Basketball Daily World

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. Widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he became the most effectively marketed athlete of his generation and was instrumental in spreading the appeal of the NBA (National Basketball Association) around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. He is currently a part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.

A remarkable force at both ends of the floor, "M.J." ended his 15 NBA seasons with a regular-season scoring average of 30.1 points per game, the highest in NBA history. He won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, won 10 scoring titles, and was league MVP five times. He was named to the All-NBA First Team 10 times, All-Defense First Team nine times, and led the league in steals three times.

Since 1983, he has appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 49 times, and was named the magazine’s "Sportsman of the Year" in 1991. In 1999, he was named "the greatest athlete of the 20th century" by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press list of top athletes of the century. His leaping ability, vividly illustrated by dunking from the foul line and other feats, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness."

Early years

Michael Jordan was born to James R. Jordan, Sr. and Delores Jordan in Brooklyn, New York. Jordan’s family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina when he was young and along with his three siblings, Jordan attended Ogden Elementary School, and later Trask Junior High School. Jordan then attended Emsley A. Laney High School, where he anchored his athletic career by playing baseball, football, and basketball. However, he was cut from the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year because at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) he was deemed underdeveloped. The following summer, Jordan grew four inches (10 cm), and trained rigorously. Over his next two seasons, he averaged 25 points per game. In his senior season at Laney High, Jordan averaged a triple-double: 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.1 assists. He was selected to the McDonald’s All-American Team as a senior.

Jordan earned a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina, where he majored in geography. As a freshman in legendary coach Dean Smith’s team-oriented system, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year as he averaged 13.4 ppg on 53.4% shooting. He was an exciting if not dominant player, but the Tar Heels were led by All-American and future Hall of Famer James Worthy. Jordan made the game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Basketball Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing. After winning the Naismith and Wooden College Player of the Year Awards in 1984, he left Carolina early to enter the 1984 NBA Draft, and was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round as the third pick overall, after Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie of the Portland Trail Blazers. Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986.

Early career

Jordan was an immediate success and a media sensation as a rookie as he averaged 28.2 ppg. on 51.5% shooting in his first season. He quickly became a fan favorite for his exciting high flying style of play and daring drives to the basket. Jordan was voted in as an All-Star starter by the fans in his rookie season. Controversy arose during the All-Star game when word surfaced that several veteran players led by Isiah Thomas were upset with the amount of attention Jordan was getting and led a so called "freeze-out" of Jordan, refusing to pass him the ball throughout the game. Despite this Jordan would go on to be voted Rookie of the Year. The Bulls would finish the season 38-44 however, and lose in the first round of the playoffs in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Jordan’s second season would be cut short by a broken foot which would cause him to miss 64 games. However, despite Jordan’s injury and a 30-52 record,  the Bulls would make the playoffs. Jordan recovered in time to participate in the playoffs and performed exceptionally well. Against a 1985-86 Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history, Jordan put on a performance for the ages scoring a playoff record 63 points in game 2. Despite his tremendous efforts the more talented, deeper Celtics would sweep the series.

Jordan would come back fully healthy and put up one of the statistically greatest seasons in NBA history in 1986-87. Jordan would become the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season as he averaged 37.1 points on 48.2% shooting. Despite his numbers he would lose out on the MVP award to Magic Johnson. The Bulls would reach 40 wins, and advance to the playoffs for the third consecutive year. However they were again swept by the Celtics.

Mid-career: Pistons roadblock

Jordan had another excellent season in 1987-88 averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting. For his efforts Jordan would win his first league MVP award. He combined the trophy with a defensive player of the year award, a rarity for a perimeter player, as he averaged 1.6 blocks and a league leading 3.16 steals per game. The Bulls would finish 50-32, and make it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan’s career as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. However the Bulls would then lose in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons, who were led by Isiah Thomas and their "Bad Boys" group of physical big men.

In 1988-89 Jordan averaged 32.5 ppg. on 53.8% from the field, the Bulls finished 47-35, and advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals defeating the Knicks and Cavaliers along the way. The Cavaliers series would contain a career highlight for Jordan as he hit a series winning shot over Craig Ehlo in the closing moments of the fifth and deciding game of the series. However the Pistons would again defeat the Bulls, this time in six games, by utilizing their "Jordan Rules" method of guarding Jordan, which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball.

