Michael JordanAmerican basketball player

Also known as: Air Jordan, MJ, Michael Jeffrey Jordan

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Last Updated: Apr 3, 2024 • Article History

Michael Jordan

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Category: Arts & Culture

In full:

Michael Jeffrey Jordan

Byname:

Air Jordan

Born:

February 17, 1963, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. (age 61)

Awards And Honors:

Olympic Games
 Most Valuable Player

Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016)

Basketball Hall of Fame (2009)

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Michael Jordan (born February 17, 1963, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is an American collegiate
and professional basketball player widely considered to be one of the greatest all-around players
in the history of the game. He led the Chicago Bulls to six National Basketball Association
(NBA) championships (1991–93, 1996–98).

(Read James Naismith’s 1929 Britannica essay on his invention of basketball.)

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Jordan grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and entered the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill in 1981. As a freshman, he made the winning basket against Georgetown in the 1982
national championship game. Jordan was named College Player of the Year in both his
sophomore and junior years, leaving North Carolina after his junior year. He led the U.S.
basketball team to Olympic gold medals in 1984 in Los Angeles and in 1992 in Barcelona,
Spain.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan, 1988.

Michael Jordan

In 1984 Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls. In his first season (1984–85) as a professional,
he led the league in scoring and was named Rookie of the Year; after missing most of the
following season with a broken foot, he returned to lead the NBA in scoring for seven
consecutive seasons, averaging about 33 points per game. He was only the second player (after
Wilt Chamberlain) to score 3,000 points in a single season (1986–87). Jordan was named the
NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) five times (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998) and was also
named Defensive Player of the Year in 1988. In October 1993, after leading the Bulls to their
third consecutive championship, Jordan retired briefly and pursued a career in professional
baseball. He returned to basketball in March 1995. In the 1995–96 season Jordan led the Bulls to
a 72–10 regular season record, the best in the history of the NBA (broken in 2015–16 by the
Golden State Warriors). From 1996 to 1998 the Jordan-led Bulls again won three championships
in a row, and each time Jordan was named MVP of the NBA finals. After the 1997–98 season
Jordan retired again.

Jordan remained close to the sport, buying a share of the Washington Wizards in January 2000.
He was also appointed president of basketball operations for the club. However, managing
rosters and salary caps was not enough for Jordan, and in September 2001 he renounced his
ownership and management positions with the Wizards in order to be a player on the team. His
second return to the NBA was greeted with enthusiasm by the league, which had suffered
declining attendance and television ratings since his 1998 retirement. After the 2002–03 season,
Jordan announced his final retirement. He ended his career with 32,292 total points and a 30.12-
points-per-game average, which was the best in league history, as well as 2,514 steals, the
second most ever. In 2006 Jordan became minority owner and general manager of the NBA’s
Charlotte Bobcats (now known as the Charlotte Hornets). He bought a controlling interest in the
team in 2010 and became the first former NBA player to become a majority owner of one of the
league’s franchises.

Space Jam

(From left to right): Bill Murray, Bugs Bunny, and Michael Jordan on a lobby card for Space Jam (1996).

During his playing career, Jordan, a guard, standing 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres) tall, was an
exceptionally talented shooter and passer and a tenacious defender. He earned the nickname “Air
Jordan” because of his extraordinary leaping ability and acrobatic maneuvers, and his popularity
reached heights few athletes (or celebrities of any sort) have known. He accumulated millions of
dollars from endorsements, most notably for his Air Jordan basketball shoes. He also made a
successful film, Space Jam (1996), in which he starred with animated characters Bugs Bunny
and Daffy Duck. In 1996 the NBA named him one of the 50 greatest players of all time, and in
2009 he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by
Encyclopaedia Britannica.

NCAA Division I men’s college basketball champions

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