Michael Jordan

COBZARI-GOIA ALEX
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963),
also known by his initials MJ, is an American
businessman and former professional basketball
player. His biography on the official NBA website
states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the
greatest basketball player of all time." He played
fifteen seasons in the National Basketball
Association (NBA), winning six NBA
championships with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan is the
principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte
Hornets of the NBA and of 23XI Racing in the
NASCAR Cup Series. He was integral in
popularizing the NBA around the world in the
1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon in
the process.
Jordan played college basketball for three seasons under coach
Dean Smith with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he
was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in
1982. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft
pick, and quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds
with his prolific scoring while gaining a reputation as one of the
game's best defensive players. His leaping ability, demonstrated
by performing slam dunks from the free-throw line in Slam Dunk
Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His
Airness".
 Early life
 Jordan was born at Cumberland Hospital in
Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City, on
February 17, 1963, the son of bank employee
Deloris (née Peoples) and equipment
supervisor James R. Jordan Sr. In 1968, he
moved with his family to Wilmington, North
Carolina. Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney
High School in Wilmington, where he
highlighted his athletic career by playing
basketball, baseball, and football. He tried
out for the basketball varsity team during his
sophomore year; at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m),
he was deemed too short to play at that level.
His taller friend Harvest Leroy Smith was
the only sophomore to make the team.
Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of
Laney's junior varsity team, and tallied some 40-point
games. The following summer, he grew four inches (10
cm) and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the
varsity roster, Jordan averaged more than 25 points per
game (ppg) over his final two seasons of high school
play. As a senior, he was selected to play in the 1981
McDonald's All-American Game and scored 30 points,
after averaging 27 ppg, 12 rebounds and six assists per
game (apg) for the season. Jordan was recruited by
numerous college basketball programs, including Duke,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Syracuse, and Virginia.
In 1981, he accepted a basketball scholarship to the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he
majored in cultural geography.
 College career
 As a freshman in coach Dean Smith's team-oriented
system, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year
after he averaged 13.4 ppg on 53.4% shooting (field goal
percentage). He made the game-winning jump shot in the
1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown,
which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing. Jordan
later described this shot as the major turning point in his
basketball career. During his three seasons with the Tar
Heels, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and Jordan going in for a Jordan in action
added 5.0 rpg and 1.8 apg. slam dunk for the for North
Laney High School Carolina in
varsity basketball 1983
team, 1979–80
Professional career
 Chicago Bulls (1984–1993; 1995–1998)
Early NBA years (1984–1987)
 The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third
overall pick of the 1984 NBA draft after Hakeem
Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland
Trail Blazers). One of the primary reasons why Jordan
was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams
were in need of a center. Trail Blazers general manager
Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of
drafting a center but more a matter of taking Bowie
over Jordan, in part because Portland already had
Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to
Jordan. Citing Bowie's injury-laden college career,
ESPN named the Blazers' choice of Bowie as the worst
draft pick in North American professional sports
history.
National team career
 Jordan made his debut for the U.S. national basketball team at the
1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela. He led the team in
scoring with 17.3 ppg as the U.S., coached by Jack Hartman, won the
gold medal in the competition. A year later, he won another gold
medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The 1984 U.S. team was
coached by Bob Knight and featured players such as Patrick Ewing,
Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin, Steve Alford, and Wayman Tisdale.
Jordan led the team in scoring, averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament.
 In 1992, Jordan was a member of the star-studded squad that was
dubbed the "Dream Team", which included Larry Bird and Magic
Johnson. The team went on to win two gold medals: the first one in
the 1992 Tournament of the Americas, and the second one in the 1992
Summer Olympics. He was the only player to start all eight games in
the Olympics, averaged 14.9 ppg, and finished second on the team in
scoring. Jordan was undefeated in the four tournaments he played for
the United States national team, winning all 30 games he took part in.
 Business ventures

 In June 2010, Jordan was ranked by Forbes as the 20th-most powerful celebrity in the
world with $55 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010. According to
Forbes, Jordan Brand generates $1 billion in sales for Nike. In June 2014, Jordan was
named the first NBA player to become a billionaire, after he increased his stake in the
Charlotte Hornets from 80% to 89.5%. On January 20, 2015, Jordan was honored
with the Charlotte Business Journal's Business Person of the Year for 2014. In 2017,
he became a part owner of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball.