The Bulls entered the 1989-90 season as a team on the rise. With their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, they were becoming a more dangerous and cohesive team under the guidance of coach Phil Jackson. Jordan would average 33.6 ppg on 52.6% shooting,and lead the Bulls to a 55-27 record, during the 1989-90 season. They would again advance to the Eastern Conference Finals beating the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers en route. However, despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls would lose to the Pistons for the third consecutive season. The Pistons would go on to win their second consecutive NBA championship and leave many wondering if the Bulls would ever be able to reach their level of play. The Bulls entered the 1990-91 season with lingering questions over their ability to ever develop into a championship team.

First three-peat

In the 1990-91 season, Jordan, motivated by the team’s narrow defeat against the Pistons a year earlier, finally bought into Jackson and assistant coach Tex Winter’s triangle offense after years of resistance. That year, he won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game for the regular season. The Bulls finished in first place for the first time in 16 years and set a franchise record in regular season wins with 61. With Scottie Pippen developing into an All-Star, the Bulls play elevated to another level. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs. They advanced to Eastern Conference Finals where their nemesis the Detroit Pistons awaited them. However the Bulls had learned to play as a team and with better teammates surrounding him Jordan proved more willing to pass the ball. Jordan made his teammates better throughout the series and when the Pistons employed their "Jordan Rules" defense of doubling and triple teaming him Jordan picked them apart with pinpoint passing. The Bulls finally beat the Detroit Pistons in a surprising sweep. The ending of the 4th and final game of the series was unusual in that Thomas led his Pistons off the court when there was still time remaining on the clock thereby forgoing the customary post game handshakes.

The Bulls advanced to the NBA Finals where they then beat Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bulls compiled an excellent 15-2 playoff record along the way. In what would become an enduring video clip, Jordan changed hands midair while completing a layup against the Lakers. Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award unanimously, and wept while holding his first NBA Finals trophy.

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991-92 season, establishing another new franchise high with a 67-15 record. Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with a 30.1/6.4/6.1 season. After winning a physical 7-game series over the burgeoning New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in 6 games, the Bulls faced off against Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic-Bird type rivalry in a Jordan-Drexler/"Air" Jordan vs. Clyde "The Glide" rivalry, compared the two throughout the pre-Finals hype. In the first game of the Finals, Jordan scored a record 35 points in the first half and finished the game with 39. Jordan hit 6 three pointers during the first half, and in a memorable moment after the last three pointer, which he hit over the hands of Cliff Robinson, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside as if to say "I can’t believe I’m doing this." The Bulls would go on to win game one, and then wrapped up the series in six games. Because of his dominating performance, Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row. Jordan would finish the series averaging 35.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 6.5 APG while shooting 53% from the floor. Drexler finished with averages of 24.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 5.3 APG, but only shot 41% from the floor.

In 1992-93, despite a 32.6/6.7/5.5 campaign, Jordan’s streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley. Fittingly, though, Jordan and the Bulls would end up meeting Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals, in a match-up dubbed as "Altitude vs. Attitude". Jordan’s perceived slighting in the MVP balloting only fueled his competitive fire. The Bulls would capture their third consecutive NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago’s catalyst. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 PPG during the six-game series, and in the process became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVPs. With the Finals triumph, Jordan capped off what may have been the most spectacular seven-year run by an athlete ever, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.

First retirement

On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, citing a loss in his desire to play the game. Jordan has stated that the murder of his father, in July factored into his decision. James R. Jordan, Sr. was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery, who were caught after being traced from calls the pair made on James Jordan’s cellular phone. Both assailants were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Jordan would later create and dedicate a Chicago area Boys & Girls Club to his father.

However, those close to Jordan claim that he was strongly considering retirement as early as the summer of 1992, and that the added exhaustion of the Dream Team run only solidified Jordan’s burned-out feelings regarding the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. In any case, Jordan’s announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world. Not since Jim Brown’s sudden retirement from the NFL in 1966 had such a dominant athlete walked away from the game at the peak of his abilities.

Jordan then surprised the sports world by signing a minor league baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox of the American League (AL). Jordan reported to spring training, and was assigned to the team’s minor league system on March 31, 1994. The White Sox were another team owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan’s basketball contract during the years he played baseball. He had an unspectacular professional baseball career for the Birmingham Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team, batting .202 with 3 HR, 51 RBI, 30 SB (tied for fifth in Southern League), 11 errors and 6 assists. He led the club with 11 bases loaded RBI and 25 RBI with runners in scoring position and two outs. He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League.

