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Homework Help: Physical Education: Athletes: Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York) is a former American NBA player, and is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time.
A remarkable force at both ends of the floor, "MJ" ended a career of 15 full seasons with a regular-season scoring average of 30.12 points per game, the highest in NBA history (ahead of Wilt Chamberlain's 30.06). He won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, notched up 10 scoring titles, and was league MVP five times. He was named to the All-Defensive First Team nine times, and led the league in steals three times. Since 1983, he has appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record-49 times, and was named the magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" in 1991. In 1999, he was named "the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century" by ESPN, and placed second on the Associated Press list of top athletes of the century. His leaping ability, vividly illustrated by dunking from the foul line and other feats, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness."
Early years
Michael was born to James and Delores Jordan who moved from New York to Wilmington, North Carolina, when Michael was still a young child. Michael Jordan has two older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister. He attended Emsley A. Laney High School, where he was a B+ student and a three-sport star in football (he played quarterback), baseball, and basketball.
Jordan earned a basketball scholarship with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in geography. As a freshman, Jordan was an exciting but not dominant player. Nonetheless, he made the winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Basketball Championship game against Georgetown, led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing. After winning the Naismith College Player of the Year award in 1984, he left school early to enter the NBA Draft, and was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round as the 3rd pick overall.
NBA career: Overview
Jordan played 13 seasons for the Bulls, generally as a shooting guard, but his height of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), skills, and physical conditioning also made him a versatile threat at point guard and small forward. He won six NBA Championships (1991-1993 and 1996-1998) and was league MVP five times (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998). He was also named Rookie of the Year (1985) and Defensive Player of the Year (1988), and won the Finals MVP award every year the Bulls reached the Finals. He also earned the elusive MVP triple crown (regular season, finals, all-star game) twice in 1996 and 1998. Only Willis Reed (1970) and Shaquille O'Neal (2000) have won all three MVP awards in the same season. In 1997, he also recorded the only triple-double in an All-Star game.
Jordan's coach for most of his career was Phil Jackson, who said:
"The thing about Michael is he takes nothing for granted. When he first came into the league in 1984, he was primarily a penetrator. His outside shooting wasn't up to professional standards. So he put in his gym time in the off-season, shooting hundreds of shots each day. Eventually, he became a deadly three-point shooter."
Early NBA Career
Despite scoring "only" 16 points in his first NBA game, Jordan took the league by storm in his rookie year, scoring 40 or more points seven times en route to a 28.2 PPG season. He also averaged 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. He revived interest in a floundering Bulls franchise and received a spot on the All-Star team and the Rookie of the Year award.
In the third game of the 1985-1986 NBA season, Jordan injured his foot and missed all but 18 regular-season games. Upon his return, Jordan was restricted to a limited number of minutes per game by Coach Kevin Lougherty and General Manager Jerry Krause. This soured his relationship with Krause for the rest of his career. In spite of his injury, the Bulls still managed to make the playoffs, where they were defeated in three games by the eventual champion Boston Celtics. Although they were soundly defeated, the series is best remembered for Jordan's 63 points in Game 2, an NBA playoff scoring record for a single game that still stands.
The following season established Jordan as one of the best players in the league. Jordan scored 50 or more points eight times during the course of the regular season, won his first scoring title with a 37.1 PPG average, and became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score more than 3,000 points in a single season. He finished runner-up to Magic Johnson in MVP voting. The playoffs ended as they did the year before, in a 3-game sweep by the Celtics.
During the 70’s the NBA suffered financially because of a lack of interest from the fans. The impression of wide spread drug use and mediocre play fueled fan apathy. However, the NBA had rebounded somewhat in popularity prior to Jordan’s arrival due to stars such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Isaiah Thomas. In order to capitalize on this newfound popularity, the NBA changed several gameplay rules (some would say they were changed for Jordan). The two most significant changes involved the definitions of charging and traveling. The travelling rule was changed in such a way that players were allowed to take steps prior to putting the ball on the floor. They were also allowed to continue walking after stopping their dribble (beyond the traditional 1-˝ steps). Many players, and particularly Jordan, were able to take particular advantage of these two rules. Whereas previously driving into the lane would result in a call for charging, the new rules resulted in either no call at all or a foul on the defender. For a more in-depth discussion, see the article NBA.
