Michael Jordan
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| Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls in 1997 |
| No. 23, 45, 9, 12 |
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| Shooting guard / Small forward |
| Personal information |
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| Date of birth | February 17, 1963 (1963-02-17) (age 48) |
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| Place of birth | Brooklyn, New York |
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| High school | Emsley A. Laney |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
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| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
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| Career information |
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| College | North Carolina (1981–1984) |
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| NBA Draft | 1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall |
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| Selected by the Chicago Bulls |
| Pro career | 1984–2003 |
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| Career history |
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| 1984–1993, 1995–1998 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2001–2003 | Washington Wizards |
| Career highlights and awards |
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- 6× NBA Champion (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
- 5× NBA Most Valuable Player (1988, 1991–1992, 1996, 1998)
- 14× NBA All-Star (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002–2003)
- 6× NBA Finals MVP (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
- 10× NBA scoring champion (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
- NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988)
- 10× All-NBA First Team (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
- All-NBA Second Team (1985)
- 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1988–1993, 1996–1998)
- NBA Rookie of the Year (1985)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1985)
- 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998)
- 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1987–1988)
- NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
- #23 Retired by Chicago Bulls
- NCAA Champion (1982)
- 2× Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1983–1984)
- ACC Player of the Year (1984)
- Oscar Robertson Trophy (1984)
- Naismith College Player of the Year (1984)
- John R. Wooden Award (1984)
- Adolph Rupp Trophy (1984)
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| Career statistics |
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| Points | 32,292 (30.1 ppg) |
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| Rebounds | 6,672 (6.2 rpg) |
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| Assists | 5,633 (5.3 apg) |
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| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com |
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| Basketball Hall of Fame as player |
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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."
[1] 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 was a member of the Tar Heels'
National Championship team in 1982, 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.
[2] In
1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in
1992 and
1993, securing a "
three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the
1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the 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. Jordan retired for a second time in
1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the
Washington Wizards.
Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five
MVP awards, ten
All-NBA First Team designations, nine
All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen
NBA All-Star Game appearances, three 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 inducted into the
Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
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.
[3] 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, having won a bidding war to buy controlling interest in the team from founding owner
Robert L. Johnson.