"I’m back": Return to the NBA

In the 1993-94 season, the Jordan-less Bulls notched a surprising 55-27 record, and lost to the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs. But the 1994-95 version of the Bulls were a shell of the championship squad of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to even ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago needed a lift. The lift came when Michael Jordan called up Bulls guard B.J. Armstrong in early 1995 to go out for breakfast, a meal that led to an impromptu shoot-around, and eventually to Jordan’s return to the NBA for the Bulls.

On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: "I’m back." The next day, Jordan donned jersey number 45 (his number with the Barons), as his familiar 23 had been retired in his honor during his first retirement. He took the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points in a Bulls loss.

Although Jordan had not played in an NBA game in a year and a half, he played well upon his return, which included another of his trademark game-winning jumpers (against Atlanta in his fourth game back), and a 55-point outburst against the Knicks on March 29, 1995. He led the Bulls to a 9-1 record in April of that year, propelling the team into the playoffs. The Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the Orlando Magic that season, and Jordan averaged 31.5 points per game in the series, but Orlando prevailed in six games. After Orlando’s Nick Anderson declared after the first game of the series that "He didn’t look like the old Michael Jordan.", an extra-motivated Jordan began wearing his old number (23) again. While this action may have been an attempt to recapture his mystique and dominance, it succeeded in incurring fines from the NBA because the Bulls failed to notify the league in advance of the number change.

Second three-peat

Freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, Jordan trained aggressively for the 1995-96 season. Strengthened by the addition of rebounder extraordinaire Dennis Rodman, the Bulls dominated the league, their season started off with 12 straight wins, eventually starting 41-3, and finishing 72-10: the best regular season record in NBA history. Jordan led the league in scoring at 30.4 ppg., and won the league’s regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards. In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series, defeating the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals to win the championship. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the fourth time, surpassing Magic Johnson in the record books.

In the 1996-97 season, the Bulls narrowly missed out on a second consecutive 70 win season after starting out 69-11 by losing their final two games to finish 69-13. However this year, Jordan was bested by Karl Malone for the NBA MVP Award. The team again advanced to the Finals, where they faced Malone and the Utah Jazz. The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan’s career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, now famously known as the "Flu Game", with the series tied 2-2, Jordan scored 38 points (including the game-deciding three-pointer with less than a minute remaining) despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. The Bulls won 90-88 and went on to win the series in six games. For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award.

Jordan and the Bulls compiled a 62-20 record in the 1997-98 season. Jordan led the league with 28.7 points per game, securing his fifth regular-season MVP award, plus honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team and the All-Star Game MVP. The Bulls captured the Eastern Conference Championship for a third straight season and moved on to face the Jazz again in the Finals.

After going 3-2 in the first five games, the Bulls returned to Utah for game 6 on June 14, 1998. In Game 6, he trumped his courageous feats in the Finals a year earlier with a series of plays that may form the greatest clutch performance in NBA Finals history. With the Bulls trailing 86-83 with 40 seconds remaining, Jackson called a timeout. Jordan received the inbounds pass, drove to the basket, and hit a layup over several Jazz defenders, which cut Utah’s lead to 86-85. The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to forward Karl Malone, who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by Rodman. Malone jostled with Rodman and caught the pass, but Jordan cut behind him and swatted the ball out of his hands for a steal. Jordan then slowly dribbled upcourt and paused at the top of the key, eying his defender, Jazz guard Bryon Russell. With fewer than 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, crossed over to his left and as Russell slipped, he released a shot that would be rebroadcast countless times in years to come. As the shot found the net, announcer Bob Costas shouted "Chicago with the lead!" After a desperation three-point shot by John Stockton missed, Jordan and the Bulls had won their sixth NBA championship, and secured a second three-peat. Once again, Jordan was voted the Finals’ MVP, having led all scorers by averaging more than 30 points per game, including 45 in the deciding Game 6. Jordan’s six Finals MVPs is a record; Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, and Tim Duncan are tied for second place with three apiece.

Second retirement

Jordan’s Game 6 heroics seemed to be a perfect ending to his career. With Phil Jackson’s contract expiring, the pending departures of Scottie Pippen (who stated his desire to be traded during the season) and Dennis Rodman (who would sign with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent) looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired again on January 13, 1999. At his second retirement press conference, he paid tribute to a Chicago Police officer slain on duty just days before.

On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player, but as part owner and President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards. His responsibilities with the club were to be comprehensive, as he was in charge of all aspects of the team, including personnel decisions. Less than a month later, Jordan won four ESPY Awards at the annual ceremony: Athlete of the Century; Male Athlete of the 1990s; Pro Basketball Player of the 1990s; and Play of the Decade, for the famous shot against the Lakers in the 1991 Finals in which he switched the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air.

