About Michael Jordan
About MJ
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a former American professional basketball player, active
businessman, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA)
website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Michael Jordan was one of
the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world
in the 1980s and 1990s.
After a standout career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he led the Tar Heels to a National
Championship in 1982, Michael Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star,
entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free
throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation
for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Chicago
Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Michael Jordan
abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993-94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined
the Chicago Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an
NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995-96 NBA season. Michael Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but
returned for two more NBA seasons in 2001 as a member of the Washington Wizards.
Michael Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five NBA MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations,
nine NBA All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three NBA All-Star Game MVP awards,
ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
He holds the NBA records for highest career regular-season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career
playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th
century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He was elected to
the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 6, 2009 and was inducted on September 11, 2009.
Michael Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were
introduced in 1985 and remain popular today. Michael Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam as himself. He
is the majority owner and head of basketball operations for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats; he recently won a bidding war
to buy controlling interest in the team from founding owner Robert L. Johnson.
Michael Jordan Early Years
Michael
Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Deloris (née Peoples), who worked in banking, and James R. Jordan, Sr., an
equipment supervisor. His family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, when he was a toddler. Michael Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney
High School in Wilmington, where he anchored his athletic career by playing baseball, football, and basketball. He tried out for
the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year, but at 5'11" (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.
Motivated to prove his worth, Michael Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity squad, and tallied several 40 point
games. The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm) and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the
varsity roster, Michael Jordan averaged about 20 points per game over his final two seasons of high school play. As
a senior, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team after averaging a triple-double: 29.2 points,
11.6 rebounds, and 10.1 assists.
In 1981, Michael Jordan earned a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a
member of Omega Psi Phi and majored in cultural geography. As a freshman in coach Dean Smith's team-oriented system,
he was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.4 points per game (ppg) on 53.4% shooting (field goal
percentage). He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, which was
led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing. Michael Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball
career. During his three seasons at North Carolina, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rebounds
per game (rpg). He was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and
junior (1984) seasons. After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Michael Jordan
left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA Draft. The Chicago Bulls selected
Michael Jordan with the third overall pick, after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers).
Michael Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986.
Michael Jordan - Professional Career
After his third retirement,
Michael Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position of Director of Basketball Operations with
the Washington Wizards. However, his previous tenure in the Wizards' front office had produced the aforementioned mixed results and
may have also influenced the trade of Richard "Rip" Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse (although Michael Jordan was not technically
Director of Basketball Operations in 2002). On May 7, 2003, Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Michael Jordan as Washington's
President of Basketball Operations. Michael Jordan later stated that he felt betrayed, and that if he knew he would be fired upon
retiring he never would have come back to play for the Washington Wizards.
Michael Jordan kept busy over the next few years 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. Since 2004, Jordan has owned
Michael
Jordan Motorsports, a professional closed-course motorcycle road racing team that competes with two Suzukis in the premier Superbike
class sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist
Association (AMA). Michael Jordan and his then-wife Juanita pledged $5 million to
Chicago's Hales Franciscan High School in 2006, and the Jordan Brand has made donations to Habitat for Humanity and a Louisiana
branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. On June 15, 2006, Michael Jordan bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats,
becoming the team's second-largest shareholder behind majority owner Robert L. Johnson. As part of the deal, Michael Jordan was
named "Managing Member of Basketball Operations," with full control over the basketball side of the operation. Despite Michael
Jordan's previous success as an endorser, he has made an effort not to be included in Charlotte's marketing campaigns.
In February 2010, it was reported that Michael Jordan was seeking majority ownership of the Charlotte Bobcats. As February wore on,
it emerged that the leading contenders for the team were Michael Jordan and former Houston Rockets president George Postolos. On
February 27, the Charlotte Bobcats announced that Johnson had reached an agreement with Michael Jordan and his group, MJ Basketball
Holdings, to buy the team pending NBA approval. On March 17, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Michael Jordan's purchase,
making him the first former NBA player ever to become the majority owner of a league franchise.
Michael Jordan's basketball talent was clear from his rookie season. In his first game in Madison Square Garden against the New York
Knicks, Michael Jordan received a prolonged standing ovation, a rarity for an opposing player. After Michael Jordan scored a playoff
record 63 points against the Boston Celtics in 1986, Celtics star Larry Bird described him as "God disguised as Michael Jordan."