61 comments!

Michael Jordan Bio

Full Name: Michael Jeffrey Jordan
Birthday: February 17, 1963
Birthplace: Brooklyn NY (raised in Wilmington, NC)
College: North Carolina Tarheels
First NBA draft: Chicago Bulls in 1984
Nickname: Air Jordan
Height: 6’6
Weight: 215 lbs

1st Air

Last Wiz

Humble Pie

Buzzer Beater

Class Pic

Dunk Champ

Baseball Burden

NBA Champ

SI Superstar

Air Jordan

It was really hard to guess who the greatest athlete of all time was… until Michael Jordan came along. In no other sport has an athlete dominated the game with such grace and humility. Michael was not just a fast, smart and powerful basketball player, but he separated himself from everyone else by being creative and improvising the way basketball was played. Michael made the impossible… possible.

Humble Pie

Young Mikey

Class Pic

Michael’s favorite sport was actually baseball because his dad James loved it so much. It was his brother Larry that got Mike to jump into basketball. But Michael was a late bloomer around the hoops. He was even cut by his high school team in his sophomore year.

Michael's March Madness

Buzzer Beater

The North Carolina Tarheels is the team where Michael must have found his all-star abilities. That's where Michael played college basketball. Even though Michael wasn’t considered the best on the team, he got to take the last shot in the NCAA Championship game (the March Madness tournament) vs Georgetown. The Tarheels were down 1 point at the very end of the game and Michael got the ball... so if Michael hit the shot they would win, but miss they would lose… Nothing but Net! Michael made the biggest jump shot of his life and was headed to the NBA as a confident potential superstar.

Chicago Bulls' Bonanza

SI Superstar

Michael was drafted by the Chicago Bulls not first... not even second, but as the 3rd pick. He could have been a Houston Rocket or a Portland Trailblazer, but those two teams decided to choose different players. Wow... what luck for Chicago!!! The Bulls became a dynasty team for the very first time with Head Coach Phil Jackson, and key players like Scottie Pippen and later Denis Rodman.

Becoming the Best

NBA Champ

It wasn’t easy for Michael to become the best. Even though his numbers were incredible leading the league in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals, Michael had a difficult time in his first years trying to win a championship. It wasn’t until the 1990s where Michael would 3-peat once and then 3-peat again!

Baseball Blues

Baseball Burden

Michael actually took a couple of years off basketball in 1994-95 to play baseball. His dad had been murdered in an armed robbery, so Michael wanted to play the game that his dad cherished so much. Even though he got to play some games for the Chicago White Sox, Michael soon quit and went back to basketball

Air Jordan Icon

Air Jordan

Everyone knows it… the bald headed figure soaring through the sky with a basketball… Michael’s Air Jordan trademark has become a legacy. It all started when Michael won back-to-back slam dunk contests and the photograph’s became posters in almost every kid’s bedroom

1st Air

With his tongue sticking out in every flight, Michael’s image was epic. He revolutionized the fashion of basketball by wearing his black and red Air Jordan sneakers that were against the NBA dress code. He paid the fines with his pocket change from Nike’s endorsements and even now 10 years after his retirement, he is still one of the top 50 highest paid athlete’s in the world.

Michael the Master

Last Wiz

Even though Michael had a tough time retiring basketball, he can’t be touched in the way he mastered basketball. He ended his career unsuccessfully with the Washington Wizards in 2002, but even that season showed how much he loved the game… and that is really what it is all about.

”There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, and I don't believe there is only one greatest player either. Everyone plays in different eras. I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else's talent. I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era. Without Julius Erving, David Thompson, Walter Davis, and Elgin Baylor there would never have been a Michael Jordan. I evolved from them.“

-Michael Jordan