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Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan Profile

Michael Jordan was a 6'6" shooting guard who was also capable of playing small forward. He would assume this postion primarily during his second comeback with the Washington Wizards. Michael Jordan was known throughout his career for being an incredibly strong clutch performer. He has decided numerous games with last-second plays and shots. Killing his opponents dreams many times. One of his most famous; won him his 6 NBA title and his second 3-peat and was his last shot until he came back out of retirement with the Wizards. (e.g., The Shot) and performed at a high level even under adverse circumstances (e.g., Flu Game). His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash-talking and well-known (unbelievable) work ethic.
Michael Jordan had a ridiculously versatile offensive game. He was capable of aggressively driving to the basket and drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate; his 8,772 free throw attempts are the ninth highest total of all time. As his career progressed, Michael Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jumpshot, using his leaping ability to "fade away" from block attempts. This move alone made him almost unstoppable.
Despite media criticism as a "selfish" player early in his career, Michael Jordan's 5.3 assists per game also indicate his willingness to defer to his teammates.
In later years, the NBA decided to shorten its three-point line to 22 feet (from 23 feet, 9 inches), which coupled with Michael Jordan's extended shooting range made him a long-range threat - his 3-point stroke developed from a low 9 / 52 rate (.173) in his rookie year into a stellar 111 / 260 (.427) shooter in the 1995-96 season.
For a guard, Michael Jordan was also a good pretty rebounder (6.2 per game). In 1988, Michael Jordan was honored with the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award and became the first NBA player to win both the Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards in a career (since, only equaled by Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Kevin Garnett; Hakeem Olajuwon is the only player other than Michael Jordan to win both during the same season). All players who played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
In addition he set records for blocked shots by a guard, and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout/great defensive player as well. His 2,514 steals are the second highest total of all-time behind John Stockton, while his steals per game average is third all-time. Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Michael Jordan's defensive contributions than his offensive ones.

"By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." —Introductory line of Jordan's NBA Encyclopedia biography.

Michael Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 10 seasons (NBA record) and tied Wilt Chamberlain's record of seven consecutive scoring titles. He was also a fixture on the NBA All-Defensive First Team, making the roster nine times (NBA record shared with Gary Payton). Michael Jordan also holds the top career regular season and playoff scoring averages of 30.1 and 33.4 points per game, respectively. By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning shot against the Utah Jazz, he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer. In the regular season, Michael Jordan was the Bulls' primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs, Michael Jordan would always demand the ball at crunch time. Michael Jordan's total of 5,987 points in the playoffs is the highest in NBA history. He retired with 32,292 points in regular season play, placing him third on the NBA's all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.

With five regular-season MVPs (tied for second place with Bill Russell; only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won more, six), six Finals MVPs (NBA record), and three All-Star MVPs, Michael Jordan is the most decorated player ever to play in the NBA. Michael Jordan finished among the top three in regular-season MVP voting a record 10 times, and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.

"There's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us." - Magic Johnson
Many of Jordan's contemporaries label Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time. An ESPN survey of journalists, athletes and other sports figures ranked Michael Jordan the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century, above icons such as Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali. Michae Jordan placed second to Babe Ruth in the Associated Press's list of 20th century athletes. In addition, the Associated Press voted him as the basketball player of the 20th century. Michael Jordan has also appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 49 times. In the September 1996 issue of Sport, which was the publication's 50th anniversary issue, Michael Jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years.

Michael Jordan's athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back slam dunk contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many with having influenced a generation of young players. Several current NBA All-Stars have stated that they considered Michael Jordan their role model while growing up, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players "the next Michael Jordan" upon their entry to the NBA, including Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, Grant Hill, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Vince Carter, and Dwyane Wade. Although Michael 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, a fact which Michael Jordan himself has lamented.

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.

Although Michael Jordan has done much to increase the status of the game, some of his impact on the game's popularity in America appears to be fleeting. Television ratings in particular increased only during his time in the league and have subsequently lowered each time he left the game.

In August 2009, the Basketball Hall of Fame opened a Michael Jordan exhibit containing items from his college and NBA careers, as well as from the 1992 "Dream Team". The exhibit also has a batting glove to signify Michael Jordan's short career in baseball. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in September 2009, with former Chicago Bulls teammates Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoc in attendance.


Honors and awards
Michael Jordan won numerous awards and set many records during his career. The following are some of his achievements:
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009
2 Olympic Gold Medals – 1984, 1992
6-time NBA Champion
6-time NBA Finals MVP
5-time NBA MVP
7-time The Sporting News MVP
10 NBA Scoring Titles
3-time steals leader
3-time minutes leader
14 NBA All-Star Selections
3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP
11 All-NBA Selections
9 All-Defensive First Team Selections
2-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion – 1987, 1988
NBA Rookie of the Year – 1984–85
NBA Defensive Player of the Year – 1987–88
ACC Freshman of the Year – 1981-82
2-time Consensus NCAA All-American First Team – 1982-83, 1983-84
ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year – 1983-84
USBWA College Player of the Year – 1983-84
Naismith College Player of the Year – 1983-84
John R. Wooden Award – 1983-84
Adolph Rupp Trophy – 1983-84
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year – 1991
Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996
Ranked #1 by SLAM Magazine's Top 50 Players of All-Time
Ranked #1 by ESPN Sportscentury's Top 100 Athletes of the 20th century

Michael Jordan