The Jordan Rules
Jordan dunking in a slam dunk contest.In his fourth season, Jordan averaged 35 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 5.9 APG, won his first MVP award and the Defensive Player of the Year award (garnering 259 steals and 131 blocks, unusually high for a guard), was named MVP of the All-Star Game, and won his second consecutive Slam Dunk contest with a dunk from the free throw line. Jordan's Bulls got out of the first round for the first time, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games (with Jordan averaging 45.2 PPG during the series) before losing in five games to the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Detroit Pistons.
In 1988-89, Jordan averaged 32.5 PPG, 8 RPG, and 8 APG and finishing second in the MVP voting. He established himself as one of the NBA's great clutch performers with a last-second dagger over Craig Ehlo in Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs. The Bulls, fueled by the emergence of Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant as starters, defeated the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semi-finals and lost to the Pistons in the Conference Finals.
The Pistons, with their punishing, physical play, established a plan for playing against Jordan, dubbed "The Jordan Rules": double- and triple-teaming the guard every time he touched the ball, hammering him while he drove to the basket, and forcing him to rely on his inexperienced teammates.
Coach Phil Jackson took over the team in the 1989-90 season, in which Jordan averaged 33.6/6.9/6.3, finishing third place in the MVP voting. The Bulls lost to the Pistons in seven games in the conference finals.
The Jordan Rules were finally broken when Jordan and the Bulls swept the Pistons in the 1991 Eastern Finals. By finally fully commiting to Jackson's Triangle Offense and placing trust in his teammates, the Bulls played as a team. Unaccustomed to a Bulls team that didn't depend on Jordan exclusively, the Pistons would try to break Chicago's resolve and coerce the team into retreating to their old style. But by staying tough, Chicago would subvert the Jordan Rules and finally learn how to win as a team. They would go on to win their first of six titles that year.
The First 3-Peat
In the 1990-91 season, Michael Jordan, motivated by the narrow defeat to the Pistons a year earlier, finally bought into Jackson and assistant coach Tex Winter's triangle offense after years of resistance. That year, he won his second MVP award, posting a 31.5/6.0/5.5 season, and the Bulls finished in first place for the first time in 16 years. With Scottie Pippen becoming an All-Star, the Bulls proved too strong for their Eastern Conference competition. After sweeping the New York Knicks and beating the Philadelphia 76ers in five games, the Bulls finally conquered the Pistons, sweeping them in four games. The final game of the series is most famous for the Pistons walking off the court during the final seconds of the game without even shaking the hands of the Chicago players (an act of poor sportsmanship that was not soon forgotten: a feud between Jordan and Pistons star Isiah Thomas continues even to this day). The Bulls went on to defeat Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Jordan unanimously won his first NBA Finals MVP award, and famously wept while holding his first NBA Finals trophy.
MJ & the Bulls win the 1991 Championship.Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991-1992 season, finishing with a 67-15 record. Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with a 30.1/6.4/6.1 season. After winning a physical 7-game series over the burgeoning New York Knicks in the 2nd round and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals with yet another last-second shot, the Bulls faced off against Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic-Bird type rivalry in Jordan-Drexler, compared the two throughout the pre-Finals hype. Perhaps motivated by what he felt was a comparison to an inferior player, Jordan responded by draining six 3-pointers and scoring 35 points in the first half of Game 1. The Bulls would go on to win the game, and then wrapped up the series in six games. For his dominating performance, Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row.
