MICHAEL JORDAN Biography - Famous Sports men and women

 
 

Biography » famous sports men and women » michael jordan

MICHAEL JORDAN

Name: Michael Jordan                                                                         
Born: 17 February 1963 Brooklyn, New York                                                     
                                                                                             
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American                         
professional basketball player and active businessman. Proclaimed by the                     
National Basketball Association (NBA) as the "greatest player of all time",                   
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 stand-out career at the University of North Carolina, Jordan joined the               
NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as one of the stars of the                   
league, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability,                   
illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line at Slam Dunk                   
Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also                   
gained a reputation as one of the best defensive players in basketball. 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". Though Jordan abruptly                 
left the NBA 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 season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but he               
returned for two more NBA seasons in 2001 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 and three All-Star MVP, 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 record for highest career regular season                     
scoring average with 30.1 points per game, as well as averaging a record 33.4                 
points per game in the playoffs. 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.                                           
                                                                                             
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.                 
Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam. He is currently a part-owner         
and Managing Member of Basketball Operations of the Charlotte Bobcats in his                 
home state of North Carolina.