan is the majority investor in a golf course, Grove XXIII, under construction in Hobe Sound, Florida.[359]

In September 2020, Jordan became an investor and advisor for DraftKings.[360]

Philanthropy

From 2001 to 2014, Jordan hosted an annual golf tournament, the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational, that raised money for various charities.[361] In 2006, Jordan and his wife Juanita pledged $5 million to Chicago’s Hales Franciscan High School.[362] The Jordan Brand has made donations to Habitat for Humanity and a Louisiana branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.[363]

The Make-A-Wish Foundation named Jordan its Chief Wish Ambassador in 2008.[361] In 2013, he granted his 200th wish for the organization.[364] As of 2019, he has raised more than $5 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.[361]

In 2015, Jordan donated a settlement of undisclosed size from a lawsuit against supermarkets that had used his name without permission to 23 different Chicago charities.[365] In 2017, Jordan funded two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics in Charlotte, North Carolina, by giving $7 million, the biggest donation he had made at the time.[366] In 2018, after Hurricane Florence damaged parts of North Carolina, including his former hometown of Wilmington, Jordan donated $2 million to relief efforts.[367] He gave $1 million to aid the Bahamas’ recovery following Hurricane Dorian in 2019.[368]

On June 5, 2020, in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd, Jordan and his brand announced in a joint statement that they would be donating $100 million over the next 10 years to organizations dedicated to «ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education».[369] In February 2021, Jordan funded two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics in New Hanover County, North Carolina, by giving $10 million.[370][371]

Film and television

Jordan played himself in the 1996 comedy film Space Jam. The film received mixed reviews,[26] but it was a box office success, making $230 million worldwide, and earned more than $1 billion through merchandise sales.[372]

In 2000, Jordan was the subject of an IMAX documentary about his career with the Chicago Bulls, especially the 1998 NBA playoffs, entitled Michael Jordan to the Max.[373] Two decades later, the same period of Jordan’s life was covered in much greater and more personal detail by the Emmy Award-winning The Last Dance, a 10-part TV documentary which debuted on ESPN in April and May 2020. The Last Dance relied heavily on about 500 hours of candid film of Jordan’s and his teammates’ off-court activities which an NBA Entertainment crew had shot over the course of the 1997–98 NBA season for use in a documentary. The project was delayed for many years because Jordan had not yet given his permission for the footage to be used.[374][375] He was interviewed at three homes associated with the production and did not want cameras in his home or on his plane, as according to director Jason Hehir «there are certain aspects of his life that he wants to keep private».[376]

Jordan granted rapper Travis Scott permission to film a music video for his single «Franchise» at his home in Highland Park, Illinois.[377] Jordan appeared in the 2022 miniseries The Captain, which follows the life and career of Derek Jeter.[378]

Books

Jordan has authored several books focusing on his life, basketball career, and world view.

  • Rare Air: Michael on Michael, with Mark Vancil and Walter Iooss (Harper San Francisco, 1993).[379][380]
  • I Can’t Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence, with Mark Vancil and Sandro Miller (Harper San Francisco, 1994).[381]
  • For the Love of the Game: My Story, with Mark Vancil (Crown Publishers, 1998).[382]
  • Driven from Within, with Mark Vancil (Atria Books, 2005).[383]

See also

  • Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid athletes
  • List of athletes who came out of retirement
  • List of NBA teams by single season win percentage
  • Michael Jordan’s Restaurant
  • Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City
  • Michael Jordan in Flight
  • NBA 2K11
  • NBA 2K12

Notes

  1. ^ Jordan’s weight fluctuated from 195 lb (88 kg) to 218 lb (99 kg) during the course of his professional career;[1][2][3] his NBA listed weight was 216 lb (98 kg).[4][5][6]
  2. ^ Jordan wore a nameless No. 12 jersey in a February 14, 1990, game against the Orlando Magic because his No. 23 jersey had been stolen.[7] Jordan scored 49 points, setting a franchise record for players wearing that jersey number.[8]

References

  1. ^ Telander, Rick (February 14, 2018). «Michael Jordan Put on a Helluva Show at ’88 All-Star Weekend». Slam. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  2. ^ Quinn, Sam (May 11, 2020). «How Michael Jordan bulked up to outmuscle Pistons, win first NBA championship with Bulls». CBS Sports. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Thompson, Wright (February 22, 2013). «Michael Jordan Has Not Left the Building». ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  4. ^ «Michael Jordan Info Page». NBA. Archived from the original on June 15, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab «Michael Jordan Bio». NBA. Archived from the original on September 2, 2006. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  6. ^ «Chicago Bulls: Historical» (PDF). NBA. p. 362. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  7. ^ Strauss, Chris (December 12, 2012). «The greatest No. 12 that no one is talking about». USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  8. ^ Smith, Sam (February 15, 1990). «Magic has the Bulls’ number: Catledge leads rally; Jordan scores 49 points», Chicago Tribune, p. A1.
  9. ^ Rein, Kotler and Shields, p. 173.
  10. ^ «Legends profile: Michael Jordan». NBA.com. September 14, 2021. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Markovits and Rensman, p. 89.
  12. ^ «The NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, ranked: Where 76 basketball legends check in on our list». ESPN.com. February 21, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022. Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time — he changed so many different facets of the league — but maybe most of all, he showed players they could grow themselves into a global brand on and off the floor with stellar play and the right marketing machine behind it all.
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Sources

External video
video icon Discussion with Halberstam on Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made, February 22, 1999, C-SPAN
  • Condor, Bob (1998). Michael Jordan’s 50 Greatest Games. Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8065-2030-8.
  • Halberstam, David (2000). Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made. Broadway Books. ISBN 978-0-7679-0444-5.
  • Jordan, Michael (1998). For the Love of the Game: My Story. New York City: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-609-60206-5.
  • Kotler, Philip; Rein, Irving J.; Shields, Ben (2006). The Elusive Fan: Reinventing Sports in a Crowded Marketplace. The McGraw-Hill Companies. ISBN 978-0-07-149114-3.
  • Kruger, Mitchell (2003). One Last Shot: The Story of Michael Jordan’s Comeback. New York City: St. Martin’s Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-312-99223-1.
  • Lazenby, Roland (2014). Michael Jordan: The Life. New York City: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-19477-8.
  • LaFeber, Walter (2002). Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism. W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-32369-6.
  • Markovits, Andrei S.; Rensman, Lars (June 3, 2010). Gaming the World: How Sports are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13751-3.
  • Porter, David L. (2007). Michael Jordan: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33767-3.
  • The Sporting News Official NBA Register 1994–95 (1994). The Sporting News. ISBN 978-0-89204-501-3.

Further reading

  • Leahy, Michael (2004). When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan’s Last Comeback. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-7648-1.
  • McGovern, Mike (2005). Michael Jordan: Basketball Player. Ferguson. ISBN 978-0-8160-5876-1.

External links

Spoken Wikipedia icon

This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 19 January 2013, and does not reflect subsequent edits.

  • Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
  • Michael Jordan at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
  • Michael Jordan at Curlie
  • Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
  • Michael Jordan Career Retrospective on YouTube
  • Michael Jordan at IMDb
  • «Jordan archives». Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 5, 1997. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
Источник
Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan (retired).jpg
Jordan at the 2019 NBA All-Star Game.
Charlotte Hornets
Position:  Owner
Personal information
Born:  February 17, 1963 (age 59)
 Brooklyn, New York
Listed height  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight  216 lbs (98 kg)
Career information
High school:  Emsley A. Laney (NC)
College:  North Carolina
NBA Draft:  1984 / Rnd: 1 / Pck: 3rd
Position:  Shooting guard
Career history
As player:

  • Chicago Bulls (1984–1993, 1995–1998)
  • Washington Wizards (2001–2003)
As executive:

  • Washington Wizards (2002–03)
    (President of Basketball Operations)
  • Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets
    (2010–present) (Owner)
Career highlights and awards
  • 6× NBA Champion
    (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 6x NBA Finals MVP
    (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 5× NBA MVP
    (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998)
  • 14× NBA All-Star
    (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002, 2003)
  • 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year
  • 10× All-NBA First Team Selection
    (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 1985 All-NBA Second Team Selection
  • 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team Selection
    (1988–1993, 1996–1998)
  • 1985 NBA Rookie of the Year
  • 1985 NBA All-Rookie Team
  • 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP
    (1988, 1996, 1998)
  • 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner
    (1987, 1988)
  • 2× Gold Medal Winner in the Olympics
    (1984, 1992)
  • NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
  • 4× Best NBA Player ESPY Award
  • No. 23 retired by the Chicago Bulls
  • No. 23 retired by the Miami Heat
NBA.com profile
stats
Basketball Hall of Fame (as player)
Basketball Hall of Fame (92′ USA team)

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman, basketball executive and former professional basketball shooting guard. He is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls.

His biography on the official NBA website states: «By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.» He was integral in helping to popularize the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon in the process.

Jordan played college basketball for three seasons under coach Dean Smith with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team in 1982. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick, and quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring while gaining a reputation as one of the game’s best defensive players. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames «Air Jordan» and «His Airness«. Jordan won his first NBA championship with the Bulls in 1991, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a «three-peat». Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball but returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998 as well as a then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. He retired for a second time in January 1999 but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards before he retired for good.

Jordan’s individual accolades and accomplishments include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, ten scoring titles (both all-time records), five MVP Awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP Awards, three steals titles, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the 20th century’s greatest North American athlete by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press’ list of athletes of the century. Jordan was twice inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once in 2009 for his individual career and again in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team («The Dream Team»). He became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015.

One of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation, Jordan is also known for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1984 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred as himself in the 1996 live-action animated film Space Jam, and is the central focus of the Emmy Award-winning documentary miniseries The Last Dance (2020). He became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Bobcats (now named the Hornets) in 2006, and bought a controlling interest in 2010. In 2014, Jordan became the first billionaire player in NBA history. With a net worth of $2.1 billion, he is the fourth-richest African American, behind Robert F. Smith, David Steward, and Oprah Winfrey.

Early years

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Michael Jordan was the third son of James and Delores Jordan, who moved the family to Wilmington, North Carolina when Michael was young. Jordan attended Ogden Elementary School and then Trask Junior High School. Jordan has two older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister. While his family was temporarily staying in the Washington D.C area, Jordan attended Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. At Emsley A. Laney High School, he became a better student and a three-sport star in football (at quarterback), baseball, and basketball. He was cut from the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year because at 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) he was deemed underdeveloped, but over the summer he grew four inches (10 cm) and practiced even harder. Over his next two seasons, he averaged 25 points per game. He began focusing on basketball, practicing every morning before school with his high school varsity coach. In his senior season at Laney High, Jordan averaged a triple-double: 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.1 assists. He was selected to the McDonald’s All-American Team as a senior.

Jordan earned a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina, where he majored in geography. As a freshman in legendary coach Dean Smith’s team-oriented system, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year. He was an exciting if not dominant player, but the Tar Heels were led by All-American and future Hall of Famer James Worthy. Jordan made the game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Basketball Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing. After winning the Naismith College Player of the Year award in 1984, he left Carolina early to enter the NBA Draft, and was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round as the third pick overall, after Houston Rockets center Akeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie of the Portland Trail Blazers. Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986.

Sports career

Jordan played thirteen seasons for the Bulls and two seasons with the Washington Wizards. Generally used as a shooting guard, his height of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), skills, and physical conditioning also made him a versatile threat at point guard and small forward. He won six NBA Championships (1991-1993 and 1996-1998) and was league MVP five times (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998). He was also named Rookie of the Year (1985) and Defensive Player of the Year (1988), and won the Finals MVP award every year the Bulls reached the Finals. He also earned the elusive MVP triple crown (regular season, Finals, and All-Star Game) twice, in 1996 and 1998. Only Willis Reed (1970) and Shaquille O’Neal (2000) have won all three MVP awards in the same season (although it can be argued that Bill Russell would also have accomplished the feat, had the Finals MVP been awarded in 1963). In 1997, he also recorded the only triple-double in an All-Star Game.

Jordan’s coach for most of his career was Phil Jackson, who said:

«The thing about Michael is he takes nothing for granted. When he first came into the league in 1984, he was primarily a penetrator. His outside shooting wasn’t up to professional standards. So he put in his gym time in the off-season, shooting hundreds of shots each day. Eventually, he became a deadly three-point shooter.»
-Phil Jackson

Early NBA years

After scoring 16 points in his first NBA game (a game in which he was constantly double teamed despite being a rookie), Jordan took the league by storm in his rookie year, scoring 40 or more points six times en route to a 28.2 points-per-game season (sixth best all-time by a rookie). He also averaged 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. He revived interest in a floundering Bulls franchise, received a spot on the All-Star team, and won the Rookie of the Year award.

In the third game of the 1985-86 NBA season, Jordan broke a bone in his foot and missed all, but 18 games. Upon his return, as advised by team doctors Jordan was restricted to a limited number of minutes per game by Coach Stan Albeck and General Manager Jerry Krause. Jordan disagreed with this decision and this soured his relationship with Krause for the rest of his career, as he felt that Krause was intentionally trying to lose games in order to gain a better pick in the NBA draft. In spite of Jordan’s injury, the Bulls still managed to make the playoffs, where they were defeated in three games by the eventual champion Boston Celtics. The series is best remembered for Jordan’s 63 points in a double-overtime loss in Game 2, an NBA playoff single game scoring record that still stands. After the game, Larry Bird commented that it was «God disguised as Michael Jordan». The following season established Jordan as one of the best players in the league. Jordan scored 50 or more points eight times during the regular season and 40 or more points 36 times, while winning his first scoring title with a 37.1 points-per-game average (only Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor have had higher season averages), and became the only player besides Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season. He finished runner-up to Magic Johnson in MVP voting. The playoffs ended for the Bulls as they did the year before, in a three-game sweep by the Celtics.

In his fourth season, Jordan averaged 35 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, won his first MVP award and the Defensive Player of the Year award (garnering 259 steals and 131 blocks), was named MVP of the All-Star Game, and won his second consecutive Slam Dunk Contest with an iconic dunk from the free throw line. Jordan’s Bulls got out of the first round for the first time, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games (with Jordan averaging 45.2 points per game during the series) before losing in five games to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons. This marked the start of Jordan’s rivalry with the Pistons.

Isiah-thomas-and-michael-jo.jpg

In 1988-89, Jordan averaged 32.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per game while finishing second in the MVP voting. In Magic-like fashion, Jordan also recorded 15 triple-doubles during the regular season including a streak of 7 consecutive triple-doubles which saw him record 10 triple-doubles in 11 games. Jordan also recorded 3 triple-doubles while scoring at least 40 points and came 2 assists shy of being the first player ever to record a triple-double while scoring at least 50 points against the Phoenix Suns on January 21 1989. This largely came because the Bull’s coach, Doug Collins, made Jordan play the Point Guard position. He established himself as one of the NBA’s great clutch performers with a last-second jump shot over Craig Ehlo in Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs. The Bulls, fuelled by the emergence of small forward Scottie Pippen and power forward Horace Grant as starters, defeated the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semi-finals before losing to the Pistons in the Conference Finals.

The Pistons, with their punishing, physical play, established a plan for playing against Jordan, dubbed «The Jordan Rules» by Pistons coach Chuck Daly. The Jordan rules involved double- and triple-teaming him every time he touched the ball, preventing him from going to the baseline, hammering him when he drove to the basket, forcing him to the center where help defense could arrive and making him rely on his inexperienced teammates. They would also target Jordan when the latter was on defense in hopes of making him spend most of his energy on that end of the floor.

Coach Phil Jackson took over the team in the 1989-90 season, in which Jordan averaged 33.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and finished third place in the MVP voting. On March 28, Jordan recorded career highs of 69 points and 18 rebounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls lost to the Pistons in seven games in the Conference Finals.

The first three-peat

In the 1990-91 season, Michael Jordan, motivated by the team’s narrow defeat against the Pistons a year earlier, finally bought into Jackson and assistant coach Tex Winter‘s triangle offense after years of resistance. That year, he won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game for the regular season. For the first time in his career, Jordan failed to register a game of scoring at least 50 points while leading the league in scoring. The Bulls finished in first place for the first time in 16 years and set a franchise record in regular season wins with 61. With Scottie Pippen developing into an All-Star, the Bulls proved too strong for their Eastern Conference competition. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Detroit Pistons en route to the NBA Finals where they then beat Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games. The Bulls compiled an excellent 15-2 playoff record along the way. In what would become an enduring video clip, Jordan changed hands mid-air while completing a layup against the Lakers. Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award unanimously, and wept while holding his first NBA Finals trophy.

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991-1992 season, establishing another new franchise high with a 67-15 record. Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with a 30.1/6.4/6.1 season. After winning a physical 7-game series over the burgeoning New York Knicks in the second round and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in 6 games, the Bulls faced off against Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic-Bird type rivalry in a Jordan-Drexler/»Air» Jordan vs. Clyde «The Glide» rivalry, compared the two throughout the pre-Finals hype. Jordan felt insulted as he believed that Drexler was nowhere near the level of player he was. He was also angry that the media regarded Drexler as a better 3 point shooter, stating «Clyde is only a better 3 point shooter than I choose to be». In the first game of the Finals that year, Jordan scored a record 35 points in the first half and finished the game with 39. Jordan sank 6 three pointers during the half and many fans will remember the last three pointer he hit over the hands of Cliff Robinson in which he jogged down the court shrugging as if to say «I don’t know what’s going on». The Bulls would go on to win game one, and then wrapped up the series in six games. Because of his dominating performance, Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row. Jordan would finish the series averaging 35.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 6.5 APG while shooting 53% from the floor. Drexler finished with averages of 24.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 5.3 APG, but only shot 41% from the floor.

In 1992-93, despite a 32.6/6.7/5.5 campaign, Jordan’s streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley. A large reason for the was because the Bulls finished with only 56 wins this year. Fittingly, though, Jordan and the Bulls would end up meeting Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals, in a match-up dubbed as «Altitude vs. Attitude». Jordan’s perceived slighting in the MVP balloting only fuelled his competitive fire. The Bulls would capture their third consecutive NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago’s catalyst. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 PPG during the six-game series, and in the process became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVPs. With the Finals triumph, Jordan capped off what may have been the most spectacular seven-year run by an athlete ever, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.

First retirement and gambling allegations

On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, citing a lost desire to play the game. Many speculate that the murder of his father, James Jordan, in July 1993 factored into his decision. However, those close to Jordan claim that he was strongly considering retirement as early as the summer of 1992, and that the added exhaustion of the Dream Team run only solidified Michael’s burned-out feelings regarding the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. In any case, Jordan’s announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world. Not since Jim Brown‘s sudden retirement from the NFL in 1966 had such a dominant athlete walked away from the game at the peak of his abilities.

There have been many unproven conspiracy theories about why Jordan retired in 1993. In the year before his retirement, Jordan had admitted to having to cover $57,000 in gambling losses. Author Richard Esquinas wrote a book claiming he had won $1.3 million in gambling money from Jordan on the golf course. At the same time, Jordan had also been spotted at casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey. One theory states that the increased scrutiny for Jordan’s gambling activities led to a «deal» between Jordan and the NBA, where Jordan would retire for a few years. Supporters of this theory cite Jordan’s statement at his retirement press conference as evidence. «Five years down the road,» he said, «if the urge comes back, if the Bulls will have me, if David Stern lets me back in the league, I may come back.«[1]

However, three days after his retirement, the NBA cleared Jordan of any wrongdoing and stated that its investigation revealed that there was «absolutely no evidence Jordan violated league rules.»

Baseball career

He signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox of the American League (AL), reported to spring training, and was assigned to the team’s minor league system. The White Sox were another team owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan’s basketball contract during the years he played baseball. He had an unspectacular professional baseball career for the Birmingham Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team, batting .202 with 3 HR, 51 RBI, 30 SB (tied for fifth in Southern League), 11 errors and 6 outfield assists. He led the club with 11 bases-loaded RBI and 25 RBI with runners in scoring position and two outs. He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League. However, his low batting average also made him one of the lesser greats for the team as well.

