Michael Jeffrey Jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ,[9]
is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He played 15

seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1984 and 2003, winning
six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was integral in popularizing
basketball and the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s,[10] becoming a
global cultural icon.[11] His profile on the NBA website states, "By acclamation,
Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."[12][13]
Jordan played college basketball 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][14] and quickly emerged
as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring while gaining a
reputation as one of the best defensive players.[15] 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][14] 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. Citing physical and mental
exhaustion from basketball and superstardom, Jordan abruptly retired from
basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball in the
Chicago White Sox organization. He 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] Jordan retired for the second
time in January 1999, returning for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a
member of the Washington Wizards.[5][14] He was selected to play for the United
States national team during his college and NBA careers, 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.[16]
Jordan's individual accolades include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP)
awards, ten NBA scoring titles (both all-time records), five NBA MVP awards, 10
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.[14] He holds the NBA
records for career regular season scoring average (30.1 points per game) and career
playoff scoring average (33.4 points per game).[17] He is one of only eight players
to achieve the basketball Triple Crown. In 1999, Jordan 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,[18] and again in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States men's Olympic
basketball team ("The Dream Team").[19] He became a member of the United States
Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009,[20] a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of
Fame in 2010,[21] and an individual member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015 and a
"Dream Team" member in 2017.[22][23] Jordan was named to the NBA 50th Anniversary
Team in 1996 and to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.[24] The trophy for the
NBA Most Valuable Player Award is named in his honor.
One of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation, Jordan made many
product endorsements.[10][25] He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers,
which were introduced in 1984 and remain popular.[26] Jordan starred as himself in
the live-action/animation hybrid film Space Jam (1996) and was the central focus of
the Emmy-winning documentary series The Last Dance (2020). He became part-owner and
head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Hornets (then named the Bobcats) in
2006 and bought a controlling interest in 2010, before selling his majority stake
in 2023. Jordan is also a co-owner of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. In
2016, he became the first billionaire player in NBA history.[27] That same year,
President Barack Obama awarded Jordan the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[28] As of
2024, his net worth is estimated at $3.5 billion by Forbes,[29] making him one of
the richest celebrities.
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.[59] During his rookie 1984–85 season with
the Bulls, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting.[46] He helped the Bulls
improve from 27–55 to 38–44 and qualify for the postseason for the first time since
the 1980–81 season.[60] Jordan quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing
arenas.[61][62][63] Roy S. Johnson of The New York Times described Jordan as "the
phenomenal rookie of the Bulls" in November,[63] and he appeared on the cover of
Sports Illustrated with the heading "A Star Is Born" in December.[64][65] The fans
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.[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.[66] The Bulls lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the first
round of the playoffs.[66]
An often-cited moment was on August 26, 1985,[38][67] when Jordan shook the arena
during a Nike exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, by shattering the glass of the
backboard with a dunk.[68][69] The moment was filmed and is often referred to as an
important milestone in Jordan's rise.[69][70] The shoes Jordan wore during the game
were auctioned in August 2020 for $615,000, a record for a pair of sneakers.[71]
[72] 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.[73] The Bulls made the playoffs despite
Jordan's injury and a 30–52 record,[74] at the time the fifth-worst record of any
team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history.[75] Jordan recovered in time to
participate in the postseason and performed well upon his return. On April 20 at
the Boston Garden, in Game 2 of the First Round, a 135–131 double overtime loss to
the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics, Jordan scored a playoff career-high 63
points, breaking Elgin Baylor's single-game playoff scoring record.[76] The Celtics
team, though, swept the series in three games.[66][76][77]
Jordan completely recovered in time for the 1986–87 season,[78] 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.[46][79] Jordan also demonstrated his defensive prowess, as
he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocked
shots in a season.[80] Despite Jordan's success, Magic Johnson won the NBA Most
Valuable Player Award.[81] The Bulls reached 40 wins,[74] and advanced to the
playoffs for the third consecutive year but were again swept by the Celtics.[66]

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Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ,[9]

is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He played 15

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