Opinions of Jordan as an executive were mixed. He managed to purge the team of several highly-paid, unpopular players (like forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland), but many feel his lasting legacy as GM of the Wizards will be his selection of high school prospect Kwame Brown with the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, a move that has been roundly criticized in hindsight.

Despite his January 1999 claim that he was "99.9% certain" that he would never play another NBA game, Jordan began making noises in the summer of 2001 that he may be interested in another comeback, this time with his new team. Inspired by the comeback of NHL star (and Jordan’s friend) Mario Lemieux the previous winter, Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago. In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington’s coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing for another Jordan return. With the season quickly approaching, 0.1% odds had never looked so good. Still, Jordan was not making any promises.

Washington Wizards comeback

In a September 10, 2001 press conference, he strongly hinted at a comeback, but refused to confirm the rumors that had been swirling around him for the past month. Later that month he announced his pending return to professional play with the Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. On September 25, Jordan announced that he had stepped down from the Wizards’ front office and out of retirement. When he finally hit the hardwood again, Jordan’s skills were not noticeably diminished by age. In an injury-plagued 2001-02 season, he played through pain and led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.42 spg), almost leading the young Wizards to the playoffs in the process. Additionally, Jordan’s presence resulted in all 41 arena sellouts at the Wizards’ home court, the MCI Center, as well as sellouts of nearly every road arena that he would appear in over the two years of his second comeback (in his first year back, the Wizards sold out all but three of their road games). He also helped lead the Wizards to a franchise-record nine-game winning streak from December 6 through December 26, and for a brief period was being talked about as an MVP candidate. There was even a hint of "His Airness", on December 29, when Jordan scored 51 points against the Charlotte Hornets in a home game victory. Disappointingly, though, injuries ended Jordan’s season after only 60 games, the fewest he had played in a regular season since a broken foot cut short his season in 1985-86.

Playing in his 14th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2003, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star history. The 2002-03 season was heralded from the beginning as Jordan’s final goodbye to his fans, and he did not disappoint. That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in his final year. He also shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free throw line. Even at age 40, 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 40 points in an NBA game, scoring 43 to lead the Wizards to an 89-86 victory over the New Jersey Nets at the MCI Center. While the attendance numbers dipped off slightly in year two, the Wizards remained the most-watched team in the NBA with Jordan, averaging 20,173 fans a game at MCI and 19,311 on the road. In addition, the Wizards sold out all 82 home games of the Jordan era, shattering attendance records. However, neither of Jordan’s final two seasons resulted in a playoff appearance for the Wizards.

Recognizing that this would be Jordan’s final season, tributes were given to Jordan in almost every arena in the NBA. In his final game at his old stomping grounds, the United Center in Chicago, Jordan received a prolonged standing ovation that Jordan himself had to interrupt, by giving an impromptu speech, because the crowd showed no signs of stopping. Out of respect for Jordan, the Miami Heat retired his #23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though he never played for that particular team. An additional honor was bestowed on Jordan in his final home game at Washington, where he was honored after the game by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who presented him with the American flag that flew over the Pentagon on September 11, 2002, the one-year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. At the 2003 All-Star Game, Vince Carter gave up his starting spot at shooting guard to Jordan, and the halftime ceremony was dedicated to Jordan’s career, complete with a Mariah Carey musical tribute.

Philadelphia was the setting for Jordan’s final NBA game, on April 16, 2003, against the 76ers. Playing limited minutes due to the game’s score, Jordan still mustered 15 points, despite the eventual Wizards’ loss. After sitting out much of the fourth quarter, Jordan re-entered the game in the final minutes, after the Philadelphia crowd serenaded him with sustained chants of "We want Mike!" With 1:44 remaining, Jordan sank his last two free throws, and then exited to a standing ovation which lasted more than three minutes.

Jordan retired with 32,292 points, placing him third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.

After retiring as a player

After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position of Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards. However, his tenure in the Wizards’ front office had produced mixed results and some questionable decisions, which included the drafting of the underperforming Kwame Brown, and may have influenced the trade of Richard "Rip" Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse (although Jordan was not technically Director of Basketball Operations in 2002). On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as Washington’s president of basketball operations. The firing came as a surprise to Jordan, who said at the time, "I am shocked by this decision and by the callous refusal to offer me any justification for it."

