Synopsis
Professional basketball player Michael Jordan was born
February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn. Jordan left college after his junior
year to join the NBA. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls, he helped the team
make it to the playoffs. For his efforts there, he received the NBA
Rookie of the Year Award. With five regular-season MVPs and three
All-Star MVPs, Jordan became the most decorated player in the NBA.
Early Life
Professional basketball player, Olympic athlete,
businessperson, actor. Born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New
York. Considered one of the best basketball players ever, Michael
Jordan dominated the sport from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He led
the Chicago Bulls to six national championships as well as earned the
National Basketball Association's (NBA) Most Valuable Player Award five
times.
Growing up in Wilmington, North Carolina, Jordan developed a
competitive edge at an early age. He wanted to win every game he
played. As his father James later noted, "What he does have is a
competition problem. He was born with that...The person he tries to
outdo most of the time is himself."
Jordan enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
in 1981 and soon became an important member of the school's basketball
team. His team won the NCAA Division I championships in 1982 with
Jordan scoring the final basket needed to defeat Georgetown University.
He was also singled out as the NCAA College Player of the Year in 1983
and in 1984. During the summer of 1984, Jordan made his first
appearance in the Olympics as a member of the U.S. basketball team,
which won the gold at the games held in Los Angeles. Later Jordan
helped the United States bring home the gold at the 1992 Olympic Games
in Barcelona, Spain.
NBA Superstar
Jordan left college after his junior year to join the NBA.
Drafted by the Chicago Bulls, he soon proved himself on the court. He
helped the team make it to the playoffs and scored an average of 28.2
points per game that season. For his efforts, Jordan received the NBA
Rookie of the Year Award and was selected for the All-Star Game.
In 1985, he finished his bachelor's degree in geography and continued
to play basketball professionally. While his second season was marred
by injury, Jordan was breaking new ground on the court during the
1986-1987 season. He became the first player since Wilt Chamberlin to
score more than 3,000 points in a single season. The following season,
Jordan received his first Most Valuable Player Award from NBA—an honor
he would earn four more times in 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998.
By the late 1980s, the Chicago Bulls was quickly becoming a force to
be reckoned with, and Jordan was an instrumental part of the team's
success. The Bulls made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1990 and
won their first NBA championship the following year by defeating the Los
Angeles Lakers. A rising NBA superstar, Jordan became known for his
power and agility on the court as well as for his leadership abilities.
He eventually landed several endorsement deals with such companies as
Nike, which further pushed him into the spotlight.
In 1992, the Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers to win
their second NBA championship title. The team took their third
championship the following year, dominating in the basketball world.
Jordan, however, had other things on his mind. He lost his father, James, to an act of violence after the end of the 1992-1993
season. Two teenagers shot James Jordan during an apparent robbery and
were later convicted of the crime. In a move that shocked many, Michael
Jordan decided to retire from basketball to pursue baseball. He played
for a minor league team, the Birmingham Barons, as an outfielder for a
year.
Back on the Court
In March 1995, however, Jordan returned to the basketball
court. He rejoined the Chicago Bulls and eventually helped them win the
championship against the Seattle Sonics in the 1995-1996 season. That
same year, Jordan made a big splash in another arena—film—as the star
of Space Jam (1996). The film mixed live action and animation and paired Jordan with cartoon legends Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck on screen.
Thefollowing season Jordan came back even stronger, averaging 30.4
points per game. Starting all 82 games that season, he helped the team
finish the regular season with 72 wins and clinch a win in the NBA
Finals against the Utah Jazz. The two teams faced each other again for
the championships in 1998, and Jordan helped the Bulls beat them for
the second year in a row.
Retiring after the 1997-1998 season, Jordan did not stray from the
sport for too long. He joined the Washington Wizards as a part owner
and as president of basketball operations. In the fall of 2001, Jordan
relinquished these roles to return the court once more. He played for
the Wizards for two seasons before hanging up his jersey for good in
2003.
Personal Life and Legacy
In 2006, Jordan bought a share of the Charlotte Bobcats and
joined the team's executive ranks as its managing member of basketball
operations. He experienced some personal changes that same year, ending
his 17-year marriage to his wife Juanita. The couple divorced in
December 2006. They had three children together during the course of
their marriage—Jeffrey, Marcus, and Jasmine.
The following year, Michael Jordan made news—this time as the father
of an up-and-coming college basketball player. His eldest son, Jeffrey
Jordan, made the team at the University of Illinois. Both Michael
Jordan and his ex-wife Juanita have supported their son and tried to
help him deal with playing in the shadow of a NBA legend. "He wants to
be a basketball player, but he wants to do it on his own terms...The
thing that we have tried to tell Jeff is that you set your own
expectations. By no means in this world can you ever live up someone
else's expectations of who you are," Michael Jordan said during an
appearance on the Today show.
In April 2009, Jordan received one of basketball's greatest honors:
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Attending the induction ceremony was a bittersweet affair for Jordan
because being at the event meant "your basketball career is completely
over," he explained.
Outside of his work with the Charlotte Bobcats, Jordan is also
involved in a number of business ventures, including several
restaurants. He currently resides in Highland Park, Illinois.
From: http://www.biography.com/people/michael-jordan-9358066?page=2