In 1992-93, despite a 32.6/6.7/5.5 campaign, Jordan's streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended, as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley. Fittingly, though, Jordan and the Bulls would end up meeting Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals, and Michael's perceived MVP slighting only fueled his competitive fire. The Bulls would capture their 3rd consecutive NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago's catalyst. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 PPG during the six-game series, and in the process became the first player in NBA history to win 3 straight Finals MVPs. With the Finals triumph, Jordan capped off what may have been the most spectacular seven-year run by an athlete ever, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.
In October 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, citing a lost desire to play the game. Many speculate that the murder of his father, James Jordan, in July 1993 factored into his decision. However, those close to Jordan claim that he was strongly considering retirement as early as the summer of 1992, and that the added exhaustion of the Dream Team run only solidified Michael's burned-out feelings with regard to the game, and his ever-growing celebrity. At any rate, Jordan's announcent sent shockwaves throughout the NBA and appeared on front page covers of newspapers around the world. Not since Jim Brown's sudden retirement from the NFL in 1966 had such a dominant athlete walked away from the game at the peak of his abilities.
Baseball career
After retiring from basketball, Jordan spent the next year pursuing a childhood dream: professional baseball. He signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox of the American League (AL), reported to spring training, and was assigned to the team's minor league system. He had an unspectacular professional baseball career for the Birmingham Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team, batting .202 with 3 HR, 51 RBI, 30 SB (tied-5th in Southern League), 11 errors and 6 outfield assists. He led the club with 11 bases-loaded RBI and 25 RBI with runners in scoring position and two outs.
Jordan, who cited his father's love for baseball as his motivation for trying the sport, was criticized by journalists and other observers for his foray. Some felt that his below-average performance tarnished his legacy as an NBA superstar, while others argued that Jordan had used his influence with Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to take a spot on the Barons that could have been filled by a "true" minor-leaguer. One of his teammates did remark that Jordan could not hit a curve ball with an ironing board.
The Bulls Without Jordan
Coach Phil Jackson dubbed the 1993-94 season as the most gratifying coaching season of his life. It would be a testament to the Chicago Bulls as a team and to see just how good they were without Jordan. Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson led Chicago to a surprising 55-27 record (only two less wins than the prior championship season). Posting the 3rd best record in the Eastern Conference, the team still represented a serious competition for the conference title, if not the NBA title. Their first-round playoff test against the Cleveland Cavaliers would be a perfect testament to the Bulls as a unit. They would answer the question as to whether it was Jordan who constantly defeated the rival Cavs, or if it was the Bulls. With an emphatic 3-0 sweep of Cleveland, Chicago answered that question. But their next challenger would present an opportunity to answer the same question again. The bigger, badder rival New York Knicks had lost all four of their last playoff match-ups to the Jordan-led Bulls. With Jordan gone, the Knicks took as much advantage as they could. Though the underdogs, the Bulls once again seemed destined to defeat New York when the forced a decisive game 7. But times had changed and the Bulls dynasty seemed to come to a crashing end with a 87-77 loss on the Knicks home floor.
With the trade of power-forward Horace Grant, and an aging and uninspired cast of characters, the 94-95 season looked to be a bleak one for Chicago. Struggling mid-season to even assure themselves a spot in the play-offs, the team needed a lift. And when Michael Jordan called up Bulls guard B.J. Armstrong to go out for breakfast, the breakfast led to a shoot-around. The shoot-around led to rumors. Rumors led to announcements. And announcements led to the return.
"I'm Back": Return to the NBA
Jordan's underwhelming performances in baseball, and the professional baseball players' strike of 1994, prompted him to consider rejoining the Bulls. On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: "I'm back." The next day, he donned jersey number 45 (his number with the Barons, as his familiar #23 had been retired) and took the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers, scoring 19 points.
