Michael Jordan
MJ
Born
February 17, 1963
Listed height
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight
216 lb (98 kg)
Playing career
1984–1993, 1995–1998, 2001–2003
Position
Shooting guard
Michael Jeffrey Jordan
Also known by his initials MJ, he is an American
businessman and former professional basketball player.
His biography on the official NBA website states: "By
acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball
player of all time." He played fifteen seasons in the
National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA
championships with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan is the
principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets
of the NBA and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.
He was integral in popularizing the NBA around the
world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural
icon in the process.
Playing Basketball
Jordan played college basketball for three seasons under coach Dean
Smith with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a
member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982. Jordan
joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick, and quickly
emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring
while gaining a reputation as one of the game's best defensive players.
His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the
free-throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air
Jordan" and "His Airness".
Jordan won his first NBA title with the Bulls in 1991, and followed that
achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a three-peat. Jordan
abruptly retired from basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play
Minor League Baseball but returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led
them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a
then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. He
retired for the second time in January 1999 but returned for two more
NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington
Wizards.
Awards & Record
Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include six NBA
Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, ten NBA scoring titles (both
all-time records), five NBA MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team
designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-
Star Game selections, three NBA All-Star Game MVP awards, three NBA
steals titles, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He
holds the NBA records for career regular season scoring average (30.12
points per game) and career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per
game).
In 1999, he was named the 20th century's greatest North American
athlete by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press'
list of athletes of the century. Jordan was twice inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once in 2009 for his
individual career, and again in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States
men's Olympic basketball team ("The Dream Team"). He became a
member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009, a member of
the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, and an individual
member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015 and a "Dream Team" member
in 2017.
Other works
One of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation, Jordan
is known for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of
Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1984 and remain
popular today.
Jordan also starred as himself in the 1996 live-action animation hybrid
film Space Jam and is the central focus of the Emmy Award-winning
documentary miniseries The Last Dance (2020). He became part-owner
and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Bobcats (now
named the Hornets) in 2006, and bought a controlling interest in 2010.
In 2016, Jordan became the first billionaire player in NBA history. As of
2022, his net worth is estimated at $2.1 billion.
Text content:
Wikipedia, Michael Jordan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan
Image sources:
Wikipedia, Michael Jordan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan, License:
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Michael Jordan
