Michael Jordan - His Airness Crowned King

"............God came to the game tonight and played under the name of Michael Jordan......" Larry Bird's quote after MJ scored career high 69 points

A tribute to one of the greatest player in NBA history and the man that lead me in basketball game........ Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 17, 1963. His parents, James and Delores Jordan, moved to Wilmington, North Carolina when he was still a toddler. Jordan has two older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister. Jordan loved to play baseball when he was a child, and also played some basketball and football. His love for basketball began when his older brother, Larry, continuously beat him in one-on-one pickup games. As with any challenge Jordan faces, this determined Michael to become a better player.

Jordan played basketball for Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. Ironically, Jordan was cut from the varsity team as a sophomore. Instead of giving up after failing to make the team, Jordan used it to spur himself to greater achievements, practicing hour after hour on the court. "Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I'd close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it," Jordan said, "and that usually got me going again." He eventually made the team and led it to the state championship.

Jordan accepted a basketball scholarship from the University of North Carolina. As a freshman, Jordan's ever-growing popularity began when he scored the game-winning basket in the 1982 NCAA championship game against the Georgetown Hoyas. Jordan was selected college player of the year in the 1983-84 season, and led the US Men's Basketball Team to an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics under coach Bobby Knight. Jordan left college and entered the NBA in 1984, he was selected third in the draft (First pick: Houston--Hakeem Olajuwon; second pick: Portland--Sam Bowie) by the Chicago Bulls, a team that had won only 28 games the previous season.

Ironically, Jordan played in his first game as a pro against Washington on Oct. 26, 1984. Jordan became an immediate impact in the league and proved that he belonged among the elite players. He finished his rookie season as one of the top scorers in the league, averaging 28.2 points per game, was named Rookie of the Year, and also made the All-Star team. Jordan led the Bulls into the playoffs in every season, but didn't make the NBA Finals until 1991, where he led the Bulls to their first of three consecutive NBA Championships (1991, 1992, and 1993). Jordan played in the 1992 summer Olympics with the original Dream Team, perhaps the greatest team ever assembled. It was the first time NBA players were allowed to compete in the Olympics. Michael Jordan averaged 12.7 points per game as the USA Dream Team went 6-0 to win the gold medal, Jordan's second in his career.

There were some troubling events that followed his third NBA Championship. Jordan's father, James Jordan, pulled over one night to take a nap on his way home, and was murdered by a couple of armed robbers in North Carolina. The NBA also began an investigation into allegations that Jordan had illegally bet on NBA games. He was eventually cleared. These events eventually caused Jordan to lose his motivation and the sense of having to prove something as a basketball player, and he felt it was time to step away from the court. Jordan sought a new challenge, to play professional baseball. He signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. He was assigned to the Birmingham Barons, affiliates of the Chicago White Sox, and played an outfielder position. His presence in the minors grew large numbers in attendance, but his batting was uncharacteristic of Jordan's athletic skills. In his first summer with the Barons, he batted .202 with 114 strikeouts in 127 games. Later in the year he batted .252 with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. By November of 1994, the Bulls had retired his number and erected a life-size statue of him in front of the United Center.

On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced "I'm back!" He ended his short-lived career with baseball and rejoined the Bulls near the end of the 1994-1995 regular season, eventually losing to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. "He didn't look like the old Michael Jordan, " said Orlando's Nick Anderson. Jordan once again had something to prove to the world, that he was still the greatest basketball player to ever play the game, and that he would be even greater in the season to come. Michael Jordan led the Bulls to an astonishing 72-10 record, the best regular season in the history of the NBA. Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 points per game, was named the All-Star MVP, the league MVP and the NBA Finals MVP, as they went on to win their fourth NBA championship (1996).

He was selected in 1996 as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance into the next two seasons, winning two more consecutive championships (1997 and 1998), becoming the first team in NBA history to repeat-the-threepeat (1991-1993, 1996-1998). Jordan earned All-Star MVP and league MVP honors in 1998, led the league in scoring in all three years of his comeback (1996, 1997, and 1998) and won six NBA Finals MVP awards for every Finals the Bulls have competed in.

Something extra

• Joined the Washington Wizards as President of Basketball Operations on 1/19/00 and resigned that position on 9/25/01 to sign a player contract with the Wizards
  
• Selected Kwame Brown with the top overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft
  
• An advocate for The Boys and Girls Clubs of America; in association with the Chicago Bulls, built the James R. Jordan Boys and Girls Club & Family Life Center in memory of his father
  
• Established the Jordan Family Institute at the University of North Carolina
  
• Member of the board of America's Promise and has been involved with the United Negro College Fund, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Special Olympics Partners with several corporations and has a line of JORDAN athletic shoes and apparel for Nike, and the widely successful Jordan-brand (line of colognes) by Bijan
  
• Involved in several restaurant ventures and serves on the corporate boards of Oakley and Divine InterVentures Signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Chicago White Sox organization on 2/7/94
  
• Assigned to the White Sox AA affiliate Birmingham Barons, where he played the outfield (threw and batted right)
  
• Always wore his University of North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform for good luck
  
• Starred in the movie "Space Jam" and hosted "Saturday Night Live" on 9/28/91
  
• Received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina in 1986
  
• He and his wife Juanita, have two sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, and a daughter, Jasmine