Michael Jordan - Biography

Last Editor: dmacias				Michael Jordan Biography -   Name : Michael Jordan Birth Date : February 17, 1963 Birth Place : Brooklyn, New York Birth Name : Michael Jeffry Jordan Height : 6' 6'' Education : Laney H.S. in Wilmington, NC North Carolina 1985 Wife : Juanita Vanoy Jordan Nationality : American Best Known As : The world's most famous basketball player NBA Experience : 13 seasons

Michael Jordan Trivia -

Attended the University of North Carolina. Drafted: 1st Rd-Pick 3 Chicago, 1984. Drafted behind Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie. Salary: Earns about $80 million from Nike/Earned $35 million a year playing in the NBA. He has his own line of sport clothing called JORDAN. [1997-98 season] Shoe: Air Chosen in 1996 as one of the 50 greatest players of all time. Chosen by People Magazine as one of The Most Intriguing People of the Century. [1997] Professional basketball player in the NBA. Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. [1991] In 1999, ESPN voted him as the greatest athlete of the twentieth century. In 2000, he was named part owner and director of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards basketball team. His father was murdered while sleeping in his car, which led Jordan to his first retirment in 1993. Two-time Olympic gold medalist in men's basketball, in 1984 in L.A. and 1992 in Barcelona (as part of the celebrated original Dream Team). Paid more than $30 million in his final season with the Chicago Bulls. In January 2002, wife Juanita filed for divorce in circuit court in Waukegan, Illinois, citing "irreconcilable differences." She sought permanent custody of the couple's three children, their 25,000-square-foot home in Highland Park and half the couple's property. She withdrew the divorce papers a month later only to re-file them seven years later. Fortune estimated at $400 million. A virtual endorsement cash cow, no athlete has had a larger impact on the economy. Began shaving his head when he started going bald. Grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina. Attended Laney High School in Wilmington, NC. The gymnasium is now called the "Michael Jordan Gym" in his honor. Buys custom-tailored shirts monogrammed with "Michael" or "MJ". Moved past Wilt Chamberlain for third-place all-time on the NBA scoring list [23 January 2003]. Third of five children. Children with ex-wife Juanita: sons Jeffrey Michael (b. 18 November 1988) and Marcus James (b. 24 December 1990), and daughter Jasmine Mickael (b. 7 December 1992). Has a tattoo of the Greek letter 'Omega' over his heart, representing Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, of which he is a member. Fired by the Washington Wizards due to player dissension, the team finishing 37-45 two years in a row, and dissonance in the organization involving Jordan's people. Jordan was hired on 19 January 2000 as chief executive and president of basketball operations. Owner Abe Pollin gave him free rein to run the Wizards, and Jordan eventually bought a percentage of the team. He got $10 million in severance. (7 May 2003). In a 1988 game against the Utah Jazz, he dunked over John Stockton, who was 6' 1" and 175 pounds. A Jazz fan heckled him, saying, "Why don't you dunk on somebody your own size?" The next trip down the floor, Jordan dunked again, this time on 6' 11", 285-lb. center 'Melvin Turpin'. He then turned to the fan and said, "Was he big enough?". Wore the #23 for his NBA career with the Chicago Bulls, and the Washington Wizards. Sometimes wore the #45 because it was his older brother Larry's number in high school. Neither of his parents are more than 5' 9" tall. In Space Jam (1996), he tells the Looney Tunes that he used to wear his UNC shorts under his Bulls jersey in every game he played in. He really did do this, as a good luck charm. Has numerous records and awards under his name and career, including most points in a single playoff game (63), most scoring titles (10), highest scoring average (31 points per game), and most three pointers in one quarter of a playoff game (5). Known as the world's greatest clutch player in basketball for his numerous shots and high-flying moves to win games. He eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers twice from the NBA playoffs due to last-second shots, and won his last NBA championship with a steal and a shot. The Chicago Bulls' all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists and steals. The only category he doesn't hold is blocks, still held by Artis Gilmore. His #23 is one of four retired numbers for the Bulls (along with Bob Love's #10, Scottie Pippen's #33 and Jerry Sloan's #4). While most are familiar with his obvious #23 and the #45 he wore when he returned from a brief baseball career in 1995, Jordan also wore #12. However, he wore it in only one game--in 1990 after an Orlando Magic Arena employee stole his uniform. It was a back-up jersey and did not even feature a last name. He scored 49 points in the game, leading the Bulls win over the Magic. While his baseball career was considered a sham and widely criticized, his performance was not as poor as depicted in the press. While he only batted .202 with 3 Home Runs and committed 11 errors, he also had 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, and 6 outfield assists. He led the Birmingham Barons with 11 bases-loaded RBI and 25 RBI with runners in scoring position and two outs. With those statistics, he may have been the best clutch hitter on that team. On 14 June 1998, Jordan made a shot that won the Chicago Bulls their 6th NBA championship in 8 years. "Jordan Hits the Last Shot" was ranked #2 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Most Awesome Sports Moments (of the last 15 years)". [17 July 2005 issue] His 37.1 points per game season average during the 1986-1987 season was the third highest in history. The first two were both held by Wilt Chamberlain. Contrary to popular belief, Jordan does not hold the regular season single game scoring record. Wilt Chamberlain has the highest at 100, followed by Kobe Bryant at 81, David Thompson at 73 and David Robinson at 71. Jordan's single game-scoring high was 69 points, making his the fifth highest single-game scoring record in history. His 1992 playoff game against the Portland Trailblazers, where he had 35 first-half points and nailed seven three-pointers in a row, has been claimed by many as "the closest anyone has ever come to playing a perfect game of basketball." Ironically, Jordan was bypassed in the 1984 draft by the Trailblazers, who picked Sam Bowie instead, a move that has gone down in history as one of the biggest draft-day blunders ever. Participated in three slam dunk contests, winning two of them. Reinvented some of the traditions and rules in basketball. Started the trend of the long-length shorts. He claims he wore them that length so he could cover up his North Carolina shorts, which he always wore during his pro career. However, his style caught on, and soon mostly everyone wore their shorts at a longer length. A new rule also was invented were a player could take one extra step if he was in the process of shooting, passing, or driving to the hoop. This was because of how Jordan would do this quite often in his career without getting a traveling call. Showing just how truly talented he was, Jordan's rookie three-point average was around 14%. By his last season he got it up to around 40%. Also, known for his poor defense, rebounding and assists, Jordan became a regular on the NBA All-Defense team, won the defensive player of the year award and one season averaged eight assists and eight rebounds to go with 35 points, the closest a player has come to averaging a triple-double since Oscar Robertson did. During his record performance of 63 points against the Boston Celtics in the playoffs, Larry Bird claimed that Jordan was "God disguised as Michael Jordan.". Played with the Chicago Bulls for 14 years, 1984-1998, and with the Washington Wizards for 2 years, 2001-2003. Topped "Forbes" magazine's "The 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces", with an estimated settlement of $150 million (April 2007). James Lafferty's character Nathan Scott wears Jordan's number 23 on One Tree Hill. In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated his earnings for the year at $31 million. Lives in Chicago.