Although Jordan hadn't set foot on an NBA court in one-and-a-half years, he played well upon his return, which included another of his trademark game-winning jumpers (against Atlanta in his fourth game back), and a 55-point outburst against the Knicks on March 29, 1995. He led the Bulls to a 9-1 record in April of that year, propelling the team into the playoffs. When Orlando's Nick Anderson declared after a game against the Bulls, "He didn't look like the old Michael Jordan," an extra-motivated Jordan began wearing his old number (23) again, incurring fines from the NBA for wearing a retired digit (he would wear the number for the rest of his basketball career). The Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic that season, and Jordan averaged 31.5 points per game in the series, but Orlando prevailed in six games. Ironically, the Bulls may have won Game Six (extending the series) had it not been for Jordan passing the ball (instead of shooting, as he had done so many times before) to Scottie Pippen in the final second of the game. Pippen, not expecting Jordan to pass, was caught off-guard and lost control of the ball, allowing Orlando to win the game and the series.
The Second 3-Peat
Freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, Jordan trained aggressively in preparation for the 1995-96 season. That year, strengthened by the addition of rebounder extraordinaire Dennis Rodman, the Bulls dominated the league, finishing with a record of 72-10 - to date the best regular season record in NBA history. Jordan won the league's regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards. In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series, defeating the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA Finals to win the championship. For his performance in the series against Seattle, Jordan was named Finals MVP for the fourth time, breaking a record he shared with Magic Johnson.
In the 1996-97 season, Jordan led the Bulls to a 69-13 record. The team again advanced to the Finals, where they faced the Utah Jazz. The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch efforts of Jordan's career. He won game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In game 5, with the series tied 2-2, Jordan gamely scored 38 points (including the game-deciding three pointer with less than a minute remaining) despite suffering from a stomach virus that had rendered him feverish and dehydrated at the start of the game. The Bulls won the contest 90-88 and went on to win the series in six games. For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award.
Jordan and the Bulls compiled a 62-20 record for the 1997-98 season. During that year, he led the league in scoring with 28.7 points per game, securing his fifth regular-season MVP award. Jordan also received honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team and the All-Star Game MVP. The Bulls won the Eastern Conference playoffs for a third straight year, moving on to face the Jazz again in the Finals. However, because the Jazz had also won 62 games, (including two against Chicago to win the tie breaker), Chicago would not have home-court advantage for the series. After losing the first game, the Bulls won game 2 in Utah to capture the advantage, and seemed poised to win the championship after victories in games 3 and 4. But Utah prevailed in game 5, sending the series back to Utah. Chicago now had to beat the Jazz once more on their home court to claim the series. The prospect of losing the series to the rejuvenated Jazz suddenly appeared very real.
Jordan after the 1998 NBA FinalsJordan, however, refused to allow the Bulls to fail. In Game 6, he trumped his courageous feats in the Finals a year earlier with a series of plays that may form the greatest clutch performance in NBA Finals history.
It was as if everything he had ever accomplished had led Michael up to this one moment, and in the last minute of his last game, he would need everything he had learned along the way. With the Bulls trailing 86-83 and less than a minute remaining in the game, Jackson called a timeout. On the inbound, Jordan cut to the basket, received the inbounds pass, and laid the ball in despite the presence of several Jazz defenders in his face, trimming Utah's lead to 86-85. The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and fed the ball in to forward Karl Malone, who was set up in the low post with Rodman on his hip. Malone jostled with Rodman and then received the ball, but Jordan sliced around behind him and swatted it out of his hands for a steal. Jordan then slowly dribbled upcourt and paused at the top of the key, eyeing his defender, guard Bryon Russell. With less than 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, crossed over to his left (while arguably giving Russell a bit of a push in the wrong direction), pulled up, and fired his shot. The two-point jumper found nothing but net with 5.2 seconds left, giving the Bulls a 87-86 lead. After a desperation three-point shot by John Stockton missed, Jordan and the Bulls had won their sixth NBA championship, and secured the franchise's second three-peat. Once again, Jordan was voted the Finals' MVP, having averaged more than 30 points per game for the series (leading all scorers), including 45 in the deciding Game 6. Jordan's six Finals MVPs are twice as many as any other player; Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tim Duncan are tied for second place with three apiece.
