Since the NBA decided to suspend games on March 11th due to Utah Jazz center Rudy Gubert as well as other players contracting COVID-19, basketball fans had to settle for virtual games of horse and NBA 2K games by the players. He is currently a part-owner and Managing Member of Basketball Operations of the Charlotte Bobcats in North Carolina.Photo Credit: Mike Powelll/Allsport With ESPN’s massive The Last Dance documentary getting set to air, we look at 10 of our favorite Michael Jordan Stories that probably won’t make the doc.Īs we are in the throes of a global pandemic that has closed public gatherings for the foreseeable future, fans of the National Basketball Association are hoping the season can be salvaged. Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today. Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on Apand will be inducted in September 2009. 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. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular-season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.4 points per game).
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, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons in 2001 as a member of the Washington Wizards. Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball 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. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 19, securing a "three-peat". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball.
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 quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball 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.Īfter a stand-out career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he led the Tar Heels to a National Championship in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a retired American professional basketball player and active businessman. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name.