Marcus Marshall
April 9, 2014
English III
Mrs. Putnam
Period 2B
Michael Jordan, who is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, was born in
1963 on February 17. He was born in New York and lived there until the age of 7 (“Jordan,
Michael”). He lived with his mother, father, his two brothers Larry and James, and his two
sisters Deloris and Roslyn. His two brothers and older sister are who gave him the competitive
edge that was displayed throughout his basketball career. Although none of them grew up to
be star athletes, Jordan admits that they were his toughest competition. After his family moved
to North Carolina in 1970, Jordan really became involved in sports. He played every sport he
could which included football, baseball and basketball. He attended high school in Wilmington,
North Carolina and received a full scholarship to play basketball at the University of North
Carolina in Chapel Hill where he roomed with high school all star Buzz Peterson (Jordan). He
started as a freshman at Carolina and became a national star in 1982 when he made the game
winning jump shot from range against Georgetown with only 2 seconds left to win the national
championship. He was a three time college All American and won player of the year in 1983 and
1984. He also set the UNC scoring record and boasts numerous other collegiate awards and
records (“Michael Jordan,” UXL Biographies). In 1984, he was drafted third overall in the NBA
draft to the Chicago Bulls and he was recognized as the NBA’s outstanding rookie of the year.
He also led the American Olympic team to a gold medal in the summer of 1984 (“Jordan,
Michael”). He went on to win 5 regular season MVPs, and 3 all-star MVPs (“Michael Jordan,”
2014). From the childhood years in which he began playing sports to his induction into the hall
of fame, Jordan experienced various obstacles that could have set him back but he overcame
and reached his dream of becoming one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Michael Jordan began competing in athletics at a very young age. His father once said he
was born with a very competitive edge and that having siblings with that same edge only
maximized his competitive nature (“Michael Jordan,” 2014). Sports came easy to Jordan and
they were something he loved to do. He knew from a young age that he was going to work as
hard as possible to become a professional athlete in at least one sport. He was such a talented
and balanced athlete that at a young age, he really did not have a preference on what sport
(Jordan). As he grew up he started to focus on baseball and basketball and eventually he
decided that basketball was his favorite. Just coming out of high school, he felt that he was the
best and had a chip on his shoulder to prove that he was the best because he did not think that
he was recruited heavily enough. He was unwilling to take a second role to anyone and when
UNC told him he would be rooming with some big name high school all star who had received a
regional MVP award, he was not impressed and asked himself “how can he be the MVP when
he hasn’t played me yet?”. This was the attitude that he carried on throughout his entire
career. Despite a few setbacks, he had great success playing basketball at the collegiate level
and became an NBA legend. While he is arguably the best basketball player ever, he is definitely
the greatest to attend UNC and his legacy as a player will never be forgotten. He now owns the
Charlotte Bobcats, multiple restaurants and does a ton of charity work to give back. He always
wanted to be the greatest of all time and although that is an opinion based title, many people
believe it. In 2009, he was inducted into the NBA hall of fame where he gave a 25 minute
speech that thanked anyone and everyone who helped him achieve success (“Michael Jordan,”
2014). He also said “I hope that my career has given millions of people that I have touched, the
optimism and desire to achieve their goals through hard work, perseverance and positive
attitudes” to inspire those to come (Jordan).
As mentioned before, Michael Jordan did not achieve greatness without any setbacks.
He had to overcome multiple challenges and discouragements throughout his life. Although
sports and especially basketball came easy to him, he was not always the best by everyone’s
judgment. When he was in high school in Wilmington, NC, he experienced his first major
setback but he did not let it interfere with his dream but rather used it as motivation. As a tenth
grader, he was cut from his varsity basketball team and he took it very personally because he
felt that some of the players who made it were not as good as him. His good friend Leroy Smith
made it over him and that really made him upset (“Jordan, Michael”). That season, he worked
harder than ever because he wanted to prove to everyone that he belonged on that team. In
his hall of fame speech he said “when Leroy Smith made the team and I didn’t, I wanted to
prove not just to Leroy, not just to myself, but to the coach who actually picked Leroy over me..
I wanted to make sure you understood that hey you made a mistake dude” (Jordan). The next
year, Michael made the team and made a huge impact leading the team to a very victorious
season. He received MVP honors but was not highly recruited on a national scale which he did
not like. He had his fair share of interest from colleges but UNC was the only college that
showed him the serious interest he felt he deserved from various other schools. Once again,
this lack of attention also served as a motivation for Michael to prove he was the best (“Jordan,
Michael”).
Being cut from the varsity team in high school was not Michael’s first or last obstacle.
Although that was something that ended up motivating him, Michael encountered other
challenges that had more negative effects on his career and well being. Jordan is a family man.
Each member of his family means a great deal to him and when his father was brutally
murdered and killed, it changed his perception on life and sent him into a deep state of
depression. The murder took place in mid 1993 but the body wasn’t found for weeks and
Jordan felt like a piece of him was missing the whole time. This feeling was so bothersome that
as a result, he prematurely retired thinking that he was satisfied with his career. In reality, he
just needed some time to gather himself. Baseball was his father’s favorite sport and Michael
was also very talented at it. He began playing minor league baseball in 1994 to take after his
father as it provided a connection between him and the man most important to him. Although
he loved baseball, and had a great time playing it, basketball was his calling and he knew it. He
knew he still had the basketball bug and his love for the game was too strong for him to end it
the way he did. He ended his short baseball career and returned to the NBA with 17 games left
in the 1995 season to play for the Chicago Bulls. The bulls had no opposition to letting him
return (“Michael Jordan,”2014). His father’s murder still hurts him to this day but he never let
anything else ruin his dream and was not about to start. The minor setback only provided an
opportunity for a major comeback and Jordan returned to being the basketball legend that he
is.
The first thing anyone thinks about when they hear the name Michael Jordan is his
legacy in basketball. He’s actually a very rounded person and has made just as huge of an
impact off the court as he did on. During his hall of fame speech he said "the game of basketball
has always been everything to me. My refuge, my place I've always gone when I needed to find
comfort and peace. It’s been a source of intense pain, a source of most intense feelings of joy
and satisfaction. It has been a relationship that has evolved overtime and given me the greatest
level of love and respect for the game. It gave me a platform to share my passion with millions,
in a way I neither expected nor could have imagined in my career" (“Jordan, Michael”). What
that quote says about Michael is that basketball is his home. The values and lessons he learned
playing the game are what made him who he is today and being on a global stage not only
allowed for him to entertain, but it also gave him the ability to inspire others. There might not
be a single young athlete who hasn’t either heard the name through apparel or just everyday
conversation. The legacy that Michael carries is one that only a few athletes in history can
compare to. In the closing of his hall of fame speech, he said one last motivating thing. He said
“never say never because limits like fears are often just an illusion” (“Jordan, Michael”). When
he said that, he was not only reminding the people of the attitude that got him to where he is,
but he was giving the future generations of dream chasers a code to live by that he knew from
experience would help them reach their dreams.