Michael Jordan Detailed Biography -

Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Wilmington, North Carolina. He accepted a basketball scholarship from the University of North Carolina and as a freshman scored the winning basket in the 1982 NCAA championship game against the Hoyas of Georgetown. Jordan was selected college player of the year for the 1983-1984 season, and in 1984 he led the United States basketball team to a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Jordan left college in 1984 to play with the Bulls. He finished his first season (1984-1985) as one of the top scorers in the league, with an average of 28.2 points per game. He was also named rookie of the year and made the first of his nine All-Star game appearances. He has six championship rings to back up his claim, including 3 straight from 1991-1993, and 3 more in 1996-1998. Michael was named the NBA Finals MVP in all of those titles. He's won them all with Scottie Pippen. In 1991, Jordan's Bulls finally overcame the greatest impediment to their team's success, Isiah Thomas' Detroit Pistons, who had regularly eliminated the Bulls from the playoffs. In 1993 he averaged 41.0 ppg in the finals, for a record. This 6-6 superstar guard is a perennial NBA first teamer (10 times from 1987-1993 and 1996 and again as a unanimous selection in 1997 and 1998). He was once again an All-NBA First Team member in 1996 after making his return from baseball. You can always pencil Mike in as the starting guard for the all-star game (12 appearances in 1985 and from 1987-1993 and again in 1997). He started for the ninth time in 1997, as the first player EVER to receive more that 2 million votes. In the 1997 Game he became the first player ever to record a triple double in the all-star game with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 asssists. Jordan was not named MVP that year (Glen Rice received that honor), but he did win the Game's MVP award in 1988 after scoring 40 points and again in 1996. Jordan was once again elected to start (10th time in 12 appearances) in 1998 after leading the eastern conference in voting. Jordan holds the record for most career scoring titles with eight, including 7 straight, also a record. He scores so many points that it is almost unfair to compare him with other players. On November 6, 1996 Michael scored 50 points for the 36th time in his career! Jordan eclipsed the 25,000 career points total, and he continues to dominate in that statistical category. He was the tenth player to score that many points, accomplishing the feat against San Antonio on November 30, 1996, with his 35th point of the game. Oh yeah, he's also the Bull's All-Time leading scorer, no surprise there. His career scoring average of around 32 ppg is the best of all-time...even better than Wilt and Jordan never scored 100 points in a game. On 12/30/97 Jordan broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of scoring in double digits in 788 consecutive games. He will undoubtedly bury this record, as there is no end in sight to his double-digit habits. He ended the season with 840 consecutive games. Michael Jordan is the greatest athlete in basketball history. During his brilliant career, Jordan won 6 NBA Championships, earned 5 MVP awards and was selected to 12 All-Star games.