 Forbes designated Jordan as the athlete with the highest career earnings in 2017. From
his Jordan Brand income and endorsements, Jordan's 2015 income was an estimated
$110 million, the most of any retired athlete. As of 2022, his net worth is estimated at
$1.7 billion by Forbes, making him the sixth-richest African-American, behind Robert
F. Smith, David Steward, Oprah Winfrey, Kanye West, and Rihanna.
Film and television
 Jordan played himself in the 1996 comedy film Space Jam. The film received
mixed reviews, but it was a box office success, making $230 million worldwide,
and earned more than $1 billion through merchandise sales.
 In 2000, Jordan was the subject of an IMAX documentary about his career with the
Chicago Bulls, especially the 1998 NBA playoffs, entitled Michael Jordan to the
Max. Two decades later, the same period of Jordan's life was covered in much
greater and more personal detail by the Emmy Award-winning The Last Dance, a
10-part TV documentary which debuted on ESPN in April and May 2020. The Last
Dance relied heavily on about 500 hours of candid film of Jordan's and his
teammates' off-court activities which an NBA Entertainment crew had shot over the
course of the 1997–98 NBA season for use in a documentary. The project was
delayed for many years because Jordan had not yet given his permission for the
footage to be used. He was interviewed at three homes associated with the
production and did not want cameras in his home or on his plane, as according to
director Jason Hehir "there are certain aspects of his life that he wants to keep
private".
 Jordan granted rapper Travis Scott permission to film a music video for his single
"Franchise" at his home in Highland Park, Illinois. Jordan appeared in the 2022
miniseries The Captain, which follows the life and career of Derek Jeter.
Facts about M.J.
 His partnership with Nike almost never happened
 Jordan's longtime professional association with Nike
nearly didn’t come to fruition. He initially wanted to wear
Adidas after entering the NBA, and was also heavily
pursued to endorse a much smaller brand called Spot-Bilt.
But Nike threw out the full-court press to sign the Chicago
Bulls rookie, offering a then-outrageous deal of $500 grand
per year for five years and the chance to tailor a sneaker to
his liking. Jordan still wanted to go with his original choice
and went back to Adidas one more time, but the company
was in no position to match the ransom offered by Nike.
Thus was born a collaboration made in marketing heaven;
Nike launched the Air Jordans in May 1985, and by the end
of the year the line had generated more than $100 million
in revenue.
  Jordan's decision to switch to baseball was inspired by his father
 The idea behind Jordan's surprising decision to leave basketball for a baseball
career in 1993 had taken root a few years earlier. His dad, James, had always
loved baseball, and with Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders having some success as
two-sport athletes, James suggested his son could do the same. As such, when
James was killed in a carjacking incident in July 1993, Jordan sought to honor
his dad's wishes by picking up a glove. While he famously struggled in his lone
season of minor league baseball, some were impressed by how well he adjusted
to a game he hadn't played since high school. Terry Francona, his manager that
year, has said he believes Jordan could have made the big leagues had he kept at
it.
 He earned his college degree in
cultural geography
 Although he left the University of North
Carolina a year early to pursue his pro
career, Jordan received his degree in
cultural geography in 1986. So what exactly
does one do in that field, anyway? As he
explained in a Q & A session at his
basketball camp many years later, cultural
geography is an introduction to
meteorology. Which means that if Jordan’s
preferred career choice of dunking over
seven-footers didn't pan out, then his
backup plan was to become a weatherman.
Gives a whole new meaning to the name
"Air Jordan," doesn't it?
He is an avid golfer
Jordan's passion for golf began in the summer of
1984, when he first ventured to a course with a
group that included future golf pro Davis Love
III. He parred one of the holes that day, an
experience that led this supremely confident
athlete to believe he could par all 18 with a little
more practice. The quest for perfection led to his
squeezing in as many rounds as possible in his
downtime, including a notorious snubbing of
President George H.W. Bush's invitation to the
White House with the rest of the NBA champion
Chicago Bulls in 1991. He went on to hold the
Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational Pro-Am
Golf Tournament in Las Vegas from 2001 to
2014.
Thanks For Attention!!!