Jordan's Game 6 heroics seemed to be a perfect ending to his career. With Phil Jackson's contract expiring, the pending departure of Scottie Pippen (who stated his desire to be traded during the season), and in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired again on January 13, 1999. At his second retirement press conference, in typical Jordan fashion, he took time to pay tribute to a Chicago Police officer that was slain in the line of duty days before.
Washington Wizards
On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player, but as part owner and President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards. His responsibilities with the club were to be comprehensive, as he was in charge of all aspects of the team, including personnel decisions. Less than a month later, Jordan won four ESPY Awards at the annual ceremony: Athlete of the Century; Male Athlete of the 1990's; Pro Basketball Player of the 1990's; and Play of the Decade, for the famous shot against the Lakers in the 1991 Finals in which Jordan switched the ball from his right to his left hand in mid-air. If Michael Jordan was out of basketball, it was certainly hard to tell.
Opinions of Jordan as an executive were mixed. He managed to purge the team of several highly-paid, unpopular players (like forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland), but his lasting legacy as GM of the Wizards will probably be his selection of high school prospect Kwame Brown with the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, a move that has been roundly criticized in hindsight.
Jordan with the Washington Wizards.Despite his January 1999 claim that he was "99.9 percent" certain that he would never play another NBA game, Jordan began making noises in the summer of 2001 that he may be interested in another comeback, this time with his new team. Allegedly inspired by the similar comeback of NHL star (and Jordan friend) Mario Lemieux the previous winter, Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago. In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington's coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing for another Jordan return. With the season quickly approaching, 0.1 percent odds had never looked so good.
Still, Jordan wasn't making any promises. In a September 10, 2001 press conference, he strongly hinted at a comeback, but refused to confirm the rumors that had been swirling around him for the past month. But if Jordan wasn't sure on September 10 whether he would return to action or not, the events of the next day may have sealed the deal. On September 25, 2001, two weeks to the day after the terrorist attacks that shook the nation, Jordan announced that he had stepped down from the Wizards front office and out of retirement, and that he would be donating his entire 2001-02 salary ($1 million) to victims of 9/11. When he finally hit the hardwood again, Jordan's skills were not noticeably diminished by age. In an injury-plagued 2001-02 season, he played through pain and led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.42), almost leading the young Wizards to the playoffs in the process. Additionally, Jordan's presence resulted in 41 sellouts in 41 games at the Wizards home court, the MCI Center, as well as sellouts of nearly every road arena that he would appear in over the two years of his second comeback (in his first year back, the Wizards sold out all but three of their road games). He also helped lead the Wizards to a franchise-record nine-game winning streak from December 6 through December 26, and for a brief period was being talked about as an NBA MVP candidate. Sadly, though, injuries ended Jordan's season after only 60 games, his fewest games played in a full season since he broke his foot in November of 1985.
Jordan waves goodbye.Jordan returned for the 2002-03 season newly fitted with orthotic insoles to help his knees, and, (relatively) healthy again, averaged 20 points per game. Playing in his 13th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2002-03, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star history, one of the few records that Jordan did not own going into his second comeback. The 2002-03 season was heralded from the beginning as Jordan's final goodbye to his fans, and he didn't disappoint. That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in his final year, shot 45 percent from the field, and 82 percent from the free throw line. Even at age 40, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, scored 30 or more points nine times, and amassed 40 or more points three times. On February 21st, 2003, Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 40 points in a game, scoring 43 to lead the Wizards to an 89-86 victory over the New Jersey Nets at the MCI Center. While the attendance numbers dipped off slightly in Year Two, the Wizards remained the most-watched team in the NBA with Jordan, averaging 20,173 fans a game at MCI and 19,311 on the road. In addition, the Wizards sold out all 82 home games of the Jordan era, shattering attendance records. However, neither of Jordan's final two seasons resulted in a playoff appearance for the Wizards.
