Jordan, Michael

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Jordan, Michael

February 17, 1963

Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA, Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, the fourth of James and Deloris Jordan's five children and the last of their three boys. He grew up in North Carolina, first in rural Wallace and later in Wilmington.

Jordan was released from the Laney High School varsity basketball team in his sophomore year. Even after an impressive junior season, he received only modest attention from major college basketball programs and chose to attend the University of North Carolina.

On March 29, 1982, the nineteen-year-old freshman sank the shot that gave his school a 63–62 victory over Georgetown and its first NCAA men's basketball championship in twenty-five years. Jordan followed that by winning the college Player of the Year award from the Sporting News in each of the next two seasons. After announcing that he would enter the NBA draft after his junior season, he capped his amateur career by captaining the U.S. men's basketball team to a gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Jordan was the third pick in the 1984 NBA draft, chosen by the woeful Chicago Bulls. The six-foot-six-inch guard immediately set about reversing their fortunes and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year after leading the team in scoring, rebounding, and assists.

After sitting out most of his second season with a broken foot, Jordan put on one of the greatest individual performances in postseason history, scoring 63 points in his first game back, a playoff loss to the Boston Celtics in 1986. The following season he scored 3,041 points—the most ever by a guard—and won the first of his six successive scoring titles, averaging 37.1 points per game. In 1987–1988 he became the first player ever to win the Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season.

Jordan's brilliance on the basketball court was nearly equaled by his success as a commercial spokesperson. Before his rookie season he signed with the Nike sneaker company to promote a signature shoe—the Air Jordan. The shoe was an instant success, establishing Jordan as a viable spokesperson. The commercials in which he starred with filmmaker Spike Lee helped make him a pop icon as well.

Early in his career, critics suggested that Jordan was not a "team" player. But he and the Bulls shook the oneman-team tag in 1990–1991 by defeating Earvin "Magic" Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in five games to win the franchise's first NBA championship. The following season, they defeated the Portland Trailblazers in six games to clinch another title, and in 1993 they again won the championship when they defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games.

Jordan was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player three times between 1988 and 1992. During that period he became the most successfully marketed player in the history of team sports, earning roughly sixteen million dollars in commercial endorsements in 1992 alone from such corporations as Nike, McDonald's, Quaker Oats (Gatorade), and General Mills (Wheaties). Even when controversy surrounded Jordan, as it did during the 1992 Olympic Games when he refused to wear a competing sponsor's uniform, or when he incurred sizable debts gambling on golf and poker, he regularly registered as one of the nation's most admired men and one of young people's most revered role models. Jordan's basketball career came to a sudden halt in October 1993 when he announced his retirement in a

nationally televised news conference. He said a diminishing love for the game, the pressures of celebrity, and the murder of his father three months earlier contributed to his decision. In February 1994 he signed with the Chicago White Sox of the American League, hoping to work his way up through the White Sox farm system to play Major League Baseball. Unhappy with the progress he was making, Jordan elected to resume his basketball career by returning to the Bulls in 1995.

Jordan quickly proved that he had lost none of his skill. The Bulls finished the season in 1996 with a new NBA won-loss record of 72–10, and went on to win the NBA championship. Jordan won the NBA Most Valuable Payer Award. The same year, Jordan starred in a popular semianimated movie Space Jam, playing opposite Bugs Bunny. Jordan led the Bulls to NBA championships in each of the following two years, and in 1998 won his fifth MVP award. By this time, he was a worldwide celebrity, whose name was known even in countries where basketball is not played. By the end of 1998 Jordan had scored 29,277 points, third on the all-time NBA list, and was first in scoring average with 31.5 points per game. He spoke several times of retiring, but he had not made a definite statement before a player's strike postponed the resumption of NBA play.

On January 13, 1999, Michael Jordan announced his second retirement from basketball. He said on that occasion that he no longer had the desire to play. "Mentally, I'm exhausted," Jordan said. "I know from a career standpoint I've accomplished everything I could as an individual. Right now, I just don't have the mental challenges that I've had in the past to proceed as a basketball player."

His retirement came after leading the Bulls to their sixth championship in eight seasons in June 1998. Jordan left with the highest career scoring average in the NBA's history. But he was unable to stay away from basketball. A year later he became part owner and president of basketball operations for the NBA's Washington Wizards, and in 2001 he returned to the court as a player-owner. He ended his playing days a third and final time at the end of the 2003 season.

See also Basketball; Olympians; Sports