Michael Jordan is an American former basketball player who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships and won the Most Valuable Player Award five times.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is an American professional basketball player, Olympian, businessman, and actor.
Considered one of the greatest basketball players in history, Michael Jordan dominated the sport from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s.
He led the Chicago Bulls to six National Basketball Association championships and won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award five times.
With five regular season MVPs and three All-Star MVPs, Jordan became the most decorated player in the NBA.
Between his six NBA championships, restaurants, involvement with the Charlotte Hornets, corporate endorsement with Nike, and endorsement deals with Gatorade, Hanes, and Upper Deck, Michael Jordan’s estimated net worth is more than $1 billion.
Biography of Michael Jordan
How tall is Michael Jordan?
Basketball player Michael Jordan is 6 feet 6 inches tall.
Wives and children of Michael Jordan
In 1989, Michael Jordan married Juanita Vanoy. They had three children together: Jeffrey, Marcus, and Jasmine. After 17 years of marriage, the couple divorced in December 2006.
In 2007, Michael Jordan’s eldest son, Jeffrey Jordan, made the University of Illinois basketball team. Both Michael Jordan and his ex-wife Juanita have supported his son and tried to help him deal with playing in the shadow of an NBA legend.
«You want to be a basketball player, but you want to do it on your own terms…. What we’ve tried to tell Jeff is that you set your own expectations.
There’s no way in this world you can live up to the expectations of someone else who you are,» Michael Jordan said during an appearance on the Today show.
On April 27, 2013, Jordan married 35-year-old Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto in Palm Beach, Florida.
Tiger Woods, Spike Lee and Patrick Ewing, among other celebrities, would have attended the wedding ceremony. The couple welcomed their twin daughters, Victoria and Ysabel, in February 2014.
When and where was Michael Jordan born?
Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York.
The childhood
Growing up in Wilmington, North Carolina, Jordan developed a competitive edge at a young age. He wanted to win every game he played. As his father, James, later noted, «What he does have is a competition issue. He was born with it….the person he’s trying to outdo most of the time is himself.»
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)
Jordan enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981 and soon became an important member of the school’s basketball team.
UNC won the NCAA Division I championship in 1982, with Jordan scoring the last basket needed to defeat Georgetown University.
He was also voted NCAA College Player of the Year in 1983 and 1984.
olympics
During the summer of 1984, Jordan made his first appearance in the Olympic Games as a member of the United States Olympic basketball team.
The team won gold at that year’s games, which were held in Los Angeles.
Later, Jordan helped the US team take home the gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games, held in Barcelona, Spain.
NBA professional career
Jordan dropped out of college after his junior year to join the NBA. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls, he soon proved his worth on the court.
He helped the team reach the playoffs and averaged 28.2 points per game that season. For his efforts, Jordan received the NBA Rookie of the Year award and was selected for the All-Star Game.
In 1985, Jordan finished his degree in geography and continued to play basketball professionally.
While his second season was marred by injury, he was breaking new ground on the court during the 1986-1987 season.
He became the first player since Wilt Chamberlin to score over 3,000 points in a single season.
In the late 1980s, the Chicago Bulls were quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with, and Jordan was an instrumental part of the team’s success.
The Bulls reached the Eastern Conference finals in 1990 and won their first NBA championship the following year by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers.
A rising NBA superstar, Jordan became known for his power and agility on the court, as well as his leadership skills.
In 1992, the Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers to win their second NBA championship.
The team claimed its third championship the following year, dominating the basketball world.
After a short stint in minor league baseball, in March 1995 Jordan returned to the basketball court, rejoining the Chicago Bulls and eventually helping them win the championship against the Seattle Sonics in the 1995-96 season.
In the following season, Jordan came back even stronger, averaging 30.4 points per game.
Starting all 82 games that season, he helped the team finish the regular season with 72 wins and earn an NBA Finals victory against the Utah Jazz.
The two teams met again in the 1998 championship, and Jordan helped the Bulls beat them for the second year in a row.
Retiring after the 1997-98 season, Jordan joined the Washington Wizards as part owner and president of basketball operations.
In the fall of 2001, Jordan stepped down from these duties to return to court once more. He played with the Wizards for two seasons before finally hanging up his jersey in 2003.
Baseball career
In a move that surprised many, after the end of the 1992-93 basketball season, Michael Jordan announced his retirement from basketball to pursue baseball.