Recognizing that this would be Jordan's final season, tributes to Jordan were given in almost every arena in the NBA. In his final game at his old stomping grounds, the United Center in Chicago, Jordan received a prolonged standing ovation that Jordan himself had to interrupt (by giving an impromptu speech) because the crowd showed no signs of stopping. Out of respect for Jordan, the Miami Heat retired his #23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though he never played for that particular team. It was the first jersey the Heat had ever retired in their then-15-year history, and it was half Wizards blue, half Bulls red (the jersey has since been replaced with an all-red Bulls jersey). An additional honor was bestowed on Jordan in his final home game at Washington, where he was honored after the game by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who presented him with the American Flag that flew over the Pentagon on September 11, 2002. At the 2003 All-Star game, Vince Carter gave up his starting spot at shooting guard to Jordan, and the halftime ceremony was dedicated to Jordan's career, complete with a Mariah Carey musical tribute.
Philadelphia was the setting for MJ's final NBA game, on April 16, 2003. Playing limited minutes due to the game's score, Jordan still mustered 15 points despite the eventual Wizards loss. After sitting out much of the 4th quarter, Jordan re-entered the game in the final minutes after the usually hostile Philly crowd serenaded him with sustained chants of "We Want Mike!" Jordan left the fans with one final moment to remember him by when, with 1:44 remaining, he sank his last two free throws, and then exited to a standing ovation which would last over three minutes.
After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position of Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards. Yet his tenure in the Wizards front office had been marred by poor executive decisions, which included drafting Kwame Brown with the first pick in the 2000 draft, and trading Richard Hamilton to the Detroit Pistons for Jerry Stackhouse. On May 7th, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as Washington's president of basketball operations. The firing came as a surprise to Jordan, who said at the time, "I am shocked by this decision and by the callous refusal to offer me any justification for it." Jordan has indicated that he would be interested in a similar position with another franchise, but as of yet no team has taken him up on the offer.
More to Come?
Since retirement, Jordan has kept himself busy by staying in shape, spending time with his family in Chicago, promoting his Jordan Brand clothing line, and riding motorcycles (a passion which he could not indulge in as a player, due to NBA contract restrictions). In late 2004, rumors surfaced that Jordan may return yet again to play one season alongside Shaquille O'Neal with the Miami Heat, but Jordan denied the claims, and has given no indications since that he will ever play in the NBA again.
The Olympics
Jordan played on two Olympic gold medal-winning American basketball teams: as a college player in the 1984 Summer Olympics, and in the 1992 Summer Olympics as a member of the original "Dream Team," with other legends such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing. It is often rumored that Jordan influenced the US Olympic Committee to keep guard Isiah Thomas off the roster due to personal differences, although Thomas' exclusion may have been more a testament to the quality of the other guards on the team. In any case, it was a star-studded roster that cruised through pool play and the medal round, restoring America to the top of the basketball world.
Jordan's legacy
Jordan's basketball talent was clear from his rookie season in the NBA. His breathtaking dunks, tenacious defense and apparent ability to score at will amazed fans and opponents. After Jordan poured in 63 points against the Boston Celtics in a 1986 playoff game (still a playoff record), Celtic superstar Larry Bird famously described him as "God disguised as Michael Jordan."
Still, many critics refused to consider him as good as the two great players of the 1980s, Bird and the Los Angeles Lakers' Magic Johnson. Jordan, it was said, was nothing more than a spectacular scorer who could not elevate the play of his teammates, as Bird and Johnson had. These critics pointed out that the Celtics and Lakers had immediately become playoff-caliber teams upon the arrival of Bird and Johnson, while Jordan's Bulls wallowed in mediocrity throughout the mid-1980s. But the rise of the Bulls dynasty in 1991 and Jordan's maturation as a player quelled many doubters.
Even as he rounded out his game, Jordan's strengths remained scoring and defense. He led the NBA in scoring 10 years, tying Wilt Chamberlain for consecutive scoring titles with seven in a row, but was also a fixture on the All-NBA Defensive Team, making the roster nine times. By 1998, the season of his famous Finals-winning shot against the Jazz, Jordan was feared throughout the league as one of the game's best clutch performers. In the regular season, Jordan was the Bulls' primary threat in the final seconds of a close game; in the playoffs, he was the only one the team wanted to have the ball.
Commentators have dubbed a number of players the "next Jordan" upon their entry to the NBA, including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Penny Hardaway and Grant Hill. Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the Chicago Bulls, once said regarding Jordan's jersey number, 23, these words, "For what Michael has meant to the NBA, this number could very well be retired in every arena in the league." (Jackie Robinson's No. 42 has been retired by every Major League Baseball team, and all NHL teams have done the same with Wayne Gretzky's No. 99.)
Jordan was ranked #1 in SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003.
The greatest basketballer of all time?
Michael Jordan is one of several candidates for greatest basketballer of all time, along with:
- Bill Russell, who won 11 NBA titles, eclipsing Jordan's six.
- Wilt Chamberlain, who won only 2 titles, but holds the majority of NBA statistical records (most notably, a season average of 50.4 points per game, much more than Jordan's high of 37.1 PPG).
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who also won six NBA titles, and is the all-time leading NBA scorer.
- Magic Johnson, who won five NBA titles and was not only a terrific scorer, but also second in all-time assists behind John Stockton and could play any position on the court well, in contrast to Jordan, who was a pure shooting guard.
Those who argue in Jordan's favor say that he was a much better all-around player than Bill Russell (who was not noted as a great offensive player), won more titles and awards than both Chamberlain and Johnson and promoted his sport better than the often-aloof Abdul-Jabbar. In addition, his 11 total MVP awards (5 regular season and 6 NBA Finals) are by far the most in history.
Personal life
Jordan is the fourth of five children. He has two older brothers, Larry and James, one older sister, Delores, and a younger sister, Roslyn. He married Juanita Jordan in September 1989, and they have two sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, and a daughter, Jasmine. The parents filed for divorce on January 4, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences, but reconciled shortly thereafter.
Jordan's son Jeffrey, is a mid-level high school recruit that will graduate in 2007.
Jordan's father, James Jordan, was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery, who were caught after being traced from calls the pair made on James Jordan's cellular phone. Both assailants were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Jordan's brother James R. Jordan is a Sergeant Major in the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army. James gained certain celebrity when he announced, at the age of forty-seven, that he intended to stay in Iraq until the U.S. occupation ended.
Jordan is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Jordan is a notorious cigar smoker.
Businessman
Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac and MCI. He first appeared on Wheaties boxes in 1988, and acted as their spokesman as well.
Nike created a signature shoe for him, called the Air Jordan. The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spat of "shoe-jackings" where young boys were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. The innovation of designer Tinker Hatfield spurred the basketball shoe industry to new heights. Subsequently Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own company named appropriately the "Jordan Brand." Athletes who endorse the company include basketball players such as Ray Allen, Michael Finley, Derek Anderson, Eddie Jones, Mike Bibby, Quentin Richardson, Richard Hamilton, and Carmelo Anthony. The "Jordan Brand" has branched out into other sports, with baseball players Derek Jeter and Andruw Jones and football players Marvin Harrison, Ahman Green, Jason Taylor, as well as boxer Roy Jones Jr., AMA Superstock & Supersport racer Montez Stewart. and jazz musician Mike Phillips as endorsers. The brand has also sponsored college programs such as North Carolina, Cincinnati, Cal, St. John's, Georgetown, and North Carolina A & T.
Beginning in 1991, Jordan appeared in ProStars, an NBC Saturday morning cartoon. The show featured Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson fighting crime and helping children.
Michael Jordan with Bugs Bunny in Space Jam.Jordan has also been connected with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial in the 1993 Super Bowl where he and Bugs Bunny played basketball against some Martians inspired the 1996 live action/animated movie Space Jam, which also starred Michael and the Looney Tunes in a fictional story set during his first retirement. They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI.
After his second retirement, Jordan formed the MVP.com sports apparel enterprise with fellow sports greats Wayne Gretzky and John Elway in 1999. It fell victim to the dot-com bust, and the rights to the domain were sold to CBS SportsLine in 2001.
For many years, the NBA basketball player has been the real-life mascot for Nestlé Crunch, appearing on the products and in their advertising.
Trivia
- Jordan wore three jersey numbers in his career: his customary #23, #45 after his return from his first retirement, and #12, an "emergency uniform" worn during a game against the Orlando Magic during the 1990-1991 season after his uniforms were stolen from the visitor's locker room. Wearing a jersey with no last name, Jordan scored a game-high 49 points in a victory over the Magic.
- Jordan wore #23 because he admired his bigger brother Larry, who wore #45 at Laney High School. 23 is half of 45, rounded up, because he wanted to be at least half the player his brother was.
- Jordan wore University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shorts under his uniform during NBA games.
- Jordan liked interacting with hecklers, unlike most NBA players. After slam-dunking on 6'1" John Stockton, a heckler told the 6'6" Jordan to "dunk on someone your own size." On the next Bulls possession, Jordan drove to the basket and slam-dunked over Mel Turpin, a tough 6-foot-11 center. Jordan looked over to the heckler and asked "Was he big enough?" In another instance, after making a 3-point shot to help eliminate the New York Knicks from the playoffs, he jogged to the defensive end of the court and waved goodbye to filmmaker and avid Knicks fan Spike Lee. In Washington, he lobbed a bench towel to a heckler and said, "If you're gonna keep talking, at least wipe the drool off your chin." The heckler later shouted for Jordan to autograph the towel.
- Jordan also had a flair for humoring other players in the NBA. While Jordan readied to shoot a freethrow, a rookie on the opposing team once asked him if he could make the a shot with his eyes closed. Jordan then smiled, closed his eyes, and swished the shot through. Jordan then looked at the dazzled foe and said with his famous grin, "Welcome to the NBA." Another famous Jordan moment occurred in the 1997 NBA playoffs when opposing Atlanta Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo, standing 7’2” pointed out that Jordan had never dunked on him. In the next game, with the Bulls leading by 24 in the third quarter, Jordan made decided to change that in style. Jordan drove the lane, soared to the basket, and slamed the ball over Mutombo's reaching hand. Jordan then turned, faced Mutombo and waved his finger at him, mimicking Mutombo's famous antic which the NBA had earlier deemed as taunting. Jordan earned a technical foul for the gesture, but it only enhanced the move's mystique.
- Jordan's college basketball coach was Dean Smith, whose college basketball coach was Phog Allen, whose college basketball coach was the inventor of basketball, James Naismith.
- Larry Martin Demery, one of the two assailants charged and convicted in the murder of Michael's father, was wearing a Jordan t-shirt at the time of his arrest.
- Jordan chewed gum during games because he believed in a study that showed chewing gum helps the mind concentrate.
- There is another fairly successful basketballer called "Michael Jordan" who is a star player in the German BBL basketball league. However, he was so often subject of comparisons to the great NBA legend that he finally included his second name to his handle, and was from then on referred to as Michael-Hakim Jordan.
Physical Stats
- Height: 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm) Measured Olympics 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm)
- Vertical leap: 42 inches (106 cm)
- Weight: 216 lbs. (98,0 kg.)
Awards
- NBA Most Valuable Player Award: 1987-88, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1995-96, 1997-98
- NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award: 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98
- NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award: 1987-88
- NBA Rookie of the Year Award: 1984-85
- Naismith College Player of the Year: 1984
- John R. Wooden Award: 1984
- Adolph Rupp Trophy: 1984
- ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year: 1983-84
- NBA All-Star Dunk Contest Champion: 1987, 1988
Team Honors
- NCAA National Championship [University of North Carolina]: 1982
- Six NBA championships [Chicago Bulls]: 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98
- Two Olympic gold medals [USA]: 1984, 1992
Homework Help: Physical Education
For Further Reading
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