Michael Jeffrey Jordan

Awards & Achievements

• Entitled as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in season 1987-1988
• Entitled as the ACC Freshman of the Year in season 1981-82
• Honoured with the John R. Wooden Award and Adolph Rupp Trophy in 1983-84
• Honoured as the ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, USBWA College Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year for season 1983-84
• Won six NBA Championships as a member of Chicago Bulls (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998)
• Honoured as the “Athlete of the Year” by Associated Press consecutively three times (1991, 1992 and 1993)
• Entitled as the “Sportsperson of the Year” by Sports Illustrated in 1991
• Bagged gold medals at the Olympics of 1984 and 1992
• Enlisted amongst the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996
• Entitled as NBA Most Valuable Player in five seasons (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998)

If you push me towards a weakness, I will turn that weakness into a strength.

Of course, there’s no need to define this iconic personality who actually redefined the game of Basketball, imprinting his name in the mind of every basketball fanatic around the world. Fondly known with the titles “MJ”, “Air Jordan” and “His Airness”; Jordan is best known for his extraordinary leaping ability, acrobatic maneuvers, speed, power, artistry, improvisational ability, competitive desire and leadership at the court that made him able to win the title of 6 NBA Championships, 2 Olympic gold medals (1984 and 1992), Pan American Games of 1983, FIBA Americas Championship (1992), along with the heart of each and every Tar Heel. Here we have briefed the career journey of this legendary player for all his fanatics and basketball lovers; embedded with his whopping victory records, unbeatable performances and impressive stats express our honour to the brightest star of NBA.

Born in Brooklyn, New York to a bank employee Deloris and James R. Jordan Sr., an equipment supervisor; Michael spent his childhood springs in Wilmington along with his four siblings amongst whom he is the fourth one. While attending the Emsley A. Laney High School Jordan showed a keen interest in sports, playing basketball, baseball, and football and excelled in the second one as the finest in the school. From the initial phase of his sports career, Jordan gave all his efforts to excel in his sport and used to practice harder. During his school's plays, he used to be the top scorer of his team, his presence been mandatory for every match.

Jordan’s potentials found the right direction when he joined the team-oriented system of ‘Coaching Legend’ Dean Smith. He gained an average of 13.4 points per game on 53.4% shooting and was named as the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) Freshman of the Year. With his strong influence, the North Carolina Tar Heels won the 1982 NCAA Championship which was the major turning point in Jordan’s career after which he was selected as a player of Chicago Bulls in the third NBA Draft to play in the 1984 season.

In the 1984 season of NBA, Jordan showed flashes of brilliance and became the pin-up boy. This exceptionally talented shooter and passer showed his skills with the ball, performing slam dunks from free throw lines earning appreciable averages. Some of his fellow players started feeling a pinch of jealousy because of his big fan following, leading to a so-called ‘freeze-out’ on Jordan where players refused to give him a pass during the game. But, what made Jordan unique was his gentle and neutral attitude towards all the controversies taking place at that time. Post his season victory Jordan encountered a severe leg injury that caused him to miss 64 games.

I have failed many times, but I have never gone into a game expecting myself to fail.

Jordan assured to play in the 1986-87 season and made it one of the most memorable seasons in the NBA history by becoming the only player to score more than 3000 points in a single season with 200 steals and 100 blocked shots. The following season, he won his first league MVP award along with the title of “Defensive Player of the Year”. In the NBA season of 1988-89; Jordan initiated the league with an average of 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting and helped the Bulls advancing to the finals defeating Cavaliers and New York Knicks. The season favoured Detroit Pistons because of their strong playing strategy against Jordan which is popularly known as “Jordan Rules” where; two or three players used to team up to guard Jordan every time he touched the ball. Although Jordan scored appreciably in the next season under the great guidance of new coach Phil Jackson; yet Pistons' dominating strategy worked harder on Jordan, and they again bagged the season title inspite of Bulls pushing the series to seven games. In the season 1990-91; the Bulls sweat harder to advance to the Finals in which they eventually succeed. Jordan bagged his second MVP title with 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting and the team beat Pistons for the first time in a four-game sweep. The season ended with a phenomenal win of Chicago Bulls, and Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award. Jordan; being the strongest base of Bulls; aided to lead the following two seasons.

In 1993, Jordan announced his retirement and began his baseball career showing a bit less interest in playing basketball, post his father’s death three months ago. He signed up a Minor League Baseball Contract with Chicago White Socks in 1994 and later stated that he switched to baseball to fulfil the wish of his father who had always wanted him to be an MLB player. Post this decision, Bulls retired Jordan’s jersey no. 23 and was honoured for his playing spirit by erecting a sculpture “The Spirit” outside the United Center. But as it is said that the ship can’t be sailed in the right direction in the absence of an ideal captain; Chicago Bulls’ graph began dropping in the NBA season 1993-94, and the team yearned for Jordan. The ball was in the court of Jordan, and he decided to aid Bulls, denying playing baseball as a replacement player and announced his return to the NBA in 1995; giving a sigh of relief to his team and fans. Jordan played well on court inspite of a year leap and advanced the team to the semifinals of Eastern Conference but failed to bag the season title. But Jordan knew his worth in the team and that he had to train aggressively for the next season which he did and Bulls eventually bagged the title. The next season, Jordan gave the most memorable clutch moments of his career with his outstanding ‘buzzer-beating’ jump and played inspite of being feverish and dehydrated, and the match was known as the “Flu Game”. His efforts once again lead the team to the winning streaks of six games.

With his remarkable playing journey, Jordan bid farewell to the basketball court for the second time on 13th January 1999 but returned to NBA in 2000 as an owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards. Jordan aided the national team as well with his exuberance and aplomb to win a gold medal at the Summer Olympics of 1984 and 1992 and was a member of the star-studded squad that included Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and David Robinson. Jordan took retirement from the basketball court but not from practising sports. He started playing celebrity charity golf tournaments, promoting his brand clothing line and rode motorcycles. The professional motorcycle road racing team Michael Jordan Motorsports belongs to him.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Throughout his career span, Jordan has showcased amazing techniques, supersonic speed, flawless footwork and the most effective working strategy to create magic on the basketball court. This wizard of basketball truly deserves to be called the greatest basketball player of all time. His success streaks give a fine reflection of what he believes which is to fly high…He is the one who signifies through his performance that basketball is a sport that not only needs physical accuracy and acceleration but also a sport of mental strength and bravery to perform even when the body doesn’t allow you and to take a risk even when there is no clear vision of victory. Each of his performance is an excellent example of how the game should be played with a spirit of leadership and competence, becoming an excellent tutorial for all aspiring athletes. His gifted skills made him the most wanted player of Chicago Bulls to perform in NBA seasons, and that’s the reason why he always gets backed to the team inspite of his retirements from the game.

Credits: YouTube