Jordan then kept busy by staying in shape, playing golf in celebrity charity tournaments, spending time with his family in Chicago, promoting his Jordan Brand clothing line, and riding motorcycles (a passion which he could not indulge in as a player, due to NBA contract restrictions). Since 2004, Jordan has owned a professional closed-course motorcycle roadracing team competing in the premier Superbike class sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).

On June 15, 2006, Jordan became a part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats and was named "Managing Member of Basketball Operations." He is the largest individual owner of the team after majority owner Robert L. Johnson. While with Charlotte Jordan has made a conscious effort to work behind the scenes and not be used as an instrument to market the team.

Olympic career

Jordan played on two Olympic gold medal-winning American basketball teams: as a college player in the 1984 Summer Olympics, and in the 1992 Summer Olympics as a member of the original "Dream Team", with other legends such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, John Stockton, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing. It is often rumored that Jordan influenced the U.S. Olympic Committee to keep guard Isiah Thomas off the roster due to personal differences such as the aforementioned "freeze-out" in the 1985 All-Star game or the bitter rivalry that developed between the Pistons and Bulls in the late 80’s to early 90’s. Although Thomas’ exclusion may actually have been more a testament to the quality of the other guards on the team. In any case, it was a star-studded roster that cruised through pool play and the medal round, restoring America at the top of the basketball world.

Jordan, Ewing and fellow Dream Team member Chris Mullin are the only American men’s basketball players to win Olympic gold as amateurs (all in 1984) and professionals.

Player profile

Jordan was a shooting guard who was also capable of playing small forward. Jordan was known for being one of the greatest clutch performers of all time. He decided countless games with last-second heroics (e.g. The Shot) or sheer grit (e.g. Flu Game). His competitiveness was visible in his trademark trash talk.Jordan was also known for his fanatical work ethic.

On offense, Jordan featured a complete offensive game. The winner of back-to-back Slam Dunk titles could aggressively slash to the basket and seemed to get to the line at will: his 8,772 free throw attempts are 9th all time. Then, he often posted up his opponents and scored with his trademark fadeaway jumpshot, using his 40+ inches of vertical jump to "fade away" from block attempts. Hubie Brown stated that this move alone made him nearly unstoppable. Jordan’s 5.2 assists per game, also prove his willingness to defer to his teammates. Finally, in later years, he extended his shooting range to become a three-point threat, rising from a low 9 / 52 rate (.173) in his rookie year into a stellar 111 / 260 (.427) rate in 1996-97 season. Jordan was also a very good rebounder (6.2 per game), for a backcourt player.

On defense, Jordan’s contributions were equally impressive. His 2,514 steals are second all-time behind John Stockton. In addition he set records for blocked shots by a guard, and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a fearsome weakside help defender. Jerry West often said that for all Jordan’s records and statistics, he was most amazed that Jordan was "the best defensive player in the league."

Jordan’s legacy

"By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."
      - introductory line of Jordan’s nba.com/history biography

"There’s Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us."
     - Magic Johnson

Michael Jordan’s basketball talent was clear from his rookie season. His dunks, tenacious defense and ability to score amazed fans and opponents. After Jordan poured in a playoff-record 63 points against the Boston Celtics in 1986, Celtic superstar Larry Bird described him as "God disguised as Michael Jordan."

Jordan led the NBA in scoring 10 seasons, tying Wilt Chamberlain for consecutive scoring titles with seven in a row, but was also a fixture on the All-NBA Defensive Team, making the roster nine times. Jordan also holds the top career and playoff scoring averages of 30.1 and 33.4 points per game, respectively. By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning shot against the Jazz, he was feared throughout the league as one of the game’s best clutch performers. In the regular season, Jordan was the Bulls’ primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs, Jordan would always demand the ball at crunch time.

With 14 MVPs (5 regular-season MVPs, 6 Finals MVPs, and 3 All-Star MVPs), Jordan is arguably the most decorated player ever to play in the NBA. Jordan finished among the top three in regular-season MVP voting 10 times. (Magic Johnson did so nine times; Larry Bird, eight times; Chamberlain, seven times; and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, nine times.) Jordan was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.

Many of Jordan’s contemporaries label Jordan as the greatest men’s professional basketball player of all time. An ESPN survey of journalists, athletes and other sports figures ranked Jordan the greatest athlete of the 20th century, above icons such as Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali.

Jordan’s high flying acrobatic endeavors, vividly illustrated in his back-to-back slam dunk contest championships in 1987 and 1988, influenced a generation of young players. In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players "the next Michael Jordan" upon their entry to the NBA, including Anfernee Hardaway, Grant Hill, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade.

Source: This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia.