Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan also known for his initials “MJ” is well known as the
American famous basketball player who`s position was shooting guard. The teams he is
best known for are the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards. He is also the
chairman of the Charlotte bobcats. Michael may also be known for his ``Air Jordan``
shoes. Michael was born on February 17, 1963. He was born in Brooklyn, New York.
Jordan is approximately 6ft6 and weighing about 216 lbs. He has been a big inspiration
to alot of young basketball players that want to continue playing basketball to be a pro
athlete like him. Michael has done a lot of great things in his years of basketball and so
many people recognize it. From winning MVP various times and being in the hall of
fame, Michael is a very well liked athlete.
When Michael was just a young toddler, his parents moved from Brooklyn, New
York all the way to Wilmington, North Carolina. He attended Emsley A. Laney High
School in Wilmington. That is where he started playing baseball, football and basketball.
When he tried playing out for the varsity basketball team, he was told he was too short
to play at that level. He was then 5’11”. He showed the coaches that he had the ability
to play even though he wasn’t as tall as the rest. His coach offered him a spot on the
team after that. Michael averaged 20 points per game in his two final seasons of high
school basketball. It was then, that everybody noticed how good of a player he was.
There were many teams that wanted him to play. He started on the McDonald’s AllAmerican Team and after that, he was recruited by many college programs. Michael
was majoring in cultural geography in 1981. It was then that he had accepted a
basketball scholarship to North Carolina. He made a game winning jump shot
against Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA Championship game. That shot was what led
him to future NBA rival, Patrick Ewing. He described the shot as being a major turning
point in his soon to be basketball career. In his three seasons at North Carolina, he
averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting and added 5.0 rebounds per game. He won the
college player of the year awards in 1984 after playing at a couple different colleges. He
was then drafted to the Chicago Bulls. Michael was third overall pick. In 84, he played in
the mens basketball olympic games for Los Angeles. They ended up winning gold.
Before Jordan started playing college basketball he was studying professional sports
history, therefore he went back to complete his degree in 1986.
During Michael’s early years of NBA, he first averaged 28.2 ppg and 51.1%
shooting. He became the cover of many sports magazine and people really started to
recognize his fame. He played on the Chicago Bulls the first little bit. In Jordan’s second
season, he broke his foot in the third game of the season. The injury caused him to miss
64 games. Even though he had a broken foot, the Bulls still made it to the play offs. It
was a huge disappointment though for Michael to have an injury because he was a big
part of the team. He recovered and was able to participate in the play offs. They played
against the Boston Celtics teams which is known to be one of the greatest teams in
NBA history. Michael still set the record with points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2.
The Celtics still managed to win the series. He has still playing and enjoying basketball
as the seasons went on. In 1990-91 season, he won his first MVP award after averaging
31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg and 5.5 apg for the regular season. Chicago Bulls
finished first in their division for the first time in 16 years. The Bulls advanced. He cried
while he was holding the NBA finals trophy. He Played in the Olympics in 92 and won
the gold for Barcelona. This was his second Olympic games. Jordan won his second
MVP award with averages of 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game on
52% shooting. The media was hoping to make a magic-bird rivalry between the names
“Air” Jordan and Clyde “The Glide” during the pre finals hype. Michael played in the
FIBA Americas Championships for Portland in 92. Portland won the gold. When the
Bulls went to defeat the Blazers in six games, Michael was named finals MVP for the
second year in a row. He couldn’t believe that his NBA career was taking off so fast. He
was soon to be named one of the greatest players in all time. He ended the season and
finished the series averaging 35.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 6.5 apg, while shooting 53% from
the floor. In 1992-93, Michael’s streak of consecutive MVP seasons soon ended. He lost
the award to his friend Charles Barkley. He was super disappointed that he didn’t get
this award, but was also very happy that his friend got it. Chicago Bulls took their third
consecutive championships on a game winning shot John Paxson. Michael was still the
first player to win three finals MVP awards in NBA history. He was getting tired of his
celebrity fame after a while, therefore he wanted to try something else.
Jordan decided to retired basketball and play baseball. He was an outfielder who
batted and threw right. In the Southern League, he played for the Birmingham Barons.
He announced his professional debut on this team on April 8, 1994. For the Arizona Fall
League, he played for the Scottsdale Scorpions in 1994. He didn’t get the same fame
playing baseball as he did when he was playing basketball. For the Southern League,
Michaels batting average was .202 and for the Arizona League his batting average was
.252. He discovered that baseball wasn’t for him, so he returned to basketball in 1995.
He played for the Chicago bulls again. In the 1996-97 season, the Bulls started
out at 69-11 but they lost their final two games so they finished at 69-13. For the fifth
time in his finals appearance, Jordan won another MVP award. During the 97 NBA All
star game, Michael posted the first triple double in All Star Game history in a victorious
effort, he did not win the MVP award. In game 5, the series was tied at 2. Michael
played the next game which was called the “Flu Game”. He was dehydrated and played
with a stomach virus. Jordan was voted for MVP for the sixth time! He led scores
averaging at 33.5 points per game. His sixth Finals MVP award is a record.
After Michael’s retirement in 1999, he came back to play with the Washington
Wizards. Not long after he came back to play, he had another injury. He tore his
cartilage in his right knee. He only played 60 games that season because of the injury.
In 2003, Michael was the only Washington player to play 82 games, starting in 67 of
them. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He
also shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free throw line.Even though he turned
40 during the season, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine
times, and 40 or more points three times. On February 21, 2003, Jordan became the
first 40-year-old to tally 43 points in an NBA game. After he played with the Washington
Wizards, Michael retired.
Michael bought the Charlotte Bobcats on June 15, 2006. He was named
"Managing Member of Basketball Operations," with full control over the basketball side
of the operation. It was in February 2010, it was reported that Jordan was seeking
majority ownership of the Bobcats. On March 17, the NBA board agreed that Jordan’s
purchase had been approved. They thought he was the right person for the job. He was
then named the first former NBA player to become the majority owner of a league
franchise. The Bobcats had some ups and downs in their games.
As of right now, Michael Jordan is still owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. He
spends a lot of his time with them. He also spends a lot of his spare time with his kids
who are Marcus Jordan, Jasmine Mickael, and Jeffrey Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan
was a great basketball player and always will be. He will always be known as one of the
greatest players of all time.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/844767-chicago-bulls-7-reasons-why-nobodywill-ever-top-michael-jordan oct. 22
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/844767-chicago-bulls-7-reasons-why-nobodywill-ever-top-michael-jordan oct. 22
http://espn.go.com/nba/player/bio/_/id/1035/michael-jordan oct 24