For a year, Jordan played on a minor league team, the Birmingham Barons, as an outfielder.
This decision came shortly after the loss of his father, James, in an act of violence: Two teenagers shot James Jordan during an apparent robbery and were later convicted of the crime.
businessman and actor
Outside of his basketball career, Michael Jordan has been involved in a number of profitable businesses and commercial ventures.
Offers
Over the years, Michael Jordan has signed a number of promotional deals with brands including Nike, Hanes, Upper Deck, Gatorade, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Chevrolet, and Wheaties.
Space Jam
Jordan made a big impact in movies as the star of the 1996 film Space Jam.
The film mixed live action and animation and paired Jordan with cartoon legends Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck on screen.
Part-owning Charlotte Bobcats
In 2006, Jordan purchased a portion of the Charlotte Bobcats and joined the team’s executive ranks as a managing member of basketball operations.
In 2010, he became the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats and is the team’s president.
Jordan’s priority seems to be to improve the team’s record, which is not as good as it seems.
He told ESPN in November 2012 that «I don’t expect to get out of this business. My competitive nature is that I want to succeed. It’s always been said that when I can’t find a way to do something, I’ll find a way to do it.»
michael jordan restaurant
In 1998, Michael Jordan jumped into the restaurant business as the owner of Michael Jordan’s The Steak House NYC.
Designed to reflect Jordanian tastes and style, this typical restaurant seats 150 and 60 people at the bar, occupying 7,000 square feet in Grand Central Terminal. Other locations include Uncasville, CT, Chicago, Ridgefield, WA.
Golf Charity
From 2001 to 2014, Michael Jordan hosted an annual charity golf event known as the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational, with proceeds benefiting foundations such as Make-A-Wish, Cats Care, the James R. Jordan Foundation, Keep Memory Alive, and Opportunity Village. .
The four-day tournament and celebration drew celebrity entrants such as Wayne Gretzky, Michael Phelps, Chevy Chase, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mark Wahlberg.
Awards
Jordan received his first NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 1988, an honor he would win four more times in 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998.
In April 2009, Jordan received one of basketball’s highest honors: He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Attending the swearing-in ceremony was a bittersweet affair for Jordan because being at the event meant that «your basketball career is completely over,» he explained.
In 2016, Jordan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama.
Michael Jordan Statistics
Vertical jump 48 inches
career averages
G: 1,072
GS: 1,039
MPG: 38.3
GFR%: 0.497
3P%: 0.327
FT%: 0.835
rebounds per game
OFF: 1.60
DEF: 4.70
RPG: 6.20
GPA: 5.3
GSP: 2.35
BPG: 0.83
FOR: 2.73
PF: 2.60
PPG: 30.1
race totals
MIN: 41,011
FGM-A: 12,192-24,537
15:00 HOURS-A: 581-1,778
FTM-A: 7,327-8,772
bounces:
DESCENDED: 1,668
DEF: 5,004
TOTAL: 6,672
LAP: 5,633
STL: 2,514
IN BLK: 893
TO: 2,924
PF: 2,783
STP: 32,292
10 curiosities of Michael Jordan
Without a doubt, Michael Jordan is one of the most iconic figures in basketball history! His skill on the court, his inimitable style of play and his commanding presence in the game have left an indelible mark on the world of basketball and popular culture. Here are ten fascinating facts about Michael Jordan that you may not know:
Michael Jordan wasn’t always a basketball player: Although he is known for being one of the best basketball players of all time, in his youth Jordan also excelled in baseball and American football.Jordan was drafted by the Bulls third overall in the 1984 NBA Draft: Incredible as it may seem, Jordan was not selected as the first choice in the NBA draft in which he participated.His first endorsement deal with Nike was for $2.5 million: Jordan’s partnership with sportswear brand Nike has been one of the most successful and long-lasting in the history of sports marketing.Jordan was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009: this recognition is given to players who have made a significant impact on the sport of basketball internationally.Jordan owns an NBA team: Jordan is the owner of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team, which has been his team since they moved to Charlotte in 2004.Jordan is the player with the most NBA scoring titles: With a total of 10 NBA scoring titles, Jordan is the player who has accomplished this feat the most times.Jordan is the first player to win the MVP of the All-Star Game, the MVP of the season…