Michael Jordan

A retired American professional basketball player and an active businessman in present times, Michael Jeffrey Jordan has been voted as the ‘greatest player of all time.’ Michael Jordan was born on 17 February 1963 to James R. Jordan, Sr. and Deborah Jordan at Brooklyn, New York. When Michael Jordan was still a child, his family shifted to Wilmington in North Carolina.

 

Michael happens to be the fourth of five children and has got two elder brothers and one elder and one younger sisters. Since Michael's father worked at an electric plant and his mother at a bank, his was not a rags-to-riches life story. The childhood of Michael Jordan was fairly comfortable and secure. He began his basketball career playing for Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

 

Many would find this ironical, but this lad who was to later create history in the basketball game sphere was once cut out from the varsity team in his sophomore years. This happened because Michael Jordan’s height was just 5 feet 11 inches at that time, which was too short in order to be playing for that level. But he gained four inches by the following summer and having practiced robustly all the while, finally earned place in the varsity roster.  

 

The basketball record of Michael Jordan is simply out and out amazing. After his junior year, he was chosen with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. In the coming days, Michael Jordan went on to lead the Chicago Bulls to six NBA Championships in years 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998. Furthermore, he was also entitled NBA Finals MVP during all his championship winning years.

 

Michael Jordan turned big with an excellent first season, bagging the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1984-85. An injury in the foot caused him to stay away for 64 games in his second campaign, but he returned with a bang late in the year. Once back, Michael Jordan scored an NBA playoff-record 63 points in a first-round game against the Boston Celtics.

 

Beginning from the 1986-87 season, Jordan kick-started a career-long assault on the record book of NBA. Michael Jordan holds the single series NBA Finals record for highest PPG average. He name featured in the All-NBA First Team 10 times. He holds the record for leading the scoring in the maximum numbers of seasons "10". He turned the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocks in just one season.

 

NBA was aghast at Michael Jordan’s pronouncing his retirement prior to the 1993-94 season. Jordan said it was the murder of his father previous year that led to this decision. But he returned to basketball once again in the 1994-95 NBA season and tried carrying the Bulls to another title. But despite his presence, the Bulls failed to get past the Orlando Magic in the conference semifinals and lost to them in six games. In 1984 as well as 1992, he was member of the gold medal-winning United States Olympic Basketball Teams.

 

Michael Jordan's hunger for the championship got satiated the following season when his team experienced the most outstanding wins ever seen by any club. Chicago Bull’s joint record of 87-13 for the 1995-96 regular season as well as playoffs was the best in NBA history. Mid way, Jordan also bagged the MVP awards for the regular season, All-Star Game as well as Finals, joining Willis Reed (1970) as the only man to win all three titles the same season.

 

The Bulls disintegration by Jerry Krause caused Jordan's second retirement and he stated that he would play basketball only for than Phil Jackson. The great player also voiced his wish to spend more time with his family. Phil Jackson moved on to the L.A. Lakers that was like the revamping of the Chicago Bulls. This group had players like Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Rick Fox.

 

Michael Jordan in the meanwhile got associated with the Washington Wizards as President of Basketball Operations and its half owner in January 2000. But all his striving to spin the Washington Wizards out of the sidelines proved futile. Michael Jordan's deep craving to win caused him to return to basketball once again. At the same time, he also tried turning around the fate of the Wizards franchise.

 

Jordan started training, interacting with the media initially stating that he was only doing so in order to shed weight. During summer time, he gradually worked himself back into the basketball form by participating in many invitation-only camps of pickup games with other NBA players at a Chicago gym. As luck would have it, Michael Jordan proved unable to lead his Wizards into the postseason as a player. He retired for a third and final time after playing his final game on 16th April 2003.

 

1963 - On 17 February, he was born to James R. Jordan, Sr. and Deborah Jordan at Brooklyn, New York

1970 – The entire Jordan family shifts to Wilmington, North Carolina.

1975 - He was named Jordan Mr. Baseball among North Carolina 12-year-olds by the Dixie Youth Baseball Association. 

1978 – Jordan in his sophomore years was chucked out of the varsity basketball team due to his short height.  

1982 - Freshman Jordan wins the national championship for North Carolina at the Superdome in New Orleans.

1984 - Chicago Bulls pick Jordan third overall in the NBA Draft.

1984 - Co - captain of U.S. gold medal- winning Olympic basketball team.

1985 - Jordan was named NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.4 steals. 

1985 - In the third game of his sophomore season, Jordan injures his foot and misses 64 games.  

1986 - Jordan makes a return to basketball.

1987 - With 61 points in a 117-114 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Jordan becomes the first NBA player to score 3,000 points in a season since Wilt Chamberlain in 1962-63. 

1988 - Jordan is named NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the first time after averaging 35.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 3.2 steals. This made him the first player to earn MVP and Defensive Player of the Year titles the same season. 

1989 - In Las Vegas, Jordan marries Juanita Vanoy.

1991 - Jordan is named MVP for the second time after averaging 31.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals. 

1992 - Jordan is named MVP for the third time after averaging 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.3 steals. 

1992 – He was member of US gold medal winning Olympic team at Barcelona Olympics. 

1992 - Forbes magazine state Jordan the highest-paid athlete in the world.

1993 – On 6 October, Jordan shocks the world by announcing his retirement from the NBA

1995 - Jordan issues a press release that states simply, "I'm back." He returns to the NBA and dons Jersey No. 45.

1996 – In May, Jordan is named MVP for the fourth time after averaging 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.2 steals in his first full season after comeback.  

1997 – On 9 February, Michael Jordan becomes the first player in All-Star Game history to record a triple-double, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 132-120 East victory in Cleveland. 

1998 – In May, Jordan is named MVP for the fifth time after averaging 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals. 

2000 - Michael Jordan gets associated with the Washington Wizards as President of Basketball Operations and its half owner in January. 
2003 - He retired for a third and final time after playing his final game on 16th April 2003.