«I’m back»: Jordan’s return to the NBA

In the 1993-94 season, the Jordan-less Bulls notched a surprising 55-27 record (only two fewer wins than the prior championship season, and the 3rd-best in the Eastern Conference), and lost to the Eastern Conference Champion New York Knicks in 7 games in the second round of the playoffs. But the 1994-95 version of the Bulls were a shell of the championship squad of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to even ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago needed a lift. The lift came when Michael Jordan called up Bulls guard B.J. Armstrong in early 1995 to go out for breakfast, a meal that led to an impromptu shoot-around, and eventually to Jordan’s return to the NBA for the Bulls.

On March 18, 1995 Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: «I’m back.» The next day, Jordan donned jersey number 45 (his number with the Barons), as his familiar 23 had been retired in his honor during his first retirement. He took the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points in a Bulls loss.

Although Jordan hadn’t played in an NBA game in a year and a half, he played well upon his return, which included another of his trademark game-winning jumpers (against Atlanta in his fourth game back), and a 55-point outburst against the Knicks on March 29, 1995. He led the Bulls to a 9-1 record in April of that year, propelling the team into the playoffs. The Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the Orlando Magic that season, and Jordan averaged 31.5 points per game in the series, but Orlando prevailed in six games. After Orlando’s Nick Anderson declared after the first game of the series that «He didn’t look like the old Michael Jordan.«, an extra-motivated Jordan began wearing his old number (23) again. While this action may have been an attempt to recapture his mystique and dominance, it succeeded in incurring fines from the NBA because the Bulls failed to notify the league in advance of the number change.

The second three-peat

Jordan going for the slam dunk.

Freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, Jordan trained aggressively for the 1995-96 season. Strengthened by the addition of rebounder extraordinaire Dennis Rodman, the Bulls dominated the league, their season started off with 12 straight wins, finishing 72-10: the best regular season record in NBA history at the time. Jordan won the league’s regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards. In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series, defeating the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals in 6 games to win the championship. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the fourth time, surpassing Magic Johnson.

In the 1996-97 season, Jordan led the Bulls to a 69-13 record. However this year, he was bested by Karl Malone for the NBA MVP Award. The team again advanced to the Finals, where they faced Malone and the Utah Jazz. The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch efforts of Jordan’s career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, now famously known as the «Flu Game», with the series tied 2-2, Jordan scored 38 points (including the game-deciding three-pointer with less than a minute remaining) despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. A conspiracy was made that a pizza Jordan had ordered the previous night in Utah was actually poisoned. The Bulls won 90-88 and went on to win the series in six games. For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award.

Jordan and the Bulls compiled a 62-20 record in the 1997-98 season. Jordan led the league with 28.7 points per game, securing his fifth regular-season MVP award, plus honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team and the All-Star Game MVP. The Bulls captured the Eastern Conference Championship for a third straight season and moved on to face the Jazz again in the Finals.

After going 3-2 in the first five games, the Bulls returned to Utah for game 6 on June 14, 1998. In Game 6, he trumped his courageous feats in the Finals a year earlier with a series of plays that may form the greatest clutch performance in NBA Finals history. With the Bulls trailing 86-83 with 40 seconds remaining, Jackson called a timeout. Jordan received the inbounds pass, drove to the basket, and hit a layup over four Jazz defenders, which cut Utah’s lead to 86-85. The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to forward Karl Malone, who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by Rodman. Malone jostled with Rodman and caught the pass, but Jordan cut behind him and swatted the ball out of his hands for a steal. Jordan then slowly dribbled upcourt and paused at the top of the key, eyeing his defender, Jazz guard Bryon Russell. With fewer than 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, crossed over to his left and as Russell slipped , he released a shot that would be rebroadcast countless times in years to come. As the shot found the net, announcer Bob Costas shouted «Chicago with the lead!» After a desperation three-point shot by John Stockton missed, Jordan and the Bulls had won their sixth NBA championship, and secured a second three-peat. Once again, Jordan was voted the Finals’ MVP, having led all scorers by averaging more than 30 points per game, including 45 in the deciding Game 6. Jordan’s six Finals MVPs is a record; LeBron James is at 2nd place with 4 while Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, and Tim Duncan are tied for 3rd place with three apiece.

Second retirement

Jordan’s Game 6 heroics seemed to be a perfect ending to his career. With Phil Jackson’s contract expiring, the pending departure of Scottie Pippen (who stated his desire to be traded during the season) and Dennis Rodman (who would sign with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent), and in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired again on January 13, 1999. At his second retirement press conference, he paid tribute to a Chicago Police officer slain on duty just days before.

On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player, but as part owner and President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards. His responsibilities with the club were to be comprehensive, as he was in charge of all aspects of the team, including personnel decisions. Less than a month later, Jordan won four ESPY Awards at the annual ceremony: Athlete of the Century; Male Athlete of the 1990s; Pro Basketball Player of the 1990s; and Play of the Decade, for the famous shot against the Lakers in the 1991 Finals in which he switched the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air.

Opinions of Jordan as an executive were mixed. He managed to purge the team of several highly-paid, unpopular players (like forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland), but his lasting legacy as GM of the Wizards will probably be his selection of high school prospect Kwame Brown with the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, a move that has been roundly criticized in hindsight because Brown ended up being a bust.

Despite his January 1999 claim that he was «99.9% certain» that he would never play another NBA game, Jordan began making noises in the summer of 2001 that he may be interested in another comeback, this time with his new team. Inspired by the comeback of NHL star (and Jordan’s friend) Mario Lemieux the previous winter, Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago. In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington’s coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing for another Jordan return. With the season quickly approaching, 0.1% odds had never looked so good. Still, Jordan wasn’t making any promises.

Washington Wizards comeback

In a September 10, 2001 press conference, he strongly hinted at a comeback, but refused to confirm the rumours that had been swirling around him for the past month. But if Jordan was not sure on September 10 whether he would return to action or not, the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States may have sealed the deal. Later that month he announced his pending return to professional play with the Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the attacks. On September 25, Jordan announced that he had stepped down from the Wizards’ front office and out of retirement. When he finally hit the hardwood again, Jordan’s skills were not noticeably diminished by age. In an injury-plagued 2001-02 season which he started out of shape, he played through pain and led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.42 spg), almost leading the young Wizards to the playoffs in the process. Additionally, Jordan’s presence resulted in all 41 arena sellouts at the Wizards’ home court, the MCI Center, as well as sellouts of nearly every road arena that he would appear in over the two years of his second comeback (in his first year back, the Wizards sold out all but three of their road games). He also helped lead the Wizards to a franchise-record nine-game winning streak from December 6 through December 26, and for a brief period was being talked about as an MVP candidate. There was even a hint of «His Airness», on December 29, when Jordan dropped 51 points against the Charlotte Hornets in a home game victory, becoming the oldest player to have a 50 point game. He proceeded to drop 45 points in the next game against the New Jersey Nets. Disappointingly, though, injuries ended Jordan’s season after only 60 games, the fewest he had played in a regular season since a broken foot cut short his season in 1985-86.

Jordan returned for the 2002-03 season newly fitted with orthotic insoles to help his knees, and, (relatively) healthy again, averaged 20 points per game. Playing in his 13th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2003, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star history, one of the few scoring records that Jordan did not own going into his second comeback. The 2002-03 season was heralded from the beginning as Jordan’s final goodbye to his fans, and he did not disappoint. That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in his final year, shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free throw line. Even at age 40, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine times, and 40 or more points three times. On February 21, 2003, Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 40 points in an NBA game, scoring 43 to lead the Wizards to an 89-86 victory over the New Jersey Nets at the MCI Center. While the attendance numbers dipped off slightly in Year Two, the Wizards remained the most-watched team in the NBA with Jordan, averaging 20,173 fans a game at MCI and 19,311 on the road. In addition, the Wizards sold out all 82 home games of the Jordan era, shattering attendance records. However, neither of Jordan’s final two seasons resulted in a playoff appearance for the Wizards.

Recognizing that this would be Jordan’s final season, tributes to Jordan were given in almost every arena in the NBA. In his final game at his old stomping grounds, the United Center in Chicago, Jordan received a prolonged standing ovation that Jordan himself had to interrupt (by giving an impromptu speech) because the crowd showed no signs of stopping. Out of respect for Jordan, the Miami Heat retired his #23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though he never played for that particular team. It was the first jersey the Heat had ever retired in their then-15-year history, and it was half Wizards blue, half Bulls red (the jersey has since been replaced with an all-red Bulls jersey). An additional honor was bestowed on Jordan in his final home game at Washington, where he was honored after the game by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who presented him with the American flag that flew over the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. At the 2003 All-Star Game, Vince Carter gave up his starting spot at shooting guard to Jordan, and the halftime ceremony was dedicated to Jordan’s career, complete with a Mariah Carey musical tribute.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the setting for Jordan’s final NBA game, on April 16, 2003, against the Philadelphia 76ers. Playing limited minutes due to the game’s score, Jordan still mustered 15 points despite the eventual Wizards’ loss. After sitting out much of the fourth quarter, Jordan re-entered the game in the final minutes after the Philadelphia crowd serenaded him with sustained chants of «we want Mike!» With 1:44 remaining, Jordan sank his last two free throws, and then exited to a standing ovation which lasted more than three minutes. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers’ Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, the officials, and the crowd of 21,257 fans.

After retiring as a player

After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position of Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards. However, his tenure in the Wizards’ front office had been marred by poor executive decisions, which included the drafting of the underperforming Kwame Brown, and may have influenced the trade of Richard «Rip» Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse (although Jordan was not technically Director of Basketball Operations in 2002). On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as Washington’s president of basketball operations. The firing came as a surprise to Jordan, who felt betrayed and said at the time, «I am shocked by this decision and by the callous refusal to offer me any justification for it.»

After that point Jordan kept himself busy by staying in shape, playing golf in celebrity charity tournaments, spending time with his family in Chicago, promoting his Jordan Brand clothing line, and riding motorcycles (a passion which he could not indulge in as a player, due to NBA contract restrictions).Since 2004, Jordan has owned a professional closed-course motorcycle roadracing team competing in the premier Superbike class sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).

On February 27, 2010, it was announced that Johnson had decided to sell the team to Jordan, allowing Jordan to become the first former NBA player to become majority owner of a franchise.

Personal life

Jordan is the fourth of five children. He has two older brothers, Larry and James, one older sister, Delores, and a younger sister, Roslyn. He married Juanita Jordan in September 1989, and they have two sons, Jeffrey Jordan and Marcus Jordan, and a daughter, Jasmine. Michael and Juanita filed for divorce on January 4, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences, but reconciled shortly thereafter. They filed for divorce again on December 29, 2006 commenting that the decision was made «mutually and amicably». [1] [2]

On July 21, 2006, a Cook County, Illinois, judge determined that Jordan did not owe a former lover, Karla Knafel $5 million. Knafel said Jordan promised her that amount for remaining silent and agreeing not to file a paternity suit after Knafel learned she was pregnant in 1991. A DNA test showed Jordan was not the father of the child. Knafel’s attorney, Michael Hannafan, said his client also will appeal this latest ruling.

Jordan’s father, James, was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery, who were caught after being traced from calls the pair made on James Jordan’s cellular phone. Both assailants were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Jordan’s brother James R. Jordan was the Command Sergeant Major of the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army.

Jordan is a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and has the letter omega (Ω) branded on his chest.

Jordan currently lives in Highland Park, Illinois. [3]

Businessman

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, Hanes, McDonald’s, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, and MCI. He first appeared on Wheaties boxes in 1988, and acted as their spokesman as well.

Jordan has appeared in two campaigns for the clothing company, Hanes. The first one was during the 2000s for their Hanes «Go Tagless» campaign, and again in 2005 where he appeared in advertisements for Hanes, the campaign was titled «Look who we’ve got our Hanes on now».

Nike created a signature shoe for him, called the Air Jordan. The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spate of «shoe-jackings» where young boys were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. The innovation of designer Tinker Hatfield spurred the basketball shoe industry to new heights. Subsequently Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own company named appropriately the «Jordan Brand.» Athletes who endorse the company include basketball players such as Ray Allen, Michael Finley, Mike Bibby, Derek Anderson, Eddie Jones, Jason Kidd, Quentin Richardson, Richard Hamilton, and Carmelo Anthony. The «Jordan Brand» has branched out into other sports, with baseball players Derek Jeter and Andruw Jones and football players Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, Ahman Green, Warren Sapp, Jason Taylor, as well as boxer Roy Jones Jr., AMA Superstock and Supersport racer Montez Stewart, and jazz musician Mike Phillips as endorsers. The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina, Cincinnati, Cal, St. John’s, Georgetown, and North Carolina A & T.

Beginning in 1991, Jordan appeared in ProStars, an NBC Saturday morning cartoon. The show featured Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson fighting crime and helping children.

Jordan has also been connected with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial in the 1993 Super Bowl XXVII where he and Bugs Bunny played basketball against some Martians inspired the 1996 live action/animated movie Space Jam, which starred Michael and Bugs in a fictional story set during his first retirement. They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI.

After his second retirement, Jordan formed the MVP.com sports apparel enterprise with fellow sports greats Wayne Gretzky and John Elway in 1999. It fell victim to the dot-com bust, and the rights to the domain were sold to CBS SportsLine in 2001.

For many years, Jordan has been the real-life mascot for Nestlé Crunch, appearing on the products and in their advertising.

On July 10, 2006, Jordan was sued by Allen Heckard for defamation and permanent injury and emotional pain and suffering to the tune of $416 million because Heckard «gets comments about his resemblance to basketball superstar Michael Jordan and he’s fed up with it«. Heckard also sued Nike founder Phil Knight for the same amount.

In 2010, Jordan bought the NBA franchise Charlotte Hornets, then known as the Charlotte Bobcats. However, as the owner of the team, he didn’t make great decisions, most notably offering Terry Rosier a bigger contract than Kemba Walker, a move that resulted in Walker leaving the team. As of 2020, Jordan has an estimated net worth of 1.6 billion USD

NBA 50 Greatest

In 1996, Jordan was selected as one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all-time. Other players who were selected for this honor included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Earvin «Magic» Johnson, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, and Wilt Chamberlain.

See also

  • List of Former NBA Players
  • Magazine covers — Magazine covers featuring Michael Jordan.
  • Wheaties covers — Wheaties covers featuring Michael Jordan.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/dave-kindred/20050613.html

External links

  • NBA History: Jordan bio
  • NBA Player Stats
  • Basketball-Reference.com: Michael Jordan
  • Photos from BBC
  • Michael Jordan Quotes
  • Template:Imdb name
  • United Athletes Magazine Jordan’s physical qualities and abilities.
  • Gambling Man — The Thrill of the Kill Keeps Michael Jordan Chasing His Next Game
  • Michael Jordan Interview — 13 January 1999, United Center
Источник

Michael Jordan is a former American basketball player who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships and won the Most Valuable Player Award five times.

Who Is Michael Jordan?

Michael Jordan is a former professional American basketball player, Olympic athlete, businessperson and actor. Considered one of the best basketball players ever, he dominated the sport from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. 

Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six National Basketball Association championships and earned the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award five times. With five regular-season MVPs and three All-Star MVPs, Jordan became the most decorated player in the NBA.

Early Life

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up in Wilmington, North Carolina, Jordan developed a competitive edge at an early age. He wanted to win every game he played.

Jordan grew up with a stable family life. His mother, Delores, was a bank teller who has since written several books. His father, James, was a maintenance worker turned manager at General Electric. Jordan had four siblings: Larry, Deloris, Roslyn and James Jr.

Jordan’s father, James, introduced him to baseball and built a basketball court in their backyard. James was murdered in the summer of 1993 when two teenagers shot him in his car in an apparent robbery as he was driving from Charlotte to Wilmington, North Carolina. He went missing for 11 days until his body was found in a swamp in McColl, South Carolina. The teens were later tried and convicted of the crime and received life sentences for first-degree murder.

College Career

Jordan enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981 and soon became an important member of the school’s basketball team. UNC won the NCAA Division I championship in 1982, with Jordan scoring the final basket needed to defeat Georgetown University. He was also singled out as the NCAA College Player of the Year in 1983 and in 1984.

Jordan left college after his junior year to join the NBA in 1984. In 1985, Jordan finished his bachelor’s degree in geography as he continued to play basketball professionally. 

Professional Basketball Career

Chicago Bulls

Jordan began his professional basketball career when he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984. He was the third overall pick, behind Hakeem Olajuwon, who was selected first by the Houston Rockets, and Sam Bowie, taken by the Portland Trail Blazers; the draft also featured legendary players John Stockton and Charles Barkley.

Jordan soon proved himself on the court. He helped the team make the playoffs and scored an average of 28.2 points per game that season. For his efforts, Jordan received the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and was selected for the All-Star Game.

While his second season was marred by injury, he was breaking new ground on the court during the 1986-87 season. He became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to score more than 3,000 points in a single season.

By the late 1980s, the Chicago Bulls were quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with, and Jordan was an instrumental part of the team’s success. 

The Bulls made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1990 and won their first NBA championship the following year by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers. Jordan was well known by then for his superior athleticism on the court and for his leadership abilities.

In 1992, the Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers to win their second NBA championship. The team took their third championship the following year, dominating in the basketball world.

Following a short stint in minor league baseball, in March 1995 Jordan returned to the basketball court for the Chicago Bulls. He came back even stronger the following year, averaging 30.4 points per game to lead the Bulls to a then-record 72 regular-season wins before they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics for the NBA championship.

Chicago nearly matched the previous year’s record with 69 wins in 1996-97, a season that ended with a game six win over the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals. The two teams faced each other again for the championship in 1998, with Jordan sinking the winning shot in Game 6 to claim his sixth NBA title.

Washington Wizards

After his second retirement from basketball in 1999, Jordan joined the Washington Wizards in 2000 as a part owner and as president of basketball operations. 

In the fall of 2001, Jordan relinquished these roles to return to the court once more. He played for the Wizards for two seasons before retiring for good in 2003.

PHOTOS: Michael Jordan’s Career

Olympics

During the summer of 1984, Jordan made his first appearance at the Olympic Games as a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team. The team won the gold at the games that year, which were held in Los Angeles.

Jordan later helped the American team bring home the gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games, held in Barcelona, Spain.

Retirements from Basketball

Over the 19 years since beginning his professional basketball career, Jordan retired from the sport three times. He first retired in 1993 and again in 1998, then finally hung up his jersey for good in 2003.

DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY’S MICHAEL JORDAN FACT CARD

Michael Jordan Fact Card

Baseball

In a move that shocked many, after the end of the 1992-93 basketball season, Jordan announced his retirement from basketball to pursue baseball. For one year, in 1994, Jordan played for a minor league team, the Birmingham Barons, as an outfielder. 

This decision came shortly following the murder of Jordan’s father, who always wanted him to play baseball. He had last played baseball as a high school senior, in 1981.

«You tell me I can’t do something, and I’m going to do it,» Jordan said.

During his short career in baseball, which many fans considered a whim, Jordan had a rather dismal .202 batting average. However many of the people who worked with him at the time said he was an extremely dedicated player with potential.

«He had it all. Ability, aptitude, work ethic. He was always so respectful of what we were doing and considerate of his teammates. Granted, he had a lot to learn,» said former Barons manager Terry Francona. «I do think with another 1,000 at-bats, he would’ve made it. But there’s something else that people miss about that season. Baseball wasn’t the only thing he picked up. I truly believe that he rediscovered himself, his joy for competition. We made him want to play basketball again.»

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After his season with the Barons, Jordan went to the Arizona Fall League to play for the Scottsdale Scorpions. After hitting .252 and naming himself the team’s «worst player,» he returned to the NBA in March 1995 with a two-word press release: «I’m back.»

Businessman and Actor

Outside of his career in basketball, Jordan has been involved in a number of profitable business and commercial ventures. Between his profitable Nike partnership and his ownership of the Charlotte Hornets, Forbes estimated Jordan’s net worth to be over $1 billion in 2018. 

