Michael Jordan

Lore & Background

Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Wilmington, North Carolina. He attended Emsley A. Laney High School, where he initially failed to make the varsity basketball team due to his height but later grew and became a star. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, hitting the game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game as a freshman. Jordan left college after his junior year in 1984, selected third overall by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA draft.

With the Bulls, Jordan became a league star known for prolific scoring, defensive prowess, and competitiveness. He won his first NBA title in 1991, followed by two more for a three-peat. Citing exhaustion, he abruptly retired before the 1993–94 season to play Minor League Baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization. He returned to the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three more championships (1996, 1997, 1998), including a then-record 72 regular-season wins in 1995–96. Jordan retired again in 1999, then returned for two seasons with the Washington Wizards from 2001 to 2003.

Reader's Guide

Michael Jordan's significance extends beyond his on-court achievements. He is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA globally during the 1980s and 1990s. His individual accolades include six NBA Finals MVP awards, five NBA MVP awards, an NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, and ten scoring titles—all records. He holds NBA records for career regular-season scoring average (30.1 points per game) and playoff scoring average (33.4 points per game). Off the court, Jordan became one of the most effectively marketed athletes ever, fueling the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers. He starred in the film Space Jam (1996) and was the focus of the documentary series The Last Dance (2020). He later became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Hornets, eventually selling his majority stake in 2023. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Jordan is the wealthiest athlete of all time with official records, with a net worth of $4.3 billion as of 2026.

Did You Know?

• Jordan was named the 20th century's greatest North American athlete by ESPN in 1999.
• He won four gold medals with the U.S. national team, including at the 1984 and 1992 Summer Olympics.
• The NBA Most Valuable Player Award trophy is named in his honor.
• Jordan was twice inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: in 2009 for his individual career and in 2010 as part of the 1992 Dream Team.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Announcing his retirement from the Bulls (1993-10-06) Classic NBA Quotes: Michael Jordan. NBA Encyclopedia. NBA Media Ventures. Retrieved on 2006-11-24." — Michael Jordan "Announcing his return to the Bulls (1995-03-18), Classic NBA Quotes: Michael Jordan. NBA Encyclopedia. NBA Media Ventures. Retrieved on 2006-11-22." — Michael Jordan "I'm retired 99.9%. Of course, there always is that .1%." — Michael Jordan "Statement of 1999-02-18 Classic NBA Quotes: Michael Jordan. NBA Encyclopedia. NBA Media Ventures. Retrieved on 2006-11-22." — Michael Jordan