|
Michael Jordan, the best known athlete in the world, is a leading
scorer in the National Basketball Association (NBA), who led the Chicago
Bulls to many recent NBA championships. He is, by far, and will be for a
time to come, the best basketball player in the history of the game.
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. Jordan finished the 1986-1987 season as the second player,
after Wilt Chamberlain, to score more than 3000 points in a single season.
He led the NBA in scoring for seven consecutive seasons (1987-1993), tying
Chamberlain's record, and averaged more than 30 points per game in each
season. He also became the Bulls' all-time leading scorer and set numerous
scoring records, including most points in a playoff game (63 points
against the Boston Celtics in 1986); and highest scoring average for an
NBA championship series (41 points per game in the 1993 NBA finals). He
led the Chicago Bulls to their first NBA championship title in 1991; with
Jordan, the Bulls won again in 1992 and 1993. In addition to his three
league Most Valuable Player awards (1988, 1991, 1992), Jordan won the
All-Star game MVP award twice (1988, 1996) and a record three-consecutive
NBA championship series MVP awards (1991-1993). Jordan was also a member
of the United States Olympic basketball team, known as the Dream Team,
that captured the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Stating that he had lost his desire to play professional basketball,
Jordan announced his retirement prior to the 1993-1994 season. Initially
noted for his scoring, his tenacious defensive play had made him one of
the greatest all-around basketball players in NBA history. He had also
become a worldwide celebrity due to his success in the NBA and the
Olympics, and his numerous commercial endorsements.
|