Jordan and Nike

Jordan signed his first deal with Nike in 1984, and he currently serves on the Nike Inc. board of directors.

Nike launched the signature Air Jordan basketball sneakers in 1985. In its initial contract, Nike gave Jordan a generous 25 percent in royalties.

The Air Jordan quickly proved very popular, and it continues to be a best-seller for the apparel maker more than 30 years later. The collaboration mints money for Nike and Jordan, with Nike reporting nearly $2.9 billion in revenue for the Air Jordan line in 2018. 

Other Endorsement Deals

Over the years, Jordan has signed a number of other endorsement deals with brands including Hanes, Upper Deck, Gatorade, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Chevrolet and Wheaties.

‘Space Jam’

Jordan made a big splash in film as the star of the 1996 movie Space Jam. The film mixed live action and animation and paired Jordan with cartoon legends Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck on screen.

Michael Jordan in Space Jam

Michael Jordan in «Space Jam»

Part Owner of the Charlotte Hornets

In 2006, Jordan bought a share of the Charlotte Hornets (formerly known as the Bobcats) and joined the team’s executive ranks as its managing member of basketball operations. In 2010, he became the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets and serves as the team’s chairman. 

Improving the team’s less-than-stellar record seemed to be Jordan’s priority. He told ESPN in November 2012 that «I don’t anticipate getting out of this business. My competitive nature is I want to succeed. It’s always been said that when I can’t find a way to do anything, I will find a way to do it.» While the Hornets’ on-court record isn’t hugely successful, the organization has grown from a $175 million valuation in 2006 to $1.05 billion in 2018.

Michael Jordan Steakhouse

In 1998, Jordan launched into the restaurant business as the owner of Michael Jordan’s The Steak House N.Y.C. Designed to reflect Jordan’s tastes and style, this typical steakhouse seated 150 and 60 at the bar, occupying 7,000 square feet in Grand Central Terminal, before closing in late 2018. Jordan also opened restaurants in Chicago, at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, and at the Ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield, Washington.

Golf Charity

From 2001 through 2014, Jordan hosted an annual charity golf event known as the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational, with proceeds benefiting foundations including Make-A-Wish, Cats Care, the James R. Jordan Foundation, Keep Memory Alive and Opportunity Village. 

The four-day tournament and celebration attracted celebrity participants including Wayne Gretzky, Michael Phelps, Chevy Chase, Samuel L. Jackson and Mark Wahlberg.

Awards

Jordan received his first Most Valuable Player Award from the NBA in 1988—an honor he would earn four more times, in 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998.

In April 2009, Jordan received one of basketball’s greatest honors: He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Attending the induction ceremony was a bittersweet affair for Jordan because being at the event meant «your basketball career is completely over,» he explained.

In 2016, Jordan was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Stats

Vertical Leap

48 inches

Per-Game Averages

  • MIN: 38.3
  • FG%: 0.497
  • 3P%: 0.327
  • FT%: 0.835
  • REB (OFF): 1.56
  • REB (DEF): 4.67
  • REB (TOT): 6.22
  • AST: 5.25
  • STL: 2.35
  • BLK: 0.83
  • TO: 2.73
  • PF: 2.60
  • PTS: 30.12

Career Totals

  • G: 1,072
  • GS: 1,039
  • MIN: 41,011
  • FGM-A: 12,192-24,537
  • 3PM-A: 581-1,778
  • FTM-A: 7,327-8,772
  • REB (OFF): 1,668
  • REB (DEF): 5,004
  • REB (TOT): 6,672
  • AST: 5,633
  • STL: 2,514
  • BLK: 893
  • TO: 2,924
  • PF: 2,783
  • PTS: 32,292

Wife and Kids

In 1989, Jordan married Juanita Vanoy. The couple had three children together: Jeffrey, Marcus and Jasmine. After 17 years of marriage, they divorced in December 2006.

On April 27, 2013, Jordan married 35-year-old Cuban American model Yvette Prieto in Palm Beach, Florida. Tiger Woods, Spike Lee and Patrick Ewing, among other celebrities, reportedly attended the wedding ceremony. The couple welcomed twin daughters, Victoria and Ysabel, in February 2014.

Jordan and Juanita’s two sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, both played basketball in college and had dreams of making it to the NBA.

Jeffrey joined the basketball team at the University of Illinois in 2007. Both Jordan and his ex-wife Juanita supported their son and tried to help him deal with playing in the shadow of an NBA legend.

«The thing that we have tried to tell Jeff is that you set your own expectations. By no means in this world can you ever live up to someone else’s expectations of who you are,» Jordan said during an appearance on the Today show.

Jeffrey played for the University of Illinois for three seasons, from 2007 to 2010. He then played for the University of South Florida for one season, from 2011 to 2012, before retiring from basketball. He later entered a management training program at Nike.

Jordan’s younger son Marcus also played basketball for the UCF Knights, for three seasons from 2009 to 2012. He went on to open a basketball shoe and apparel store in Florida.

«They wanted to be like their dad. What boy doesn’t? But they both got to a point where they said, ‘We’re not going to the NBA’,» said Juanita in 2013.

Documentary: ‘The Last Dance’

After the 2019-20 NBA season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic, ESPN’s spring 2020 airing of The Last Dance, a 10-part documentary about the Jordan-led 1997-98 Bulls, became must-watch viewing for basketball fans. Along with featuring archival footage of Jordan and interviews with teammates and opponents, The Last Dance explored the tension between the Bulls’ front office and its peerless superstar over his final triumphant year with the team.

Источник

Quick Facts

Nick Name: Air Jordan, MJ, His Airness, Money, Black Cat

Also Known As: Michael Jeffrey Jordan

Age: 59 Years, 59 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Yvette Prieto (m. 2013), Juanita Vanoy (m. 1989–2006)

father: James R. Jordan Sr.

mother: Deloris Peoples

siblings: Deloris Jordan, James R. Jordan Jr., Larry Jordan, Roslyn Jordan

children: Jasmine Mickael Jordan, Jeffrey Michael Jordan, Marcus Jordan, Victoria Jordan, Ysabel Jordan

Born Country: United States


Quotes By Michael Jordan

Basketball Players

Height: 6’6″ (198 cm), 6’6″ Males

Personality: ISTP

City: Brooklyn, New York City

U.S. State: New Yorkers

More Facts

education: University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill

Humanitarian Work: Associated with ‘Habitat for Humanity’, Georgia

awards: NBA Most Valuable Player Award — 1998-1996-1992
Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award — 1998-1997-1996
All-NBA Team — 1998-1997-1996

NBA Rookie of the Year Award — 1985
NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award — 1988
NBA All-Defensive Team — 1998-1997-1996
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award — 1998-1996-1988
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year — 1991
Best NBA Player ESPY Award — 1999-1998-1997
NBA All-Rookie Team — 1985
John R. Wooden Award — 1984
Best Male Athlete ESPY Award — 1993
Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year — 1984
Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Male Athlete — 2002-1999-1998
Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award — 1996
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year — 1993-1992-1991
ACC Athlete of the Year — 1984
Dramatic Individual Performance of the Year ESPY Award — 1998

Childhood & Early Life

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born to James and Deloris, on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. James worked in the electrical and heavy equipment industry, while Deloris was a banker. The family, consisting of four other children Larry, James R. Jr., Roslyn, and Deloris, settled down in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Michael went to Wilmington’s Emsley A. Laney High School, where he developed a love for sports like basketball, baseball, and football. As a child, he was taught by his parents to be hardworking and independent. In school, he wanted to join the sophomore basketball team, but was rejected because he was too short.

Instead of being depressed, he joined the school’s junior basketball team. He played exceptionally well, and worked hard to increase his height. Having impressed everyone, he was chosen for the McDonald’s All-American Team, the best of all high school basketball teams.

As a senior in high school, the young boy played for college teams like North Carolina, Virginia, Duke, and Syracuse. Finally, in 1981, he was offered a scholarship by the University of North Carolina based on his performance in basketball. In college, he graduated in cultural geography.

At the university, he was trained by the famous basketball coach Dean Smith, and Michael Jordan was named Freshman of the Year by the Atlantic Coast Conference. In 1982, his jump shot was a major factor in the team winning the NCAA Championship against Georgetown University.

michael-jordan-37402.jpg

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Career

In 1984, he dropped out of university with the aim of joining the NBA Draft. The young basketballer was selected by Chicago Bulls after players Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie were chosen by Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively.

In the Summer Olympics held in 1984, he was part of a gold medal-winning team that included players like Sam Perkins, Steve Alford, and Patrick Ewing.

Michael Jordan came back to college and graduated from the University of North Carolina two years later.

During 1984-87, as a part of Chicago Bulls, a team that didn’t have much luck with victory, Jordan proved his mettle with an above average points per game of 28.2.

He gained immense popularity, which was resented by players of his own and rival teams alike. As a result, team mates did not pass the ball to him on several occasions, and the Bulls lost the playoffs to Milwaukee Bucks. The enthusiastic basketball player took his team through to the playoffs of every season he participated in. The young star scored 100 blocks and 200 steals in a single season, becoming the first to do so in the history of NBA.

Even though the Bulls lost the playoffs to the Boston Celtics, the former fared relatively better than before.

From 1987-90, the new star of Chicago Bulls led his team through to the first round of NBA Playoffs in the first season, and all the way to the finals in the next two seasons. They defeated teams like Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, and Philadelphia 76ers, but in each season, Detroit Pistons led by Isiah Thomas, beat the Bulls and knocked them out of the tournament.

In the next season of 1990-91, Michael Jordan helped the Bulls sail through and reach the Eastern Conference finals. His team faced Detroit Pistons once again, but this time, it was the Chicago Bulls that emerged victorious. The winners played the NBA finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, earning their first championship victory in the history of the game.

In the next two seasons, the Chicago Bulls defeated Blazers and Phoenix Suns, winning three consecutive championships.

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In the Summer Olympics of 1992, he was once again a member of what is known as the dream team, a gold medal-winning group of talented players like Magic Johnson, David Robinson, and Larry Bird.

In 1993, the popular basketballer was observed gambling, an allegation that he owned up to, in an interview on the 60 Minutes show. The same year, on October 6, he publicly declared his decision to retire, stating his father’s murder as one of the reasons.

The following year, the basketball player signed up with Chicago White Sox for a baseball contract. This was Michael Jordan’s way of realizing his father’s dream to see his son play baseball. The same year, he also played for other minor baseball teams, including Birmingham Barons and Scottsdale Scorpions.

Without their star player in the team, the Chicago Bulls failed to perform at the NBA championships. In 1995, the famous player decided to give up baseball and return to basketball, playing once again for the Bulls.

His comeback match was played against the Indiana Pacers, which the Bulls won. His team went on to win games against Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks.

However, in the Eastern Conference semifinal against the Orlando Magic, the Bulls failed to capture a victory. Despite Michael’s average of 31 points in each game, Orlando Magic won the season.

During 1995-98, the famous sportsperson played three seasons of NBA championships, beating Seattle SuperSonics and Utah Jazz in two championships. This win, along with five victories earlier, was an important milestone in his career as it made him the six-time recipient of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) title at the NBA finals.

On January 13, 1999, Jordan retired once again from the game. The following year, he came back as the President of Basketball Operations for team Washington Wizards.

In 2001, he decided to begin playing again, and trained rigorously to get back in form. He also appointed his old coach from the Chicago Bulls, Doug Collins, to train his team Washington Wizards.

Continue Reading Below

The same year, on September 25, he announced that he would play basketball for the Washington Wizards, declaring that he would contribute his whole salary for the victims of the 9/11 attack. In the 2001-02 season though, he could not play too many games, owing to a serious knee injury.

In 2003, he played his final NBA All-Star match against Philadelphia 76ers, and beat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of scoring the most number of points. However, after several intentional fouls against Michael, the Washington Wizards lost. The celebrated player, however, was given a standing ovation that lasted for three minutes.

Post retirement, Michael Jordan was removed from his post of President with the Washington Wizards. In 2004, he founded his own motorcycle racing team, Michael Jordan Motorsports. Two years later, he became part-owner of the NBA team, Charlotte Bobcats, holding a majority stake in its operations.

michael-jordan-37403.jpg

Awards & Achievements

During 1984-88, this talented player received several NBA awards, including Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Slam Dunk Contest Champion. He has also won the NBA Championship on several occasions.

In 1984, as a member of the winning basketball team in the Summer Olympics, he was honored with a gold medal.

Sports Illustrated magazine named him the Sportsman of the Year in 1991. The following year, he won another gold medal for his team’s victory at the Summer Olympics.

Michael Jordan has been ranked as one of the greatest sports personalities by several magazines, including SLAM and ESPN Sports. He has also been included in the Hall of Fame by Naismith Memorial and North Carolina Museum of History.

Personal Life & Legacy

In 1989, Jordan got married to Juanita Vanoy, but they separated after 17 years of marriage. As settlement, Juanita received 168 million dollars from her former husband. The former couple has two sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, both basketball players, and a daughter named Jasmine.

On April 27, 2013, Michael Jordan got married to model Yvette Prieto, whom he had been dating for quite some time, at the Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church. The following year, the couple had twin daughters, Victoria and Ysabel.

This former sportsperson is so popular that he has been signed on by several big brands as their ambassador. He has endorsed top brands like McDonald’s, Wheaties, Chevrolet, Nike, Hanes, Coca-Cola, and Gatorade.

Michael Jordan has donated money for charitable organizations like Hales Franciscan High School in Chicago and Habitat for Humanity in Georgia.

michael-jordan-37404.jpg

Trivia

Karla Knafel, a former lover of this famous personality, alleged that he had paid her a big sum of money to remain silent about their relationship and her pregnancy. A DNA test however proved that the accused was not the father, and that the allegations were false.

Источник

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Источник

майкл джордан

  • 1
    Майкл Джордан

    Универсальный русско-английский словарь > Майкл Джордан

  • 2
    майкл

    Русско-английский большой базовый словарь > майкл

См. также в других словарях:

  • Майкл Джордан — Michael Jordan Майкл Джордан Позиция: атакующий защитник Номер(а): 23, 45, 9, 12 Р …   Википедия

  • Джордан Майкл — Майкл Джордан Michael Jordan Майкл Джордан Позиция: атакующий защитник Номер(а): 23, 45, 9, 12 Р …   Википедия

  • Джордан М. — Майкл Джордан Michael Jordan Майкл Джордан Позиция: атакующий защитник Номер(а): 23, 45, 9, 12 Р …   Википедия

  • Джордан, Майкл — У этого термина существуют и другие значения, см. Джордан. Майкл Джордан Michael Jeffrey Jordan …   Википедия

  • Джордан Н. — Джордан, Нил Нил Джордан (англ. Neil Jordan, р. 1950)  ирландский кинорежиссёр, продюсер и писатель. Содержание 1 Биография …   Википедия

  • Джордан Нил — Джордан, Нил Нил Джордан (англ. Neil Jordan, р. 1950)  ирландский кинорежиссёр, продюсер и писатель. Содержание 1 Биография …   Википедия

  • Джордан — (англ. Jordan)  английский вариант слова «Иордан» и название страны Иордания. В русском языке встречается в основном в именах собственных: Джордан, Грегор  австралийский кинорежиссёр. Джордан, Джо  шотландский футболист.… …   Википедия

  • ДЖОРДАН Нил — ДЖОРДАН (Jordan) Нил (р. 25 февраля 1950), английский режиссер и сценарист. Родился в Ирландии. Изучал ирландскую историю и английскую литературу в Дублинском университете. Добился признания как писатель, опубликовав сборник рассказов «Ночь в… …   Энциклопедия кино

  • Майкл Коллинз (фильм) — Майкл Коллинз Michael Collins Жанр …   Википедия

  • ДЖОРДАН (Jordan) Майкл — (р. 1963) американский спортсмен (баскетбол). Защитник Чикаго Буллз (с 1984) команды НБА (Национальной баскетбольной ассоциации); чемпион НБА в сезонах 1990/91, 1991/92, 1992/93, 1995/96. Чемпион Олимпийских игр (1984, 1992,1996) в составе… …   Большой Энциклопедический словарь

  • Майкл Тименн — Michael Tiemann программист, один из вдохновителей и руководителей движения открытого ПО Майкл Тименн (англ. Michael Tiemann) вице президент Службы открытого ПО корпорац …   Википедия

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Michael jordan

существительное

Майкл Джордан

м.р.
(Кино и масс-медиа)

That was a flu-ridden Michael Jordan at the ’97 NBA finals.

Это как Майкл Джордан с гриппом в финале НБА 97 года.

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Контексты

That was a flu-ridden Michael Jordan at the ’97 NBA finals.
Это как Майкл Джордан с гриппом в финале НБА 97 года.

If you are a NBA player and you are always being compared to Michael Jordan, you’re going to look not so impressive.
Если вы — игрок NBA, которого постоянно сравнивают с Майклом Джорданом, на его фоне вы будете выглядеть не слишком впечатляюще.

Okay, we interrogated this guy on everything short of the heating ducts in his attic, and, for whatever reason, his love of Michael Jordan and his fear of whistleblowing line up on parallel neural circuitry.
Мы задавали парню вопросы обо всем, за исключением теплотрассы у него на чердаке, и по какой-то причине его любовь к Майклу Джордану и страх разоблачения проходят в нервной системе параллельно.

“He started playing basketball, and he became obsessed with it,” his aunt said of the young Kim, who was a Michael Jordan fan and later hosted basketball player Dennis Rodman as a guest several times in North Korea.
«Он начал играть в баскетбол и стал просто одержим этой игрой, — рассказывает тетя о Ким Чен Ыне, поклоннике Майкла Джордана, позднее несколько раз принимавшим в КНДР баскетболиста Денниса Родмана.

They succeeded, and even though the Lithuanians were demolished by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and the Dream Team in the semifinals, they went on to win the bronze — an enormous accomplishment for a country less than a year old.
Им это удалось, и хотя в полуфинале литовцев разгромил Майкл Джордан и Мэджик Джонсон из «команды мечты», они получили бронзу. Это стало огромным достижением для страны, которой не исполнилось еще и года.

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Sport

Chicharito Hernández

Chicharito Hernández

By Weroarnau [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

Biography of Chicharito Hernandez

Javier Hernandez Balcazar, better known simply as Chicharito Hernandez or just “Chicharito,” is a Mexican soccer player who has played for teams such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, West Ham, and Los Angeles Galaxy. He was born on June 1, 1988 in the city of Guadalajara, in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Chicharito comes from a family of soccer players, as his grandfather, Tomas de Balcazar, was a star of Club Deportivo Guadalajara and one of the players who participated in the 1954 World Cup on behalf of Mexico; and his father, Javier “Chicharo” Hernandez, was one of the main players for Tecos Football Club and also participated in the 1986 World Cup, which was hosted by Mexico.

His soccer career began in the youth categories of Club Deportivo Guadalajara at the age of nine. For the 2005-06 season, he played for a team from Tepic, Nayarit, called Chivas Coras. He later played six games for Guadalajara without scoring a goal. For the Apertura tournament in 2008, he returned to play seven games without scoring, and the following year he scored four goals in a total of fifteen games. Nevertheless, in 2009 he became the third-highest scorer in the Mexican competition with a total of eleven goals in just seventeen games. With this performance, he secured a place in Guadalajara’s starting lineup.

As a starter, Chicharito had a good performance with Guadalajara, so offers from European teams such as Spanish team Valencia, Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, or German team VfL Wolfsburg didn’t take long to arrive. However, Chicharito knew how to wait and by 2010 he had signed a five-year contract with the English team Manchester United. To celebrate this, both teams played a friendly match at the Omnilife Stadium, where Javier spent some time in the ranks of Guadalajara and some time in those of Manchester United. In July of that same year, Chicharito made his official debut during the preseason in a match against the American MLS team Las Estrellas, against whom he scored his first goal in the eighty-third minute of play. Thus began the 2010-2011 season with sporadic appearances, scoring in the League of Ireland XII, in the Premier League, and in the UEFA Champions League. With this performance, the coach of the Spanish team Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho, was interested in him; although he never made a transfer due to the contract that prohibited the Mexican from leaving Manchester for at least 50 million euros.

For the following season, between 2011 and 2012, Chicharito Hernandez was absent due to a hospitalization he had in July, although he was able to return in August, scoring goals against teams such as Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool, Everton, and Newcastle United. For the following season, 2012-2013, he had a great performance, being recognized by the fans as the best player of October. After another successful season, 2013-2014, Chicharito was signed by Real Madrid for one season, with the possibility for the club to buy him. In this way, Chicharito scored his first goal and first double with the white shirt in a match against Deportivo de La Coruna in September 2014. With the merengues, he would win that same year the World Cup of Clubs organized by FIFA in Morocco. One year later, he would play as a starter in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League due to injuries suffered by teammates Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, scoring the winning goal against Atletico Madrid.

However, despite the nine goals and five assists that Chicharito achieved with the Spanish team during thirty-one played matches, taking fifth place among the team’s top scorers that season, Chicharito Hernandez was transferred to the German team Bayer 04 Leverkusen, signing a four-year contract. In that season, 2015-2016, he reached 100 goals with professional level clubs, participated again in the UEFA Champions League, and had his best season with a total of 26 goals in 40 games, being the fourth top scorer in the league. After another season with this German team, 2016-2017, Chicharito was transferred to West Ham United.

After what had been, until then, his worst goal-scoring season, Chicharito joined Sevilla Football Club in September 2019 after three seasons with West Ham United in England. However, his performance at Sevilla was not as expected and, after scoring only 3 goals in 15 games, he was transferred to Los Angeles Galaxy during the same season in the winter transfer window.

Since his arrival at Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicharito has experienced a noticeable change in his lifestyle. He has significantly increased his presence on social media with the help of coach Diego Dreyfus and has been involved in some controversies due to his controversial statements. Although he has achieved his highest goal average with the American team, he has been blamed for the team’s sporting failures on several occasions. The team has not yet managed to proclaim itself champion in any of the competitions.

For the Mexican national team, he would start by playing for the Under-17 team and later play for the Under-20 team. Already in 2009 he would debut with the Mexican national team in a match against the Colombian national team, in which, despite the 2-1 defeat, he would make an assist. In 2010, like his father and grandfather, Chicharito would play in the World Cup in South Africa, reaching the quarter-finals with his team. This same performance, having him in the lineup, would be repeated by the Mexican national team during the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.

Biography

Martina Navrátilová

biography of Martina Navrátilová

Martina Navrátilová, From Instagram

Biography of Martina Navrátilová

Martina Navratilova (born October 18, 1956) is a former Czech tennis player, who became an American citizen in 1981. She is considered the best tennis player of the 1980s. Navratilova began her career in her teenage years and won her first title at age 14. From the age of 19, she began competing in the United States, where she quickly gained recognition and won her first Wimbledon title in 1978. She won this title again eight times between 1979 and 1990. In 1993, she faced Jimmy Connors in the “Battle of the Sexes” and a year later ended her career in the final of the Roland Garros.

Early years

Martina Navratilova was born in Revnice, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) on October 18, 1956. She is the daughter of Jana Navratilova and Mirek Subert. From a young age, she played various sports such as soccer and hockey, and was good at skiing. However, tennis was always her main passion; her grandmother was a tennis player and her parents worked in the government’s tennis department. Navratilova’s innate skills quickly came to light, and at the age of 14 she won her first national tournament and at 16 she was number one in the Czechoslovak ranking. Thanks to this, she traveled to several countries.

With the aim of advancing her career, in 1975 she applied for American citizenship, which caused several problems in her country, as it was seen as a betrayal. Despite Navratilova explaining that it was only for her career, she was banned from entering the country for several years and her family was prohibited from leaving. Navratilova had to wait until 1981 to be recognized as an American.

Career as a tennis player

After achieving success in her home country, Navratilova became a formidable opponent on the international courts. She was the best tennis player of the 1980s and, in fact, was ranked first in the WTA from 1982 to 1987. In 1978 she won her first international title by triumphing at the Wimbledon tournament. A year later she won this title again and then did so six times consecutively between 1982 and 1987. Her ninth and last Wimbledon trophy came in 1990 against Zina Garrison with a score of 6-4 and 6-1.

Navratilova won the Roland Garros championship for the first time in 1982 and won the second one in 1984. A year later she won her first Flushing Meadows, and then won this title again in 1984, 1986 and 1987. During this same period, she also won the Australian Open three times (1981, 1983 and 1985). In addition, she won six Masters (1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1986) and five Federation Cups (1981, 1982, 1986, 1989 and 1990).

Her then exceptional career led her to face Jimmy Connors in the “Battle of the Sexes” in 1993, where she was defeated with a score of 7-5 and 6-2. Although she initially planned to retire years later, the arrival of Steffi Graf and the scandal caused by the separation from her romantic partner, Judy Nelson, brought forward her plans. Navratilova retired from the courts in 1994, after participating in the final of the Roland Garros against the Spanish player Arantxa Sánchez.

Later she returned to tennis, competing in the mixed doubles category. She won the Australian Open in 2003 and was runner-up at the Roland Garros in 2005. In 2006, she retired from the courts definitively.

Personal life

Navratilova was aware of her attraction to women since she was 18 years old, however, she avoided talking about it due to the way people in the LGBT+ community were treated in her country. Once she obtained American citizenship, she came out. She was married to Judy Nelson, from whom she separated in 1991.

She has participated in several campaigns in support of the LGBT+ community and has appeared on several television shows. She is known for participating in the sitcom “Will & Grace”. She has also written two autobiographies (Martina and Being Myself) and three novels.

Currently, she is considered an icon of the LGBT+ community.

Diagnosis of throat cancer and breast cancer

In January 2023, the great tennis player was diagnosed with throat and breast cancer. Months earlier, she had noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the Women’s Tennis Association finals in Fort Worth. A biopsy revealed that she had stage 1 throat cancer. Later, during tests to evaluate the growth of throat cancer, doctors discovered an unrelated breast cancer. This is Navratilova’s second treatment for cancer. In 2010, she announced that she was being treated for breast cancer after a tumor was detected during a routine mammogram. The tumor was surgically removed and Navratilova underwent a brief course of radiation therapy.

Sport

Pelé

Biography of Pelé

Pelé, from Twitter

Biography of Pelé

Edson Arantes do Nascimento (October 23, 1940) was born in Tres Coraçoes, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was a Brazilian soccer player, known as Pelé, considered by many specialists and soccer fans to be the best soccer player of all time. The son of Joao Ramos do Nascimento and Celeste Arantes, he has sisters Zeca Nascimento and Maria Lúcia Nascimento; he grew up in a moderately well-off family, his father was a professional soccer player at Fluminense, and he showed an interest in soccer from a young age. His ball handling was exceptional. Pelé was rejected by several Brazilian soccer clubs, but he kept trying until he was accepted and made his debut for the Santos of São Paulo in the late 1950s. While training, Pelé made a living as a shoe-shiner.

Professional career

After trying to join a team for several years, he was accepted in 1956 and was signed by the Santos of São Paulo. During his time with Santos, Pelé showed his skills and excellent ball handling, giving everything he had in each game and enjoying every play, leaving the audience in awe. He was then called “The Black Pearl,” a nickname he received for his physical appearance and skills. Pelé was a corpulent player with a great shot. Pelé played for Santos Football from 1956 to 1974, during which he won ten Campeonatos Paulistas, two Intercontinental Cups, four Torneos Río-São Paulo, two Copa Libertadores, one Supercopa de Campeones Intercontinentales, and six Brazilian Serie A championships with the team.

The player made his debut for the Brazilian national team at the age of seventeen, his skills already demonstrated at Santos shining through in the key World Cup match held in Sweden in 1958. The final was between the Swedish and Brazilian national teams, and the final score was 5-2, with Brazil winning. In the match, Pelé scored 2 of the 5 goals, in the 55th and 90th minute. This was the start of Pelé’s participation in World Cup championships, in which he surprised with his “beautiful game,” skill, speed, agility, and accuracy that characterized the performances of the soccer legend. In the first World Cup he participated in, Pelé scored a goal against Wales, leading Brazil to the semifinals against France. The match was held on June 24, 1958, and during it Pelé scored 3 goals in the 52nd, 64th, and 75th minutes, with the match ending in a 5-2 win for Brazil, leading them to the final, where they were crowned World Cup champions. When Pelé returned from Sweden, he was already a legend in Brazilian soccer.

PeléIn 1961, he received the nickname “O Rei” (The King) from a French newspaper, and this nickname and all references to his ball handling were increased by the player’s spectacular career since the World Cup, leading the Brazilian national team to the World Cups in 1962 and 1970, in Chile and Mexico, respectively. In the World Cup in Chile, Pelé scored a goal against the Mexican national team in the match held on May 30, 1962; the team then reached the final, where they faced Czechoslovakia, winning 3-1. In the 1970 World Cup held in Mexico, the Brazilian national team was in Group 3, their first match was against Czechoslovakia, and they won 4-1, with Pelé scoring one of the goals; in the last match of the first phase, Brazil won 3-2 against Romania, with two goals from the legend. The final of the World Cup was between the Italian and Brazilian national teams, the latter winning 4-1, with goals scored by Pelé, Gerson, Jairzinho, and Carlos Alberto. By winning these three World Cups, the Brazilian national team earned the first Jules Rimet Cup trophy.

In 1975, Pelé moved to the United States, settling in New York, where he was signed by the Cosmos; he remained with the team until 1977, when he won a title in the North American Soccer League. After a long and successful career, Pelé bid farewell to the soccer scene on October 1, 1977. According to player statistics, he scored 1,284 goals during his career. In 1978, he received the International Peace Prize and two years later, the Athlete of the Century award (1980). After leaving sports, Pelé began working as an actor, with notable performances including his role in the feature film Escape to Victory (1981). He also ventured into music, composing songs, some of which were included in the soundtrack of the film Pelé (1977). In 1995, he was appointed Minister of Sports in Brazil, during which time he tried to change legislation related to contracts between clubs and players, known as the Pelé Law. His influence on the world of soccer has not diminished, and he remains the soccer legend of the 20th century.

Death of Pelé

Soccer legend Pelé passed away on December 29, 2022 at the age of 82 at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in São Paulo, Brazil, after a long battle with colon cancer. The former player had been diagnosed with this illness in September 2021, and his health had worsened in December 2022. However, Pelé sent a message through social media to reassure his followers: “I am strong, full of hope, and continuing my treatment as always. I want to thank all the medical and nursing team for all the care I have received.” Despite medical care, doctors reported “progression” of the cancer and kidney dysfunction in the final days of December. Pelé died in a common hospital room. His death has been felt as a great loss by the world of soccer and by millions of fans around the world.

A inspiração e o amor marcaram a jornada de Rei Pelé, que faleceu no dia de hoje.

Amor, amor e amor, para sempre.
.
Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today.

Love, love and love, forever. pic.twitter.com/CP9syIdL3i

— Pelé (@Pele) 29 de diciembre de 2022

Pelé’s Honors

  • FIFA World Cup: 1958, 1962, and 1970.
  • Copa Libertadores: 1962 and 1963.
  • Intercontinental Cup: 1962 and 1963.
  • Intercontinental Recopa: 1968.
  • Campeonato Paulista: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1973.
  • Torneo Río-São Paulo: 1959, 1963, 1964, and 1966.
  • Brazilian Serie A Championship: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, and 1968.
  • Silver Cup: 1973.
  • NASL: 1977.

Sport

Julián Álvarez

Biography of Julián Álvarez

Julián Álvarez, from Instagram

Biography of Julian Alvarez

Julian Alvarez (born January 31, 2000) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward. He currently plays for Manchester City in the English Premier League. He was trained in the youth academy of Atlético Calchín. In 2017, he played in the Copa Generación Adidas, where he was champion, and a year later he made his professional debut with River Plate. His team won the Copa Libertadores in 2018. He played for the youth national team before making his debut with the senior team in June 2021. His greatest achievement to date has been winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2022.

Beginnings

Julian Alvarez was born in Calchin, Cordoba, the son of Mariana and Gustavo Alvarez. At the age of four, he began playing soccer at the Futura Estrellita school in his hometown. He later played for the youth academy at Club Atletico Calchin, where he remained until he was fifteen. At the age of eleven, he tried out for Real Madrid, but his signing was not completed due to his young age. He also tried his luck at Argentinos Juniors, where he lived in the dorms. In late 2015, he joined the youth academy at River Plate.

At River Plate, Alvarez started in the seventh division. He then moved up to the sixth division and, after being discovered by Marcelo Gallardo, was called up to the first team. In 2017, he played in the Copa Generacion Adidas, where his team finished as champions. He was the team’s top scorer with nine goals, two of which he scored in the final. For 2018, Gallardo promoted him to the first team.

Debut and career with River Plate

His debut with the team took place on October 27, 2018, in a Superliga match against Aldosivi. He started the match and it ended in a 1-0 victory for River. On December 2, he was again a starter in the 3-1 victory over Gimnasia y Esgrima in the 14th round of the Superliga, assisting Rafael Santos Borre for the first goal of the match.

He made his debut in the Copa Libertadores on December 9, 2018, in the return match of the final against Boca Juniors at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. He came on as a substitute in the sixth minute of extra time. After his team’s 3-1 victory, Alvarez became an international champion for the first time in his career that year.

On March 17, 2019, Alvarez scored his first professional goal in the 3-0 victory over Independiente. His first international goal came on May 7, in the 2-2 draw against Porto Alegre in the final round of the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. He later scored in the final of the Copa Argentina against Central Cordoba, before the Covid-19 outbreak.

After the competition resumed, Alvarez continued to score at a high rate in the Copa Libertadores (2020). He scored against Sao Paulo (2-2), Binacional (6-0), and again against Sao Paulo (2-1), where he scored his first professional brace. He closed the group stage with another goal against Liga de Quito, qualifying his team for the round of 16.

Manchester City (2022)

On January 31, 2022, River Plate officially announced the transfer of Julian Alvarez to Manchester City in England, with a five and a half year contract worth around $24 million. $19 million would remain with River Plate. The transfer was made on the condition that Alvarez would continue to play for River Plate until December 2022, on loan. However, due to a complementary clause, Manchester brought forward the transfer to July.

Loan

On May 25, 2022, Alvarez scored six goals in the historic 8-1 thrashing of Alianza Lima in the final round of the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. He became the first footballer in the history of River Plate to score six goals in an official match and the second to score such a number in the history of the Copa Libertadores.

His last goal for River Plate came on July 3, against Huracan in the sixth round of the 2022 Professional League. In his final campaign with River Plate, Alvarez played 26 matches and scored 18 goals.

Debut with Manchester City

On July 20, 2022, Alvarez made his debut with the team in Manchester’s 2-1 victory over Club America. He came on as a substitute for Delap in the 71st minute of the match. Ten days later, he scored his first goal in the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool. His arrival at the English team has been under particular circumstances, as he has shared his arrival with Norwegian forward Erling Haaland, who has had a sensational debut. However, and although many might consider Julian’s role as secondary, he has successfully integrated into Guardiola’s playing style. In 2022, Julian played in all competitions with Manchester City, scoring 7 goals, 2 of them in the Champions League.

National team

Álvarez was first called up to the youth national team in late 2018. He played in the U-20 South American Championship in Chile, debuting in the draw against Paraguay as a starter. He scored his only goal in the tournament against Colombia. In preparation for the 2019 U-20 World Cup, he scored his second goal against the Saudi Arabia national team. At the World Cup, he played in every game his team participated in. In August 2019, he was called up to the Argentine U-23 national team. With the U-23 team, he first played in the two friendly matches against Bolivia and Colombia and then participated in the 2020 South American Pre-Olympic.

Senior national team

Julián Álvarez was first called up to the Argentine senior national team on May 24, 2021, to participate in the qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Later, he was part of the team that was crowned champion of the 2021 Copa América. On March 18, he was called up again to play in the last double match of the qualifiers and scored his first goal with the senior national team in the 1-1 draw against Ecuador.

On May 13, he was called up to play in the Finalissima, a cup that pitted the champion of the Copa América against the champion of the Euro Cup: Argentina against Italy. As a result, Álvarez achieved his second title with the national team. In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Álvarez was one of the standout players on the team that was crowned world champion, scoring 4 goals in 7 games and showing great determination. At just 22 years old, he became a world champion. Julián Álvarez was the second top scorer for the Argentina national team at the Qatar World Cup, only surpassed by Lionel Messi.

Teams

  • River Plate (2018-2021)
  • Manchester City (2022-current)

Sport

Endrick

Biography of Endrick

Biography of Endrick

Endrick Felipe Moreira de Sousa, better known simply as Endrick, is a young professional Brazilian soccer player (forward) who has been considered by many as one of the future stars of the sport. He is seen as the possible successor to figures such as Neymar, Vinicius, and Rodrygo.

Beginnings

Endrick was born into a humble family on the outskirts of Brasilia on July 21, 2006. His parents, Douglas Ramos de Sousa and Cintia Moreira, claim that he learned to play soccer almost at the same time he learned to walk.

He started playing soccer at the age of four, following in his father’s footsteps, an amateur soccer player who supported him from the beginning. Together, father and son recorded and shared Endrick’s first goals on video platforms such as YouTube.

Like many young Brazilians, Endrick saw soccer as a way to improve his and his family’s economic situation. From a very young age, he promised to become a professional soccer player to help his family and improve their quality of life.

Professional career

At the age of 11, Endrick was about to join the São Paulo F.C. junior divisions, but in 2017 he finally joined the S.E. Palmeiras academy. There, in the youth divisions, he had an outstanding performance, scoring 165 goals in 169 games. This attracted the attention not only of the professional team, but also of local media and European observers.

In the 2022 season, starting from matchday 27 of the local championship known as Brasileirão, coach Abel Ferreira called him up to join the professional team. In matchday 30, Endrick made his debut with the number 16 on his back, entering the game in the 69th minute of the match against Coritiba. Although he didn’t score, he came close on two occasions and made a good impression on his coach and the public.

After his debut, at the age of 16, Endrick signed his first professional contract with Palmeiras, which included a clause that valued him at 60 million euros, a price typical of the best players in the world. Since then, clubs like Manchester City, Barcelona, Chelsea, and Real Madrid have been closely following him.

On October 25, at the age of 16, three months, and four days, he scored his first two goals with Palmeiras in the 3-1 victory against Athletico Paranaense. With this, he became the youngest player in Palmeiras history to score a goal as a professional, surpassing Heitor, who had scored his first goal at the age of 16, 11 months, and 14 days.

Real Madrid signing

On December 15, 2022, Real Madrid announced the signing of Endrick after showing interest in the player throughout the season. According to a club statement, “Real Madrid C. F., Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Endrick, and his family have reached an agreement whereby the player will be able to join Real Madrid when he reaches the age of majority in July 2024.” In the meantime, Endrick will continue his training at Palmeiras and will travel to Madrid soon to get to know the club facilities.

Real Madrid C. F., Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Endrick, and his family have reached an agreement whereby the player will be able to join Real Madrid when he reaches the age of majority in July 2024.

Playing style

Endrick is a talented left-footed forward with a good shot. The local press has compared him to players like Ronaldo and Romario and has projected a promising future for him. Instead of emphasizing his technical skills, Endrick focuses on his determination and competitive mindset, saying, “I will fight, be persistent, and try until the last minute.” This has caught the attention of Real Madrid, which considers this attitude part of its competitive DNA.

Endrick is a fast player who tends to aggressively press the opponent’s ball exit. He has expressed his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo and once posted, but later deleted, a post showing his admiration for a Messi goal in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Источник

  • Майкл джексон сочинение на английском языке с переводом
  • Максимуму или максимому как пишется
  • Майкл джексон рассказ на английском
  • Максимум как пишется правильно
  • Майкл джексон на английском языке как пишется